Falkenberry, Schmit Share Player of the Week Honors; Sito Tabbed Pitcher of the Week

INDIANAPOLIS – Butler junior first baseman Erin Falkenberry (Pendleton, Ind.) and UIC first baseman Coryn Schmit (Hawthorne Woods, Ill.) have been named the Horizon League Co-Players of the Week, while Cleveland State sophomore Tess Sito (Elyria, Ohio) has been tabbed the League Pitcher of the Week, for the week beginning March 28.  The accolades are the first of the season for each player both Falkenberry and Schmit, while Sito earned her second honor of the year.

Butler went 3-2 on the week, sweeping Detroit to move to 4-1 in League play, while UIC took a road series at Valparaiso.  Cleveland State split a League doubleheader with Green Bay on Sunday after rolling to a 4-0 mark in non-conference play during the week.

Falkenberry became Butler’s all-time leader in home runs on the week, slugging six home runs and droving in 12 runs in Butler’s five games last week.  She broke Butler’s career home run record with her second home run of the week, and she now has 30 career home runs.

The junior has 11 home runs on the season, matching her own school single season record set in 2009.  The Butler first baseman led Butler to a three-game sweep at Detroit, with five home runs and 11 RBI.  She had three home runs and six RBI’s in Butler’s five inning, 11-1, victory over the Titans in the series’ finale, and she hit two home runs in the Bulldogs’ 8-6 win over Detroit.

In just three games last week, Schmit clubbed four homers and drove in nine as UIC picked up a crucial road series win over Valparaiso.  Slugging at a 1.800 clip, the sophomore had two long balls in each of the Flames’ two victories, which came by 4-1 and 17-6 scores.

In the series finale, Schmit became just the seventh player in UIC history to cross home plate four times.  The first baseman drove in nine of the Flames’ 23 total runs in the series.

Sito went 4-1 with a 0.68 ERA in 31 innings on the week week, striking out 37 and walking just five.  She struck out a career-best 12 and allowed a lone earned run in a 4-2 win over IUPUI on March 29, then came back the following day and tossed 11 of 12 innings played in a doubleheader sweep of Toledo.  Against the Rockets, Sito did not allow a run, while spinning a four-hit shutout in the first game while striking out 11.

On Sunday, Sito threw 13 innings, giving up just two earned runs against Green Bay as the Vikings and Phoenix split the doubleheader.

The Vikings wrap up their series with Green Bay on Monday, then host Eastern Michigan in a mid-week doubleheader on Wednesday, April 6, before heading to Butler for a three-game League set on April 9-10.  Butler hits the road for doubleheaders at Dayton on April 6 and at Notre Dame on April 7 before hosting Cleveland State over the weekend.  UIC is at home for two Horizon League series this week, starting with a three-game series versus Loyola on April 6-7.  The Flames welcome Youngstown State to Flames Field April 9-10.