INDIANAPOLIS – As league play started, Findlay and Hillsdale earned Great Midwest Athletic Conference Softball Players of the Week accolades as announced on Monday morning.
Findlay emerged with the top record through the opening week of play during Great Midwest competition at 4-0. Malone, Walsh and Cedarville, all won their first two conference contests.
Player of the Week
Kelley Cejer
Findlay
Catcher
Senior
Medina, OH (Highland HS)
Cejer helped the league-leading Oilers slug their way past defending conference tournament champion Kentucky Wesleyan as part of a perfect 4-0 week on the road. F
Findlay also took care of business with a sweep against Lake Erie to start the Great Midwest calendar with an unblemished record.
In four games, Cejer batted .600 with six hits, five runs scored, a double, home run and three RBI. She also stole a base, walked twice and advanced a runner on a sacrifice. Cejer slugged 1.000 on the week.
Cejer was 3-for-3 with both extra-base hits in game one against Kentucky Wesleyan. She helped the Oilers capitalize on a huge nine-run fifth inning in which she doubled and belted a two-run shot immediately after a Destinie Keeton two-run double.
She also had two hits in the next game against KWC, scoring twice and driving in one. Cejer also was calling the signs for Findlay’s pitching staff, which was brilliant with a 1.40 ERA in 25 innings pitched.
Cejer is now hitting .246 this spring with four doubles, two homers and 12 RBI.
Pitcher of the Week
Erin Hunt
Hillsdale
RHP
Freshman
Dansville, MI (Dansville HS)
Hunt was more than impressive against two of the stronger Great Midwest softball programs by tradition in Trevecca and Kentucky Wesleyan. The first-year hurler went the distance in both outings which resulted in complete-game wins.
Hunt compiled a 1.00 ERA in 14 innings pitched with 14 strikeouts while scattering nine hits.
Hunt spun a four-hit shutout against Trevecca on Saturday in her conference debut. She fanned six and walked three as the Chargers blanked the Trojans by a final score of 3-0.
The next day in Owensboro against Kentucky Wesleyan’s tough lineup, Hunt mowed down eight more hitters in seven frames. She was touched for two earned runs on five hits as Hillsdale edged KWC, 3-2.
Hunt is a big part of Hillsdale’s second-best team ERA in the Great Midwest at 2.62 in 16 games. The Chargers pitchers are also backed up by the league’s top defensive unit with a .966 fielding percentage.
Through the past week, Hunt improved to 5-3 overall with a 1.99 ERA in 10 appearances spanning 49.1 innings. She currently is second in the conference in strikeouts (62) to only Walsh’s Olivia Pifer.