Fort Wayne’s Franklin, Kramer Capture Weekly Softball Awards

2/17/2014 12:00:00 AM

ELMHURST, Ill. – Fort Wayne's Larissa Franklin and Miranda Kramer were named The Summit League's Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week for their performances Feb. 10-16.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Larissa Franklin, Fort Wayne
Jr. // OF // Maple Ridge, B.C.
Franklin claims her first career Player of the Week honor after posting three perfect performances at the plate and helping the Mastodons upset No. 15/16 Texas, Fort Wayne's first win over a ranked team in Division I history. The junior opened and closed the tournament batting 1.000 in wins over Louisiana Tech. In the tournament opener she was 1-for-1 with three walks and two runs scored and closed out the tournament going 2-for-2 with two runs scored and a stolen base. In Fort Wayne's 3-2 extra inning victory over the Longhorns, the outfielder added a hit and two runs, including the game winner. The Maple Ridge, B.C., native's best performance of the weekend came against No. 7/9 Kentucky going 3-for-3 with her first collegiate home run. For the weekend, Franklin recorded a .583 batting average (7-for-12) with a .833 slugging percentage and .688 on-base percentage. She tallied seven runs, two RBI, a homer and a stolen base.

Also nominated: Ali Mosier, IUPUI; Allie Mathewson, Omaha; Morgan Hancock, South Dakota; Sammy Marshall, Western Illinois.

Previous honorees: 2/10 – Kayti Hanson, Fort Wayne.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Miranda Kramer, Fort Wayne
Jr. // LHP // Burlington, Iowa
Kramer garners her fifth career Pitcher of the Week award and second-straight of the season after a 3-1 record at the Texas Longhorn Invitational, including a 3-2 extra-innings win over No. 15/16 Texas. In back-to-back complete games, the left-hand hurler recorded double-digit strike outs against ranked opponents this weekend. In Fort Wayne's first Division I win over a ranked opponent, she retired 12 Longhorn batters on strikes and didn't allow an earned run, while fanning 11 against No. 7/9 Kentucky. The junior also earned both victories over Louisiana Tech, striking out six in tournament opener in relief and another six in the tournament finale. On the weekend, Kramer struck out 35, while scattering 20 hits, eight walks and three earned runs in 21.2 innings of work for a 0.97 ERA.

Also nominated: Jocelyn Oppenhuis, IUPUI; Dana Elsasser, Omaha; Rachel Cue, South Dakota; Kayla Kirkpatrick, Western Illinois.

Previous honorees: 2/10 – Miranda Kramer, Fort Wayne.

ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
In its fourth decade of Division I athletics, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 120,000 at eight institutions, including three located in top 60 U.S. metro populations and two land-grant universities. Member institutions include: Denver (University of Denver), Fort Wayne (Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), North Dakota State 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 eight NCAA Champions, 62 All-Americans and 50 Academic All-America selections.

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