LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Senior pitcher/first baseman
Ashtin Strickland of
Santa Fe (Alachua, Fla.), junior pitcher/infielder
Casey Kauder of
Caldwell (Caldwell, Texas) and senior catcher/third baseman
Courtney Tyra of
Desert Christian (Tucson, Ariz.) have been selected as the MaxPreps/NFCA National High School Players of the Week for games played March 2-8.
SouthStrickland keyed her team to a 5-0 week and extended the Raiders' winning streak to seven games. She batted .611 (11-18) with two doubles, three home runs, four RBI, three RBI and a 1.222 slugging percentage. The senior tallied four multi-hit contest, including 4-of-4 effort with a home run and two RBI versus Ponte Vedra and leaving the yard twice with two RBI and two runs scored in a 7-1 triumph over Lake Gibson. In the circle, Strickland was 5-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 26.1 innings. She twirled a complete-game one-hit shutout over Dixie, striking out 18 in the 2-0 win. Strickland also struck out 12 and did not allow a hit in 5.1 innings of work against Buchholz and provided four innings of shutout ball versus Union County.
South CentralKauder provided a spark at the plate and in the circle helping her squad to a 4-0 week. The junior batted .667 (8-12), including .700 (7-10) with a double and four home runs in her final three games. Over the three-game stretch, she accounted for 22 of the Hornets' 35 runs with 16 RBI and six runs scored. She registered two long balls, six RBI in her final game of the week against Cameron Yoe, which was preceded by back-to-back one-home run, five-RBI performances versus Chavez (3-for-3, double, 3 runs) and Madisonville. In addition, she tossed a two-hit shutout with 18 strikeouts in a 2-0 victory over Salado. Kauder also added complete-game shutouts against Madisonville (6IP, 1H, 9K) and Cameron Yoe (5IP, 2H, 6K). For the week, she recorded 35, strikeouts and held her opponents to a .082 (5-61) batting average.
WestTyra posted a monstrous week at the plate for the Eagles as they started the season 5-0. The senior captain batted .789 (15-19) with three doubles, two triples, three home runs, 19 RBI and 14 runs scored. She recorded multiple hits and runs scored in every game and collected three-plus RBI in four of the games, including six twice. In addition, she slugged 1.631 and registered a .810 on base percentage. Tyra opened the week going 3-for-3 with a double, home run, three RBI and three runs score against St. Augustine Catholic. She also posted three hits, RBI and runs scored, resepectively versus Chandler Prep. Tyra concluded her week on Saturday, going a combined 7-for-9 with two long balls, 12 RBI and six runs scored. She hit a home run and knocked six RBI in her final two games against Fountain Hills (4-5, 3B, HR, 6 RBI, 3 R) Rand Horizon Honors (3-4, 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 3R).
MaxPreps, the official high school statistical provider of the NFCA, provides all statistics for the NFCA High School Player of the Week award. To nominate a player for the award, the coach must enter his or her athlete's game stats into MaxPreps.com by Sunday evening to be eligible that week.
The MaxPreps/NFCA High School Players of the Week are announced on NFCA every Monday during the spring season, with one representative chosen from each of five separate high school regions. During the fall campaign, just a single player is selected representing all participating regions.
MaxPreps is a free stat tool that is available to high school coaches across the country and is one of the most recognized and respected high school athletics websites on the internet. Coaches who enter their team's stats on Max Preps will not only be nominating their players for this award, but they will be getting their team's information out to thousands of high school sports fans and college coaches across the country.
To obtain a coach's login, please contact kwagner@maxpreps.com or call 1-800-329-7324 x5153.
NFCA Purpose: To support fastpitch softball coaches in their quest for excellence, while uniting together to advance the sport we love. #NFCAallin
