Nunes Named PacWest Pitcher of the Week; Sprinkle Repeats as Top Freshman
Ben Rosehart
IRVINE, Calif. – Concordia University Irvine softball teammates
Callie Nunes and
Sydney Sprinkle both garnered recognition from the PacWest Conference after helping the No. 14 Eagles stretch their winning streak to 11 games during their recent road trip.
Sprinkle repeated as the PacWest Freshman of the Week and Nunes was named PacWest Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season.
A sophomore
who was named Division II National Player of the Week earlier this year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), Nunes tossed her fourth no-hitter of the season (and sixth of her career) in this past Wednesday's 4-0 victory over Academy of Art. Nunes struck out a dozen batters in that sizzling appearance, marking the tenth time this season she has racked up double-digit strikeouts.
Nunes' no-hitter also had special meaning to the team because it delivered Concordia head coach
Crystal Rosenthal her career win No. 500 with the Green and Gold.
For the week, Nunes went 7-0 (4 starts, 3 relief appearances) with 40 strikeouts, nine walks, and a miniscule 0.22 ERA over the course of 31.1 innings. The Modesto, Calif. native leads all of Division II with 29 wins this season and also ranks in the top ten with 222 strikeouts.
"Callie was Callie, making big pitches and keeping us in every game," said Rosenthal.
Sprinkle hit an eye-popping .522 (12-for-23) with two homers, 9 RBI and three runs scored this past week. The Palm Desert, Calif. native smashed a home run
in back-to-back wins over Holy Names and leads the No. 14 Eagles with nine round-trippers this season.
The reigning PacWest Freshman of the Week, Sprinkle bats in the heart of the order and has started at both catcher and first base this season.
"Sydney has a knack with coming up with big hits but what was most impressive for us was her defense," said Rosenthal. "She made some big time plays that don't really show up in stats."
"I'm proud of our whole group," added Rosenthal. "Last week was a grind but we played well and moved a step closer to our goals."
The first-place Eagles will visit Biola this Thursday for a doubleheader before returning home for Senior Day on Saturday, April 27 against Azusa Pacific. If CUI wins both games on Thursday, they will clinch the regular season title for the second straight year.
For the full CUI softball schedule, click here.
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