Long Beach State junior Ashley Holmes and UC Santa Barbara junior Shelby Wisdom were selected Big West Softball Field Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, after outstanding performances in tournament play.
Holmes Blasts Three Homers At Easton Desert Classic
Junior Ashley Holmes (Whittier, Calif./Tennessee) led Long Beach State offensively with three home runs and 11 RBI at the Easton Desert Classic, earning Big West Softball Field Player of the Week honors.
Holmes had multiple RBI four times as the 49ers finished the tournament 3-2 and posted victories over Utah Valley State (8-1), UTEP (5-4) and host UNLV (7-6).
Holmes, who hit .500 (8-for-16) with a 1.062 slugging percentage, began her power surge in the first game of the tournament with a home run, three RBI and 3-for-4 performance against Ohio State. She hit another roundtripper and drove in another three runs in her next outing against Utah Valley State.
She concluded the weekend with a 2-for-3 effort and her third home run in five games, helping the 49ers slip past the Rebels. Holmes added a pair of walks to her stat line to finish the week with a .556 on base percentage.
Others nominated: Taylor Glover (Cal State Northridge); Christa Castello (UC Davis); Dionne Anderson (UC Riverside); Kristen Clark (UC Santa Barbara); Alyssa Villalpando (Hawai‘i)
Wisdom Stellar At Fresno State Kick-Off Classic
UC Santa Barbara junior Shelby Wisdom (Elk Grove, Calif./Elk Grove HS) picked up a pair of wins at the Fresno State Kick-Off Classic en route to Big West Softball Pitcher of the Week honors.
The right-hander tossed 22.1 innings over three appearances, allowing just four earned runs for a 1.25 earned run average.
Wisdom threw a complete game in a 3-2, eight-inning victory over Sacramento State, walking just one and striking out three. She notched a complete game, five-hit shutout in a 6-0 triumph over Cal State Bakersfield.
In the tournament finale against host Fresno State, Wisdom pitched well but came up short in a 6-5 loss. She threw 7.1 innings, and only two of the six runs she allowed were earned.
Wisdom keyed a 4-1 tournament record for UCSB while earning her second shutout of the season.
Others nominated: Desiree Ybarra (Cal State Fullerton); Brianna Elder (Cal State Northridge); Dana Cruse (UC Davis); Alyssa Razo (UC Riverside); Loie Kesterson (Hawai‘i)