STARKVILLE, Miss. — A day after being named SEC Player of the Week, LSU outfielder Rachel Mitchell took home Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week Tuesday as announced by the NFCA for the week of March 16-22.
Mitchell is the fifth Tiger to earn this prestigious award joining former All-Americans Trena Peel (March 27, 2002), Britni Sneed (April 24, 2002), Kristin Schmidt (March 3, 2004) and Emily Turner (May 2, 2007).
The Tigers (20-6, 7-2 SEC) also jumped from No. 21 to No. 17 in the latest edition of the USA Today/NFCA Top 25.
“This is an outstanding honor for our program and for Rachel,” head coach Yvette Girouard said. She’s really swinging the bat well and producing timely hits in key situations for the Tigers during the brunt of our SEC schedule.”
Five of Mitchell’s six hits last week produced runs for the Tigers as Mitchell racked up 11 of the team’s 22 RBIs. She batted .353 and racked up a .706 slugging percentage.
Mitchell provided a game-tying, three-run double in the fifth inning during game two against then-No. 2 Alabama. She also cranked a three-run home run in the first game turning a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead and knocked the go-ahead double during game two of Saturday’s doubleheader at Mississippi State.
“This award is an honor and was totally unexpected,” Mitchell said. “I’m glad our team has been able to play well over the last couple of weeks.”
LSU squares off Tuesday at Ole Miss with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. Live stats of both games of the doubleheader from Oxford will be available on LSUSports.net