The season's opening weekend saw underclassmen claim the softball weekly awards as sophomore Kayla White of UC Riverside and freshman Erin Jones-Wesley earned distinction after stellar 2011 debuts.
White Heads Up Desert for Highlanders
A hot bat during an opening weekend in Las Vegas made Kayla White of UC Riverside the first Big West Player of the Week of the 2011 season.
White registered a hit in all five games over the weekend, including three multi-hit outings in each of her first three hames of the season.
Against Washington in the opener, White collected two hits, a double and score d a run, then followed that up with a career-best three hits and a run scored in the night cap against UNLV.
She stayed hot the rest of the Sportco Kick-Off Classic, registering two hits, an RBI and two runs against Mississippi State, a hit and run scored against Illinois-Chicago and a home run, two RBI and a run scored in a rematch against the Huskies.
For the weekend, White hit .529 (9-17) with a homer, three RBI, six runs scored and a .765 slugging percentage.
Others nominated: Natalie DeLeese, Cal State Fullerton; Jennifer Mosier, Cal State Northridge; Nalani St. Germain, Long Beach State; Kelly Schulze, UC Davis; Jessica Beristianos, UC Santa Barbara; Nikki Armagost, Pacific
Jones-Wesley Shuts Down Boise State Twice in Debut Weekend
Erin Jones-Wesley made a sterling debut at the collegiate level for Long Beach State last weekend, earning her Big West Pitcher of the Week honors.
Jones-Wesley earned a pair of starts against Boise State during the season-opening LBSU Round Robin, and shut down the Bronco offense on both occasions.
In her first start, Jones-Wesley went the distance to pick up her first career win. She allowed just three hits, no runs, walked one and struck out eight.
Her second start was almost a carbon copy as she again went the full seven innings for the win, allowing five hits, two walks, no runs and striking out eight.
Others nominated: Ari Cervantes, Cal State Fullerton; Hannah Fraijo, Cal State Northridge; Jessica Thweatt, UC Davis; Andriana Collins, UC Santa Barbara; Nikki Armagost, Pacific