Smith Earns American Conference Player-of-the-Week Honor
April 27, 2015 | Softball
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - East Carolina's Karlie Smith was named American Athletic Conference Softball Player of the Week after belting a pair of grand slams to lift the Pirates to a series victory over UConn over the weekend. Additionally, sophomore right-handed pitcher, Lydia Ritchie, garnered Honor Roll status for her performance in the circle. The league office announced the honors Monday afternoon.
Smith took home her first-ever player-of-the-week honor after going 5-for-14 last week with 10 RBIs and five runs scored, while batting .357. She launched her first-career home run, a grand slam, in East Carolina's 15-3 five-inning win over UConn on Saturday. The Dagsboro, Del., native came back the following day and belted her second-career home run, also a grand slam, to lead ECU over UConn, 12-0, in five innings.
The freshman third baseman led the Pirates to a 3-1 record on the week as ECU defeated in-state rival North Carolina, before winning the series over American Athletic Conference foe UConn. On the week, Smith recorded a team-high .786 slugging percentage and a .400 on-base percentage.
"Karlie has practiced diligently and worked on her fundamentals for the entire year," Interim head coach Steve Jaecks said. "It is gratifying to see her tireless efforts rewarded by the American Conference with an unmatched performance this past week."
Ritchie started in three of East Carolina's four games last week and came away with a 2-1 record. She earned the victory over in-state rival North Carolina and picked up a win over conference foe UConn on Sunday. She finished the week with three complete games and posted a 2.21 ERA over 19.0 innings of work while registering 12 strikeouts.
Against North Carolina, Ritchie recorded a career-high five strikeouts in East Carolina's 4-3 win. She turned in a career-effort on Sunday against UConn with a complete-game, two-hit shutout as she led the Pirates to a 12-0 five-inning victory. She is now 4-7 on the year with a team-best 3.21 ERA.
"With her athleticism and tireless work ethic, Lydia has earned the opportunity to be given a chance to compete," Jaecks explained. "And compete she has. She has turned in performances worthy of national recognition and has become an anchor for Pirate softball."
Smith was named player-of-the-week, while Shelby Miller of Houston was named pitcher-of-the-week. Along with Ritchie, the conference selected Addison Maxwell (Memphis), Courtney Klingler (Houston), Lee Ann Spivey (USF) and Kalyn Cenal (UCF) to the Honor Roll for their efforts last week.
