MAC Announces Softball Pitchers & Players of the Week

Updated 3/22/2011

East Division Player of the Week
Alex Feltes, Akron, Sr., 3B, Rocky River, Ohio/Magnificat
At the Rebel Spring Games, Akron went 6-2 and was led by senior Alex Feltes, who started all eight games at third base. Feltes recorded 13 hits in 27 at-bats for a .481 average and hit safely in every game, bringing her current hitting streak to 11 games. Of her 13 hits, four were doubles and one was a home run, giving her a solid .741 slugging percentage. She also recorded a total of five RBIs and scored six runs for the Zips. She now leads the team with nine multi-hit games on the season. At the plate, Feltes had back-to-back 3-for-4 performances in victories over St. Peter's and Lafayette, as well as a 2-for-3 showing in a 2-1 win over Manhattan. Manning the hot corner, she notched 12 putouts and 23 assists with just one error.

West Division Player of the Week
Amanda Montalto, Ball State. Jr., C, Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde
Junior catcher Amanda Montalto (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) earned Radford All-Tournament Team MVP honors after batting .500, recording four runs, seven RBI, one doubles, one triple, two home runs and an astonishing 1.250 slugging percentage. The physical education major paces the squad with a .727 slugging percentage and five home runs on the season. Against Delaware, Montalto blasted a 3-RBI home run into right field in the fifth inning to score sophomore Amanda Carpenter (Santee, Calif./Santana) and freshman Katrina Morales (Whittier, Calif./St. Paul), who was pinch running for freshman Audrey Bickel (Munster, Ind./Andrean). Versus Pittsburgh, Montalto got Ball State off to a hot start with a home run in the bottom of the second inning.

East Division Pitcher of the Week
Emily Wethington, Ohio, Sr., New Palestine, Ind./Scecina Memorial
Wethington went 3-1 this week with a 2.60 ERA, which included a perfect game against Morehead State. She had two complete games on the week and limited opponents to just a .215 batting average. She posted 26 strikeouts against just eight walks in 27 and two-thirds innings of work.

West Division Pitcher of the Week
Audra Sanders, Ball State, So., Lynnville, Ind./Tecumseh
Sophomore pitcher Audra Sanders (Lynnville, Ind./Tecumseh) earned Radford All-Tournament Team honors after tallying a perfect 3-0 mark during tournament play with a 1.47 ERA, pitching 19.0 innings and allowing for 15 hits and six walks, in addition to recording 13 strikeouts in wins against Delaware, Pittsburgh and Robert Morris. Versus the Blue Hens and Panthers, Sanders allowed for a combined nine hits and four walks, in addition to striking out nine batters. The pre-medicine major improved to 9-6 on the season with her win against the Colonials, allowing for six hits and two walks in seven innings and striking out four.

Additional Nominees
Alex Riedeman, Akron, Sr., Snohomish, Wash./Midland JC Manhattan

Kelli Gleiser, Buffalo, Fr., Cheektowaga, NY
Gleiser provided a spark off the bench for the Bulls, cracking the starting lineup over the last five games of the weekend, hitting .429 in those five games. Gleiser had six hits, driving in three runs. Gleiser also scored three times herself as the Bulls combined for 22 runs over their last three games. Gleiser also worked out two walks for a .500 on base percentage.

Brittini Merchant, Central Michigan , Sr., 2B, Wayland, Mich/Wayland
Senior Brittini Merchant led the Chippewas in both their wins over the weekend at the Hoosier Classic, hitting a solo home run in their 5-1 win over Loyola-Chicago and driving in two runs in a 5-2 win over Wright State. In the opening game of the Classic, Merchant hit her first home run of the season in the bottom of the third, giving the Chippewas a 4-0 lead. The senior added two more RBI on Saturday versus Wright State, driving a two-out single to center field for CMU's first hit of the game and a 2-0 lead. Merchant finished the weekend 4-for-11 at the plate for a .364 average and three RBI. She added a double for two extra base hits and a slugging percentage of .727. The Wayland, Mich., native was also stellar in the field, handling all 21 chances in the field on the weekend for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.

Chelsea Sundberg, Central Michigan, Fr., Marshall, Mich./Olivet HS
Despite giving up two early runs in the first inning, freshman Chelsea Sundberg continued the stellar start to her collegiate career, giving up just two hits over her final six innings to earn her second complete-game of the season. In her only appearance of the weekend, Sundberg struck out four Raiders, each of which came after giving up the early two runs. She improved her record to 4-1 on the season and is now tied for the team lead in wins.

Jenna Ignowski, Eastern Michigan, So., Niles, Mich./Niles
Ignowski improved her overall record to 6-1, tying her win total from last season, after picking up both of EMU's victories this weekend at the Hoosier Classic in Bloomington, Ind. The sophomore has won five straight, and has not lost a contest since Feb. 25. Ignowski went 9.2 innings combined in the circle in her games against Wright State and Loyola-Chicago, holding opponents to just a .194 clip. She struck out seven while allowing only seven hits.

Stacie Skodinski, Eastern Michigan, Sr., SS, South Bend, Ind./Washington
Skodinski stepped up offensively for the Eagles at the Hoosier Classic in Bloomington, Ind. where the Green and White posted a 2-2 record over the weekend. The senior shortstop registered a 4-for-8 effort at the plate, cranking out two homeruns to move her into seventh place all-time for career round-trippers in EMU history. Skodinski also scored five times and knocked in three. She slugged 1.250 with an on-base percentage of .615 for an impressive 1.865 OPS.

Beth Cinadr, Kent State, Sr., RF, Hudson, Ohio/Hudson/Purdue
Cinadr hit .500 (9-for-18) over five games with four doubles and a .722 slugging percentage. In Kent State's 4-1 win over Rutgers, Cinadr went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

Stephanie Tofft, Northern Illinois, Fr., U, Lincoln, Calif./Lincoln
Stephanie Tofft extended her hitting streak to 11 games with a hit in each of the Huskies' six games this past week. The freshman from Lincoln, Calif. had eight hits in 19 at bats for a .421 average on the week, just shy of her .431 season batting average. She also added three RBIs to her team-leading 20. She is hitting .543 during her current streak, going 19-of-35 with two home runs and five doubles.

Melissa Bonner, Ohio, Sr., P/RF, Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings Mills
Bonner led the Bobcats to a 4-3 record this week as the had team-highs in batting average (.435), hits (10), doubles (3), total bases (18) and on-base percentage (.480). She also slugged .783 for the week. She had four two-hit games this week and also picked up a save against Louisville on the pitching side.

Lexi Jager, Western Michigan, Sr., U, Kalamazoo, Mich./Comstock
Lexi Jager led WMU in batting with a .250 average and her third double of the season during the Wilson Classic hosted by Missouri this past weekend. Jager had two RBIs and a run scored for the Broncos.

Meredith Whitney, Western Michigan, Jr., Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain
Meredith Whitney led all Bronco pitchers by allowing just one hit in 4.1 innings and holding the opposition to a minuscule .067 batting average when she was in the circle during her two appearances at the Wilson Classic hosted by Missouri this past weekend.

At the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla., the Zips went 6-2 due in large part to the pitching of senior Alex Riedeman. The Snohomish, Wash. native started three games and amassed a 3-0 record in the tournament, allowing just six earned runs in 14.2 innings pitched. She earned victories against Manhattan, Bucknell, and Houston Baptist and struck out a total of nine batters while walking only two and finished with a 2.96 ERA.