SARAH PRATT, CASEY HAMMONS NAMED GSC WEST DIVISION SOFTBALL PLAYER AND PITCHER OF THE WEEK RESPECTIVELY

        RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech’s Sarah Pratt and Casey Hammons have been named this week’s Gulf South Conference West Division Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week by the league office in Birmingham, Ala., after helping the Golden Suns begin GSC play with a 6-0 record.

Pratt, a junior rightfielder from Garland, Texas becomes the first Golden Sun to earn Player of the Week honors, while Hammons, a sophomore righthander from Carthage, Texas, earns her second Pitcher of the Week honor this season. Senior Dana Aldrich (Palm Harbor, Fla.) was named the league’s West Division Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 9.

“That is tremendous to have two of our players honored by the league in the same week,” Golden Suns Head Coach Gidget Pambianchi said. “Both Sarah and Casey had a tremendous week for our softball team.”

Pratt, a Preseason All-GSC West Division selection, earns this week’s Player of the Week honor after hitting .565 for the week in helping Tech go 6-0 as it posted a doubleheader sweep over Delta State and collected four wins over Southern Arkansas to open league play. In addition to hitting .565, Pratt had 13 hits in 23 plate appearances and scored 10 runs and was a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen bases. She had a slugging percentage of .609 and an on-base percentage of .583. In four games against SAU, Pratt was 7-for-15 at the plate with seven runs scored and was 4-for-4 on stolen bases.

Hammons earns her second West Division Pitcher of the Week honor after picking up three wins and a save for the Golden Suns. In 17.2 innings of work, Hammons, who tossed two complete games, allowed only 14 hits and two earned runs, while walking four and striking out 15 and recorded an ERA of 0.79 on the week.

In addition to Pratt and Hammons, Alabama-Huntsville senior outfielder Marilyn Cooper and Alabama-Huntsville freshman pitcher Caitlin Lee were named the GSC East Division Player and Pitcher of the Week respectively.

Both Pratt and Hammons and the rest of the Golden Suns return to action on Friday, March 21, when they travel to Arkadelphia, Ark., to face Ouachita Baptist. The doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. The two teams will play a doubleheader in Russellville on Saturday, March 22, beginning at 11 a.m.

Complete GSC Softball Weekly Release

-- Tech Athletics --