Junior Sara Fleming flexed her muscle at the plate with three doubles and three home runs in a 3-2 week for Utah State, earning the second baseman Big West Softball Player of the Week honors.
Utah State's Fleming Launches The Long Ball
Utah State junior Sara Fleming (Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS) became the first Aggie to be selected Big West Player of the Week since 2002 after six of her eight hits went for extra bases, including three home runs. Her play helped the Aggies win three of their five games for the week.
The second baseman batted .533 (8-for-15) with six runs scored and eight RBI. She amassed three doubles in addition to her trio of long bombs and recorded a slugging percentage of 1.333 and an on-base percentage of .650 for the week.
Fleming began the week with a big game in an 8-1 win over Southern Utah on Thursday. She went 2-for-3 with a double, home run and four RBI while also scoring twice. She unloaded her second roundtripper of the doubleheader in game two, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk in a 10-4 loss. Fleming then helped the Aggies to a series victory against Cal State Fullerton. Her best performance came in the rubber game on Sunday when she went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI, producing those runs on a solo homer, bases loaded hit-by-pitch and double. Fleming was plunked by a pitch three times in the Titan series.
Long Beach State's Torres Stifles Cal State Fullerton Bats
Long Beach State senior Marcel Torres (Diamond Bar, CA/UCLA) returned to the awards circle, earning her second Big West Pitcher of the Week award after picking up a pair of wins in a key conference series against rival Cal State Fullerton.
Torres went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out 11 in 10.0 innings pitched. She improved to 12-6 on the season and reduced her ERA to a conference-best 1.50.
The right-hander helped the 49ers set the tone for their series with the Titans in the opening game on Tuesday. Torres entered in relief in the sixth inning with the score tied 4-4 and threw three shutout innings, allowing the 49ers to win it in extra innings with an eighth-inning run. She yielded just one hit and fanned two during that stint. In her start on Wednesday, Torres allowed a leadoff single to start the game, then did not allow a hit the rest of the game in a one-hit 2-0 win. She sat down nine Titans in the game.