March 29, 2010
PARK RIDGE, Ill. - For the second time in three weeks, a Penn State hurler garnered Big Ten Pitcher of the Week accolades as Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) won her first conference weekly honor on Monday. Akamine played a part in each of Penn State's two wins this past week.
Akamine tossed 18.1 total innings, including a 11.1-inning effort against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday in which she allowed just five runners on base, striking out 18 batters, walking none. Akamine backed that performance on Wednesday with a complete game win against Minnesota to salvage a doubleheader split on Saturday.
For the week, Akamine went 2-0 in three appearances with two complete games, nine hits allowed and just two earned runs against. Akamine fanned 23 batters, who only hit .143 off the sophomore ace, gathering a paltry 0.76 earned run average.
Akamine improved to 9-3 on the year, dropping her overall ERA to 2.59 on the season. Since February 19, Akamine has gone 8-1 with a 1.07 ERA in 12 appearances going the distance four times and playing a part in two shutouts. In that span she struck out 61 of her total 86 batters this season, while allowing just 36 hits and 18 walks in 59 innings of work with a batting average against of .171.
On March 15, Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif.) gathered her second career Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honor for her outstanding performances in Florida on Spring Break. It also marks the first time since 2008 that two different Penn State pitchers received a Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award.
The Nittany Lions are back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Kent State for a doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m. The games will be broadcast live on Penn State ComRadio with all the play-by-play and color analysis by Brian Tripp and Tom Ferguson.
For complete coverage of all the Nittany Lion softball this season, visit GoPSUsports.com.
Follow Penn State Softball on Twitter @PSULionSoftball.
--NITTANY LIONS--