BATON ROUGE — After posting a 4-0 record with wins over three top 10 teams and being named the Most Valuable Player of the NFCA Leadoff Classic, senior All-American Kristin Schmidt was named the USA Softball National Player of the Week.
The Houston, Texas, native posted wins over No. 3 and previously unbeaten California, No. 4 Washington, No. 10 Florida State, and Florida Atlantic, which is receiving votes in the poll. In 28 innings of work, she struck out 30 batters, including double-figure strikeouts against Florida State and Florida Atlantic.
“Wow, it’s definitely a big surprise,” Schmidt said of the honor. “I don’t think this would be possible if the whole team had not performed this week. Every player was at the top of her game the whole week.”
With one out and LSU holding a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Seminoles, she recorded a strikeout and coaxed a ground out to end the inning and help preserve the Tigers’ win. She also carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Washington and into the fourth inning against California.
“What a great honor for Kristin and for our program,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “Schmidt has done an incredible job in the three years she has been at LSU. It was nice to see how competitive she was this week. She made all the pitches she needed to make and her offense also came through to back her up.”
The USA Softball National Player of the Week is designed to acknowledge outstanding athletic achievement by individuals on a weekly basis. Each recipient of the USA Softball National Player of the Week Award will receive an engraved plaque and will be nationally recognized for their accomplishments. A complete list of winners can be found on the USA Softball web site at www.usasoftball.com.