LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After a stellar week which saw senior Anna Dunn make huge strides up the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and national statistic lists, she has been named the Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III National Player of Week.
"As a coach, it's always rewarding to see the results of hard work come to fruition," said Centenary Softball head coach Mark Suire. "Anna has spent countless hours working to improve her swing over the past year. She has steadily gotten better and better in her approach from the plate. She's done her part to help our team achieve success, and her teammates also played a part by getting on base ahead of her. It's impossible to drive in as many runs as she has without teammates during their part.
"I'm proud that Anna has done her part to help our team succeed," added Suire.
Dunn also garnered her first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week honor Monday, April 16.
Against LeTourneau in a doubleheader split April 11, she went 5-for-9 with two home runs, 10 RBIs, and four runs scored. Her seven RBIs in game two against the against the YellowJackets tied the conference single-game record and was the most by a Centenary player in the NCAA Division III era. The seven RBIs were also the seventh-most in a single game this year in the NCAA.
In a four-game set April 14-15, she went 11-for-14 with seven runs scored, three doubles, and three home runs in the Ladies sweep of Dallas. Her two home runs in the second game on Saturday was the first time a Centenary hitter has hit two round trippers in one game in five seasons.
On the bases, Dunn successfully swiped four bases in as many attempts.
In the outfield, she added two assists. In the second game against LeTourneau, she threw a strike from the warning track in right to junior Wendy Gillet at first. Gillet flipped the ball home to easily throw out the runner trying to score.
With the week, she raised her average 87 points and now leads the SCAC in average (.430), slugging percentage (.925), RBIs (44) and home runs (12). She also ranks fifth in the country in round trippers, sixth in RBIs, 17th in slugging percentage, and 195th in batting average.
However, Dunn was not the only one to have an outstanding week from the plate. Junior Payton LeBlanc raised her season average over 150 points to .347, going 16-for-26 with a hit in all eight games with five walks, a hit by pitch, and 15 runs scored. She also hit her first home run ever, as well as a double, in the Centenary 9-4 win against Dallas Saturday. LeBlanc ranks 32nd in the nation with 0.7 walks per game. She also sits 165th with a .505 on-base percentage.
Gillet leads the SCAC and ranks 16th in the nation with 14 doubles on the season after five two-baggers this week. Gillet added a home run in the series finale against Dallas Sunday afternoon, a Ladies 13-7 win.
Finally, junior Sydney Hurley added a pair of home runs and ranks 171st in the nation with four round trippers on the season.
Centenary concludes the 2018 regular season this Friday and Saturday, April 20-21, when it takes on #2 Texas Lutheran for a four-game set. First pitch on Friday in Seguin, Texas, is set for 5 p.m.
