BATON ROUGE, La. – In a vote by the sports information directors and media relations professionals around the state of Louisiana, Bianka Bell and Baylee Corbello of LSU were named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Player and Pitcher of the Week it was announced today by the organization.
This is the second award this season for Bell, who last week was named the LSWA Player of the Month for February, while this is the first for Corbello this season and her third time overall to be honored by the group.
Bell led all LSU players with a .778 batting average in four games for LSU last week, as the team improved to 25-0 and swept Arkansas in the team’s first conference series of the year. Bell earned seven hits on the week, knocking three doubles, a triple and a home run, as she is now the all-time home-run leader in program history, finishing the week slugging 1.667 with an .857 on-base percentage. The Tampa, Florida, native was walked five times, including three times in the series finale against the Razorbacks, with two being intentional. In her first at-bat against Arkansas in game two of the series, Bell started the scoring and secured the home run record which has stood since 2010 with her 34th career round-tripper. She knocked a double in three of the four, while hitting her first triple as well.
The sophomore Corbello became the first pitcher this season to twirl a no-hitter against an opponent for the Tigers, as in her only start of the week she fanned eight while walking none in a win over Northwestern State last week. It was the first collegiate no-hitter for Corbello and the 35th in program history. No ball left the infield as she retired the first 10 batters she faced in a row, tossing a perfect game through 3.1 innings before it was halted due to a hit batter. Still, she retired the side in four of the five innings in the contest. It was her sixth win of the season and third shutout, as she has tossed 14 complete scoreless innings with one unearned run crossing in her last 21 total.
LSWA Softball Player of the Week
February: Bianka Bell, LSU
March 9: Bianka Bell, LSU
LSWA Softball Pitcher of the Week
February: Allie Walljasper, LSU
March 9: Baylee Corbello, LSU