UNO’s Lutmer, Elsasser, NDSU’s Menke Capture Softball Honors

2/24/2014 12:00:00 AM

ELMHURST, Ill. – Omaha's Amber Lutmer was named The Summit League's Softball Player of the Week, while teammate Dana Elsasser and North Dakota State's Krista Menke were named the Pitchers of the Week for their performances Feb. 17-23.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Amber Lutmer, Omaha
Sr. // 1B // Omaha, Neb.
Lutmer garners her first career Player of the Week honor after leading Omaha to an undefeated (5-0) weekend and having a hand in half of the Mavericks' runs at the UTSA Mid-Major Classic. The senior first baseman recorded at least one hit in every game, including a pair of multi-hit games, to extend her on-base streak to 47-straight games, dating back to last season. She also drove-in at least one run in four of the five games. In the tournament opener, Lutmer helped the Mavs edge out Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 15-14 with her second grand slam of the season. On Saturday, the Omaha, Neb., native posted back-to-back multi hit games, going 3-for-4 with two homers and seven RBI in UNO's second win over the Islanders and went a perfect 4-for-4 with five RBI and her second grand slam of the tournament in the 14-5 victory against Bryant. She added another hit and RBI in the tournament finale vs. UTSA. On the weekend, Lutmer boasted a .556 batting average (10-for-18) with a 1.222 slugging percentage and a .619 on-base percentage. She tallied 17 RBI, seven runs, four home runs and two walks.

Also nominated: Dani Pugh, Fort Wayne; Alyssa Neff, IUPUI; Cheyenne Garcia, North Dakota State; Matley Jones, South Dakota; Elyse Eitel, South Dakota State; Tierney Bottino, Western Illinois.

Previous honorees: 2/10 – Kayti Hanson, Fort Wayne; 2/17 – Larissa Franklin, Fort Wayne.

PITCHERS OF THE WEEK
Krista Menke, North Dakota State
Jr. // RHP // Friend, Neb.
Menke collects her sixth career Pitcher of the Week award and first this season after going undefeated (4-0) at the University of Houston Hilton Plaza Invite. The right-handed hurler recorded three complete-game victories, including a pair of three-hitters to open and close the tournament. She started the weekend fanning nine batters and allowing no earned runs in a 3-1 win over Nicholls State and followed that up with her second win of the day, throwing 3.1 innings in relief to earn the 9-4 win over Columbia. In the junior's second start of the weekend, the Friend, Neb., native defeated Houston, who was receiving votes in latest USA Today/NFCA Top-25 poll. In the tournament finale, she struck out six and held Columbia to three hits. For the weekend, Menke fanned 24 batters, while yielding 16 hits, nine walks and four earned runs in 24.1 innings of work for a 1.15 ERA.

Dana Elsasser, Omaha
Sr. // RHP // Hershey, Neb.
Elsasser earns her first Pitcher of the Week honor of the season and fifth of her career after posting an undefeated (4-0) record at the UTSA Mid-Major Classic with a trio of complete-game wins. The senior picked up her first victory of the weekend in relief as she shutout Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for four innings, giving up no walks, hits or runs to secure a 15-14 win for the Mavs. In game two of the day, she tossed a three-hitter and struck out five in the 3-1 win over UTSA. On Sunday, the right-handed hurler ended the tournament with an extra-innings 4-1 victory over UTSA, retiring four batters on strikes. On the weekend, Elsasser struck out 14 hitters and allowed 20 hits, seven walks and four earned runs in 26.0 innings for a 1.08 ERA.

Also nominated: Megan Flenniken, Fort Wayne; Rachel Cue, South Dakota; Jennifer Sutton, South Dakota State; Kayla Kirkpatrick, Western Illinois.

Previous honorees: 2/10 – Miranda Kramer, Fort Wayne; 2/17 – 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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