University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Jenkins Tabbed Conference USA Hitter Of The Week
3/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Jenkins Tabbed Conference USA Hitter Of The Week
Auriel Jenkins |
HATTIESBURG, Miss.
? Southern Miss senior outfielder Auriel Jenkins has been named the Conference USA Hitter of the Week for the week ending March 28.
Jenkins helped lead the Lady Eagles to four victories over the week, including a midweek win over intrastate foe Mississippi State and a three-game sweep over C-USA opponent Houston, which was previously undefeated in league play.
This marks the first time that a Southern Miss player was named as a player of the week since April 28 of last season, when Heather Bell and Jessica Holaway received hitter and pitcher of the week honors, respectively.
The Pearl, Miss., native finished the week 8-for-13 for a .619 average, to go along with two home runs and eight RBIs. Jenkins also collected two walks and tallied a stolen base. The senior hit a monstrous, three-run blast to key a 6-0 victory over Mississippi State on Tuesday, and followed that with a five-RBI performance that included a two-run home run in a 14-0 victory over the Cougars on Saturday. In that game, Jenkins was a triple away from the cycle and the RBI total was the most by a Lady Eagle this season. For the week, Jenkins led the team in hitting in one game and was tied for the team lead in two other games. She also finished with a 1.154 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base average.
Jenkins currently leads the Lady Eagles (18-17, 6-3 in C-USA) with a .361 batting average and a .542 slugging percentage. She also has 30 hits, three doubles, four home runs and 17 RBIs. Jenkins carries a .430 on-base percentage and also has six stolen bases.
Along with Jenkins, USF's Leigh Ann Ellis and DePaul's Sarah Martz also were honored, earning C-USA Co-Pitcher of the Week accolades.
Ellis pitched three wins and one save to lead USF over an undefeated week. The lefty pitched two one-hitters and struck out 21 batters in 17.1 innings over four games. Ellis allowed no earned runs during the stretch and has improved her ERA to 0.83. Her opponents managed to grab just six hits off of her, all of which were singles. Martz led DePaul to a 5-1 record in its first weekend of C-USA play against Charlotte and East Carolina. The senior tallied four complete game league wins, striking out 22 batters in 28.0 innings pitched. Martz only walked five in 104 batters faced. She allowed just four earned runs and kept her opponents? batting average down to .163.
Southern Miss travels to Southeastern Louisiana for a midweek game on Wednesday, and then hosts C-USA opponent UAB in a three-game series Saturday and Sunday at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
