LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For their impressive efforts during games occurring over April 1-6,
Steph Thomas of
Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.) High School,
Brianna Gardner of
Princeville (Princeville, Ill.) High School, Princeville, Ill.,
Morgan White of
Forest (Ocala, Fla.) High School,
Haidyn Bassett of
Oskaloosa (Oskaloosa, Kan.) High School and
Tayler Misfeldt of
Tracy (Tracy, Calif.) High School have been selected as the MaxPreps/NFCA National High School Players of the Week.
EAST REGION: A junior pitcher/outfielder for Immaculate Heart Academy, Thomas got the job done both at the plate and in the circle for the Eagles as they opened their season a perfect 4-0. She hit .500 at the dish (5-for-10) with three walks, two steals and a pair of RBIs, while posting a 4-0 pitching mark with a 0.00 ERA and 28 strikeouts over 25 innings of work. Included in her efforts was a five-inning, five-K no-hitter during an 11-0 victory over Paramus Catholic (N.J.) and a 3-for-4 effort at the dish with a pair of RBIs in an 8-0 triumph over DePaul (N.J.).
NORTH REGION: A senior center fielder for the Princes, Gardner led her team's efforts from the plate this week, hitting 12-for-18 (.667) with 10 runs scored, two triples, a HR and eight RBIs. She was an impressive 4-for-5 with a three-bagger, two runs scored and two RBIs during an 8-7 victory over West Prairie (Ill.) and was 2-for-4 with a HR and five RBIs in topping Galva/Williamsfield (Ill.), 18-3. For the year Gardner owns a .600 batting average (18-for-30) and 16 runs scored for 7-2 Princeville H.S.
SOUTH REGION: A freshman pitcher/first baseman for Forest H.S., White was 9-for-16 (.563) at the plate with three runs scored, a double, two HR's and four RBIs, while also registering a perfect 4-0 mark from the circle with a 0.42 ERA and 51 strikeouts over 33 innings of work. She tossed a complete-game one-hitter and struck out 13 during a 5-0 victory over Dunnellon (Fla.) and recorded 17 K's in a 3-1 (11 inn.) thriller against Fleming Island (Fla.). For the year White possesses a 13-3 overall record with a 0.81 ERA and 170 K's over 129.1 frames, while hitting .333 with five doubles, four HR's and 16 RBIs.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION: A rookie pitcher/first baseman, Bassett got the Bears off to a quick start in 2013 by going a perfect 6-0 from the circle with a 0.33 ERA and a ridiculous 83 strikeouts over just 42 innings of work, while also hitting .333 (7-for-21) with four runs scored, two doubles, a triple and six RBIs. She struck out 10 or more in each of her six appearances for the week, with a high of 18 during a 9-2 victory over Pleasant Ridge (Kan.), and also went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and three RBIs.
WEST REGION: A junior pitcher/infielder for the Bulldogs, Misfeldt was 5-0 overall from the circle with four complete game shutouts, a 0.27 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 26 frames of effort. Perhaps her finest performance for the week came during a 9-0 rout of Bear Creek (Calif.) as Misfeldt struck out 15 in firing a complete-game, three-hit shutout. For the season she currently boasts a 9-2 overall record with five blankings and 90 K's over just 67 innings.
MaxPreps.com, 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 for that week's award.
The MaxPreps/NFCA High School Players of the Week will be announced on NFCA.org 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 will be 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 web sites 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, as well as college coaches across the country.
To obtain a coach's login, please contact: kmccauley@maxpreps.com or call (800) 329-7324 x5153.
