Gailey, Jones, Mellot, Smith & Kibby Named Max Preps/NFCA National H.S. Players of the Week

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Senior pitcher/first baseman Emma Gailey of Cheshire Academy (Cheshire, Conn.), junior pitcher/first baseman Kiley Jones of Portage (Portage, Ind.), junior pitcher/infielder Baylee Mellot of Sheffield (Sheffield, Ala.), junior pitcher Aubrey Smith of Yates Center (Yates Center, Kan.) and sophomore pitcher/outfielder Katie Kibby of Vacaville (Vacaville, Calif.) have been selected as the MaxPreps/NFCA National High School Players of the Week for games played over April 7-13.

East Region

During the opening three contests of the Cats' campaign, Gailey batted .444 (4-for-9) with five runs scored and six RBIs, while also going 3-0 from the circle with a 0.00 ERA and 31 strikeouts over 19 innings of work. For the week she permitted just five total hits and struck out at least 10 in each of her three appearances. Her finest effort came during a 19-1 rout of Greens Farms Academy (Conn.) as she went 3-for-3 at the dish with four tallies and four RBIs, while allowing just one unearned run and striking out 11 over five innings of work.

North Region

Jones helped the Indians post an unbeaten week by batting .500 (6-for-12) with a pair of runs scored, a triple, two HR's and eight RBIs while also going 3-0 from the circle with a 0.00 ERA and 24 K's over 19 innings. During an 11-0 hammering of LaPorte (Ind.), she was 2-for-2 with a triple, a HR and four RBIs while scattering five hits and striking out seven over five frames. For the season Jones is 4-1 overall with a 0.72 ERA and 32 strikeouts over 29 innings and is hitting at a .591 clip with four extra-base hits and 14 RBIs.

South Region

Mellot batted .462 (6-for-13) with three doubles and a trio of RBIs, while registering a perfect 3-0 pitching mark, a 0.35 ERA and 27 strikeouts over 20 innings. Her finest combined effort came during a 7-1 victory over Shoals Christian (Ala.) as she went 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of two-baggers and three RBIs, while scattering five hits and punching out six in a complete-game performance. Overall, Mellot possesses an 8-3 record with a 1.07 ERA and 108 K's over 72 frames and is also hitting .326 with four doubles and seven RBIs.

South Central Region

Smith contributed all over the diamond for the still unbeaten Wildcats (8-0), going 4-0 from the circle with a 0.00 ERA, a no-hitter and 32 strikeouts over just 17.1 innings, while hitting .583 (7-for-12) with 12 tallies, two doubles, two HR's and eight RBIs. During a 15-1 romp against Neodesha (Kan.), Smith went 3-for-4 at the plate with a HR and six RBIs and struck out 11 during her first no-hitter of the campaign. She is currently in possession of a .480 average with seven extra-base hits and 10 RBIs and is 7-0 with a 1.47 ERA and 47 K's over 33.1 total frames.

West Region

Kibby registered a perfect 6-0 week for the Bulldogs with a miniscule 0.18 ERA, five shutouts and 52 strikeouts over 38 innings pitched. Her finest performance came during a 6-0 victory against Wood (Calif.) as the sophomore pitcher/outfielder struck out 13 in twirling a two-hit shutout. Thus far during the 2014 campaign, Kibby is a staggering 16-0 with a 0.67 ERA and 144 K's over 104 innings of work.

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 (if there are enough nominations to consider). 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: kwagner@maxpreps.com or call (800) 329-7324 x5153.