Wright State's Clark and Oakland's Kownacki Tab Weekly Accolades

INDIANAPOLIS –Wright State senior Angie Clark (Huber Heights, Ohio) is the Horizon League softball Player of the Week while Oakland junior Erin Kownacki (Armada, Mich.) is the Horizon League softball Pitcher of the Week for the week of March 16-22.

Wright State hosted Ohio for a mid-week doubleheader before starting conference play over the weekend against Cleveland State. The Raiders defeated the Bobcats in both contests, winning the first game 20-3 (five innings) followed by a 7-2 victory in the second. Originally set to take place in Cleveland, Ohio, Wright State squared off with the Vikings at home for a single game Friday and doubleheader on Saturday. Wright State took a 5-1 victory on Friday and won the first game on Saturday in a close 4-3 contest. Cleveland State, however, grabbed the final game between the two squads, winning 6-2.

Clark led the Wright State bats for the week posting a .571 batting average on 8-for-14 hitting. The senior tallied a .786 slugging percentage and .600 on-base percentage for the Raiders throughout the five games. Clark went 4-for-4 with three doubles, seven RBI and two runs scored in the first of the two games versus Ohio while going 1-for-2 with a RBI in the second. Facing the Vikings, Clark went 2-for-3 with a RBI in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday.

Oakland began conference play on the road facing UIC in which the squads squared off in a doubleheader on Friday and single game Saturday. The Golden Grizzlies grabbed the first win of the series in 8-5 in an 11 inning contest before falling the second match 9-1. In the final game, Oakland clinched the series victory with a 3-2 win over the Flames.

Kownacki took the circle in two contests for Oakland to total 18.0 innings and tabbed a 1.56 earned-run average. The junior pitched a complete game in the 11 inning contest while throwing over 200 pitches and striking out five batters in the victory. On Saturday, Kownacki pitched her second-consecutive complete game in the 3-2 win fanning three batters and allowing only four hits to clinch the series victory. For the weekend, the junior held batters to a .200 batting-against average and allowed just 13 hits and four earned runs.

Wright State competes against Ohio State in a mid-week doubleheader on Tuesday, March 24 beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET. The Raiders then take the road to face Valparaiso  in a single game Friday and doubleheader on Saturday. Oakland is also on the road for its second conference matchup this season and takes on Youngstown State beginning with a single game Friday followed by two on Saturday.

Top Players of the Week:
Miranda Castiglione, Youngstown State (Jr.): Led the Penguins in a three-game sweep over Detroit with a .375 batting-average, two home runs, and five RBI. In addition, posted a slugging-percentage of 1.125 and on-base percentage of .583.
Hailey Mohrfeld, Green Bay (Sr.): Hit for an average of .417 over Spring Break and the first conference series for the Phoenix. Notched 10 hits in 24 at-bats while scoring three runs, three RBI and two stolen bases.
Julie Morales, Oakland (Fr.): Led Oakland going 4-for-6 hitting a clutch two-RBI single in the eleventh inning to secure Oakland’s 8-5 victory over the Flames in game one of the series. The freshman went 1-for-2 in the second game and 1-for-1 in the series finale.
Paige Peterson, UIC (Sr.): Hit her first-career grand slam in game two of the series versus Oakland en route to an eventual 9-1 victory. Tallied six RBI, a .333 batting-average, 1.000 slugging-percentage and .556 on-base percentage over the three games.
Kaitlyn Ranieri, Valparaiso (Jr.): Reached base on her final eight plate appearances over the weekend, hitting for a .571 batting average with four hits, four walks, two RBI and three runs scored.

Top Pitchers of the Week:
Elaine Heflin, UIC (So.): Pitched 17.1 consecutive innings for the Flames to earn one win and one loss. Pitched two complete games in the series and grabbed her second win of the year in game two.
Ashlyn Montgomery, Valparaiso (Fr.): Earned a win in her first-career Horizon League start, pitching 6.0 innings and tabbing a 2.33 earned-run average.
Heather Sanderson, Green Bay (So.): Fanned a season-high nine batters against Valparaiso on Friday while tabbing an earned-run average of 2.95 in 19.0 innings in the circle for Green Bay.
Montana Wear, Wright State (Jr.): Struck out six batters with no walks in a complete-game effort over Cleveland State on Friday. Picked up her second win of the series in 3.1 innings of relief on Saturday in addition to a mid-week win over Ohio.

Players of the Week
Feb. 2: Nena Doran, Cleveland State
Feb. 9: Nena Doran, Cleveland State
Feb. 16: Jorgi Calombaris, Valparaiso
Feb. 23: Sarah Hartley, Oakland
March 1: Nena Doran, Cleveland State
March 9: Eleni Polites, UIC
March 16: Angie Clark, Wright State

Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 2: Karissa Frazier, UIC
Feb. 9: Alex Radjen, Cleveland State
Feb. 16: Karissa Frazier, UIC
Feb. 23: Susan Knight, Cleveland State
March 9: Bridget Boyle, UIC
March 16: Erin Kownacki, Oakland