Freshmen Samantha Vandiver and Brittany Hitchcock excelled for their squads in earning Big West Softball Field Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Vandiver Wipes Out Opposing Pitching

Cal State Fullerton freshman Samantha Vandiver (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach HS) wore out opposing pitching, hitting .733 over five games to capture Big West Softball Field Player of the Week accolades.

The outfielder hit safely in all five games, going 11-for-15 overall, and tallied at least one RBI against four of the opponents.

Most impressively, she did a good portion of the damage against ranked opponents.  She was a perfect 3-for-3 against No. 3 Michigan in a mid-week bout, and then opened the Fullerton-hosted Judi Garman Classic with a pair of hits in three at-bats against No. 22 Arizona State.  She added an RBI against the Sun Devils.

Vandiver also doubled and knocked in a pair of runs in a 3-2 upset victory over No. 14 Auburn.  In a narrow 12-11 loss to Iowa, Vandiver scored a career-high four times and went 3-for-4 with an RBI at the plate.  She smacked her second double while scoring and driving in her fifth runs of the week in the tournament finale against San Diego State.

She boasted an on-base percentage of .733 and slugging percentage of .867.  In addition, she logged nine putout in 10 total chances en route to a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with included one assist.

Others nominated: Taylor Glover (CSUN); Shayna Kimbrough (Long Beach State); Alexis Carney (UC Davis); Rebecca Faulkner (UC Riverside); Heather Morales (Hawai‘i)

Hitchcock Posts 3-0 Record At Tournament

Hawai‘i freshman Brittany Hitchcock (Huntington Beach, Calif./Ocean View HS) went 3-0 with a 0.69 ERA at the Outrigger Resorts Spring Fling Tournament to earn Big West Softball Pitcher of the Week recognition.

Hitchcock hurled 20.1 innings over four appearances, allowing just five runs (two earned) with 13 strikeouts and only four walks.

She made her first appearance of the tournament in relief against Longwood, and picked up the win after allowing three hits and two runs (0 earned) in 4.1 innings.

Hitchcock went the distance in UH’s 4-1 win over Oregon State, scattering seven hits and one run while striking out a career-high six hitters.

She tossed another complete game against Utah to help the ‘Bows to a 5-1 victory.  In that game, she nearly missed a shutout, yielding just one unearned run in the circle.

Others nominated: Sierra Hyland (Cal Poly); Brianna Elder (CSUN); Chelsea Ponce (UC Riverside)