March 22, 2011

Contact: Chad Waller, NAIA Director of Sports Information & Media Services, cwaller@naia.org

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Anna Ard of William Carey (Miss.) has been named the NAIA National Softball Pitcher of the Week and Annalee Carr of Belhaven (Miss.) has been NAIA National Softball Player of the Week, the National Office announced Tuesday. Ard and Carr are the second honorees of the 2011 season based on their performances from March 14 - 20. The pair was chosen out of a pool of conference player of the week selections among 24 conference/independent/unaffiliated groupings.

In 21 innings of pitching, Ard grabbed three wins for the William Carey including two over Top-25 opponents. The Lady Crusaders defeated No. 10 Oklahoma City behind Ard’s 11 strikeouts in seven innings on March 17. Two games later, she threw a 7-0 shutout against No. 25 Union (Tenn.) in which she struck out 10 Lady Bulldogs.

The senior from Louisville, Miss., ranks nationally in the top-five in multiple categories including third in runs allowed per game (0.43), fourth in earned run average (0.41), fourth in wins (13) and fifth in hits allowed per nine innings (2.85).

Carr’s strong bat helped produce seven wins for 12th-ranked Belhaven, as they improved to 25-3 on the year. The second baseman recorded a .700 batting average and 1.400 slugging percentage after hitting 14-for-20 during the week. She also posted three homers and nine RBIs to go on stat sheet.

On the season, the freshman from Alvin, Texas, is listed fifth in the NAIA in batting average (.551), sixth in total bases (82), seventh in slugging percentage (1.051) and 10th in home runs (9).

For a complete listing of all the national statistical leaders, click here.

The next Player of the Week announcement will be on March 29.

Pitcher Nominees: Nickayla Skinner, College of Idaho; Molly Long, Huntington (Ind.); Lyndsay Drumm, Peru State (Neb.); Amber Daly, William Penn (Iowa); Larisa Garcia, Northwood (Texas); Bethany Sullivan, Indiana Southeast; Aubrey Utley, Central Methodist (Mo.); Whitney Compton, Pikeville (Ky.); Krystal Hathaway, Valley City State (N.D.); Megan Nonnemacher, Saint Xavier (Ill.); Kelsey Schulte, William Woods (Mo.); Sam Berrios, Indiana Tech; Kayla Thornsberry, Cedarville (Ohio); Sidney Burns, Milligan (Tenn.); Keaton Kirk, Union (Tenn.); Brandi Nekrassoff, Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.); Sam White, SCAD Savannah (Ga.); Kelsey Porter, Friends (Kan.); Courtney Young, Concordia (Calif.); Neesha Sorrell, Science & Arts (Okla.).

Player Nominees: Jen Costa, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.); Amanda Neumann, Bellevue (Neb.); Athena Rosario, William Penn (Iowa); Jordan Reynolds, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.); Allie Alford, Indiana Southeast; Taylor Jones, Northwood (Texas); Emily Wassom, Morningside (Iowa); Valerie Teter, Columbia (Mo.); Courtney Castronovo, Corban (Ore.); Haylee Rogers, Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.); Megan Groce, Indiana Tech; Ashley Clark, Webber International (Fla.); Kelsey Wilson, Cedarville (Ohio); Brooke Baker, Shawnee State (Ohio); Deanna Mitchell, Minot State (N.D.); Kristina Manser, Friends (Kan.); Katie Hale, Southern Nazarene (Okla.); Brooke Ward, Tennessee Wesleyan; Emily Sell, Indiana Wesleyan; Lyndsie Roberts, Biola (Calif.).

2011 Composite Award Winners (Pitcher; Player) (Schedule)
Week 1: Anyibell Ramirez, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.); Tina Galinato, California Baptist
Week 2: Anna Ard, William Carey (Miss.); Annalee Carr, Belhaven (Miss.)