Date Posted: 4/16/2007

MACON, Ga. – A pair of first-time honorees claimed A-Sun Weekly Softball honors as Belmont’s Sarah Vaughn and ETSU’s Marissa Hardy were tabbed by the league office.

Vaughn helped Belmont snap a 10-game skid and keep the team’s postseason hopes alive with clutch performances in a pair of A-Sun victories. The sophomore from Lenoir City, Tenn., went 9-for-16 (.563) for the week while driving in six runs. In Belmont’s surprising upset of league leader Kennesaw State, Vaughn went 4-for-4, scoring twice and putting the game away with her solo homer in the bottom of the sixth inning. The shortstop went 3-for-4 in Belmont’s nightcap victory over Mercer. Vaughn also extended her streak of consecutive games with RBI to five at the end of the week. She majors in Marketing.

Hardy improved to 3-0 on the season as she picked up both wins for the Bucs Friday night against Jacksonville. The Rocklin, Calif., made two relief appearances Friday, allowing two runs on six hits in 6.2 IP while fanning nine Dolphins. The freshman hurler tossed three scoreless innings in game two against the Dolphins, and recorded a season-high seven strikeouts. Those two wins briefly put the Bucs atop the A-Sun standings. Hardy added 2.2 scoreless innings in game one at North Florida on Saturday, extending her consecutive scoreless streak to 5.2 IP. She majors in Interdisciplinary Studies.

The Atlantic Sun Conference hands out Player and Pitcher of the Week awards weekly during the 2007 softball campaign.

The 12-member league headquartered in Macon, Ga., consists of Belmont, Campbell, ETSU, Gardner-Webb, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Mercer, UNF and Stetson with Florida Gulf Coast and USC Upstate beginning competition in 2007-08.

OTHER TOP PERFORMERS
• Jillian Mirante, Jacksonville
(Jr. – OF – Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. – Business Management Major)
Batted .625 in five games

• Jamie Madruga, Mercer
(Jr. – 1B – Warner Robins, Ga. – Criminal Justice Major)
Hit .529 leading Mercer to 2-2 A-Sun week

• Jessie Hackworth, ETSU
(So. – 3B – Clinton, Tenn. – Exercise Science Major)
Drove in eight runs for high-powered Bucs offense

• Gwen Williams, UNF
(Jr. – 2B – Jacksonville, Fla. – Health Science Major)
Posted .533 average with 9 RBI

• April Keasler, Kennesaw State
(Sr. – OF – Acworth, Ga. – Exercise & Health Science Major)
Extra-base machine with .813 slugging percentage for week

• Erica Demers, Stetson
(So. – P – Miami, Fla. – Integrative Health Science Major)
Fired one-hit shutout vs Campbell in only appearance of week

• Taryn Beck, Gardner-Webb
(Jr. – P – Bethel, Ohio – Sociology Major)
Went 2-0 for the week to move within two wins of GWU record

Related Links:
 • A-Sun Softball