BATON ROUGE – LSU’s Kirsten Shortridge and Louisiana College’s Rene’ Schwartzenburg were selected Louisiana Sports Writers Association [LSWA] Softball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week Wednesday as voted upon by the state’s sports information directors.
A senior outfielder for the Tigers, Shortridge came away with her third weekly honor in as many days after earning SEC and USA Softball Player of the Week. She went 8-for-11 at the plate fueled by a trio of multi-hit performances. The Keller, Texas native also scored seven runs, stole a base in each game and picked up three RBIs from the leadoff spot to spark the Tigers to a weekend sweep at South Carolina.
The Preseason All-SEC Team selection saved a memorable 4-for-4 effort with four runs scored for the series finale. The four hits matched a career-high, while the four runs scored equaled a program single-game record as LSU pushed its league-best winning streak to 16 games.
A junior pitcher for the Wildcats, Schwartzenburg went a perfect 4-0 this week at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s [NFCA] Division III Leadoff Classic in Panama City, Fla., as she racked up 31 strikeouts and surrendered only one unearned run in 20.0 innings of work. She pitched No. 3 Louisiana College to a 9-0 win over Gustavus Adolphus, a 2009 World Series participant, in the quarterfinals along with a 10-1 triumph over No. 5 East Texas Baptist in the championship game. Schwartzenburg also picked up shutout victories over Top 25 counterparts Emerson and Lynchburg.
It’s the second career weekly award for Shortridge and first for Schwartzenburg from the LSWA.
LSWA Louisiana Softball Hitter of the Week
Feb. 23 Ashley Langoni [LSU]
March 2 Amberly Waits [Louisiana Tech]
March 10 Christi Orgeron [Louisiana-Lafayette]
March 17 Kirsten Shortridge [LSU]
LSWA Louisiana Softball Pitcher of the Week
Feb. 23 Kylie Roos [Northwestern State]
March 2 Rachele Fico [LSU]
March 10 Cody Trahan [LSU]
March 17 Rene’ Schwartzenburg [Louisiana College]