Fort Wayne and North Dakota State Sweep Weekly Softball Honors

3/4/2013 12:00:00 AM

ELMHURST, Ill. – Fort Wayne's Brittany Kachur and North Dakota State's Maritza Lopez-Portillo were named The Summit League's Softball Players of the Week, while Fort Wayne's Miranda Kramer and NDSU's Whitney Johnson were named Pitchers of the Week, for their performances Feb. 25-March 3.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Brittany Kachur, Fort Wayne
Jr. // IF // Blanchard, Okla.
Kachur collects her first career Player of the Week honor after helping Fort Wayne go undefeated (2-0) and posting a pair of multi-hit and RBI games at the Purple and Gold Challenge. The junior infielder went a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI and run scored in the 5-1 win over tournament host Lipscomb. She went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI in an 8-0 shutout against Tennessee Tech. For the week, Kachur hit .833 (5-for-6) with a .833 on-base percentage, 1.000 slugging percentage, five RBI, a double, a run scored and a stolen base.

Maritza Lopez-Portillo, North Dakota State
Fr. // OF // San Diego, Calif.
Lopez-Portillo earns her first career Player of the Week award after helping the Bison defeat No. 23/24 Georgia and hitting the game-winning homer against Indiana State. The San Diego, Calif., native went a perfect 2-for-2 with two doubles, a RBI and a run in the 8-0 win over Radford. She then helped her team shutout Georgia, NDSU's first regular-season win over a nationally-ranked opponent and third overall, adding a hit and a RBI. In NDSU's weekend finale, the junior outfielder blasted the game-winning three-run homer in the fifth inning, giving the Bison a 4-2 win over Indiana State. On the week, Lopez-Portillo tallied a .571 batting average (4-for-7), 1.286 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage. She added five RBI, three extra-base hits, two doubles, a home run and two runs scored.

Also nominated: Allie Mathewson, Omaha; Sammy Bingham, South Dakota State.

Previous winners: Feb. 11 – Jessica Lam, IUPUI; Feb. 18 – Erika Polidori, OU; Feb. 25 – Liz Broyles, UMKC.

PITCHERS OF THE WEEK
Miranda Kramer, Fort Wayne
So. // LHP // Burlington, Iowa
Kramer claims her second career Pitcher of the Week award after recording both of Fort Wayne's wins on the weekend and setting a school record for strikeouts in game. The sophomore opened the weekend with a two-hit fiving-inning 8-0 shutout over Tennessee Tech, striking out nine. That same day, she recorded a 5-1 complete-game win over Lipscomb and fanned a school record 16 batters. On the weekend, Kramer posted a 2-0 record with a 0.58 ERA, striking out 25 batters and walking no batters. She allowed five hits and one earned run in 12 innings of work and held her opponents to a .125 batting average.

Whitney Johnson, North Dakota State
Sr. // RHP // Lake Crystal, Minn.
Johnson garners her second Pitcher of the Week honor this season and the eighth of her career after throwing a no-hitter and a one-hit shutout, including a win over No. 23/24 Georgia. The senior recorded her second career no-hitter with an 8-0 shutout over Radford. That same day, she posted her second-straight shutout and 17^th career one-hitter in a 3-0 win over Georgia, marking NDSU's first regular-season win over a nationally-ranked team and third overall. Her two shutouts marked the 27^th and 28^th of her career. In her only loss of the weekend, the right-handed hurler fanned 14 batters vs. Indiana State. For the weekend, Johnson went 2-1 with 24 strike outs, while yielding six hits and four earned runs for a 1.53 ERA. She kept the opposing teams to a .100 batting average.

Also nominated: Ashton Hughes, Omaha.

Previous winners: Feb. 11 – Dana Elsasser, UNO; Feb. 18 – Whitney Johnson, NDSU; Feb. 25 – Dana Elsasser, UNO.

ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
Entering its fourth decade of Division I athletics, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 144,000 at nine universities, four of which are located in top 58 U.S. metro populations (Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Omaha). Member institutions include: Fort Wayne (Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), Kansas City (University of Missouri-Kansas City), North Dakota State University, Oakland University, Omaha (University of Nebraska Omaha), the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University. Previously known as the Mid-Continent Conference, The Summit League rebranded in 2007 and has since produced 54 All-Americans, 37 Academic All-America selections and seven NCAA Championships. For more information about the league and its history, visit www.thesummitleague.org to "See The Summit" or follow on Twitter @thesummitleague.

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