Keep an eye on these seven players who could be primed and ready for a standout performance in week eleven.
Kelsey Bennett, Virginia Tech
>>> Fresh off of breaking the program’s freshman home run record on Wednesday night, Bennett will look to lead her team in a tougher-than-advertised weekend series against North Carolina. Bennett has been a breakout bright spot in the Hokies’ offense, and will be a valuable bat for her team in a series against a Tar Heels team that has pulled off some quality wins this season, including winning the series against Florida State last weekend. Bennett sits fourth on the team with a .410 batting average and now boasts thirteen home runs and forty RBI on the year.
Brittany Hitchcock, Hawaii
>>> Hitchcock’s comeback story from multiple back injuries and surgery has been an understatedly-impressive one. A 2018 surgery led into her sixth year of eligibility, as a redshirt senior, and she has stepped up to the plate for the Rainbow Wahine, to the tune of a team-leading 1.71 ERA in just shy of 120 innings pitched. Hitchcock and freshman Izzy Dino have combined for a hearty 1-2 punch in the circle, and have opponents batting .235 between them. Hitchcock is undefeated in conference play, and will be heavily relied upon if the Rainbow Wahine are going to stay atop the conference and emerge with a series win over Cal State Fullerton this weekend.
Mary Iakopo, Texas
>>> The former Oregon transfer has been a hot hand for Texas in the month of April, batting .421 since March 31st. The Longhorns backstop seems to have adjusted well to the differences between Big 12 and PAC 12 play, but will get her first taste of the Red River Rivalry this weekend. She has hit four home runs with a 1.053 slugging percentage during that same time span since 3/31, and should be a valuable bat in the ‘Horns order as they seek to upset the consensus #1 team and their archrivals, Oklahoma.
Brooke Yanez, UC Davis
>>> After a breakout freshman season that saw her post some stellar numbers, including a 1.75 ERA, Yanez has posted even better numbers in her second go-around, currently sporting a blistering 0.93 ERA and a 20-3 overall record, allowing just nineteen earned runs in 143 innings of work to this point. The second-year star has already surpassed the 200 strikeout plateau, and owns a better than 4/1 strikeout/walk ratio. In a series against a quality UC Riverside team, Yanez’s arm should remain the X-factor for the Aggies, and don’t look past her bat, either – she has hit four home runs this year in fifty-five at-bats.
Danielle Williams, Northwestern
>>> Quietly the Big Ten’s best team, and undefeated in conference play, the emergence of Williams in the pitching circle has made a world of difference for the Wildcats. The freshman hurler holds a 1.16 ERA on the season and owns twenty-one wins in her inaugural collegiate offering. In more than 150 innings of work, Williams has allowed just twenty-five earned runs and holds a strikeout/walk ratio of nearly 9/1. With impressive statistics, Williams’ presence and dominance in the circle has been a major catalyst to Northwestern’s success this season, and she’ll look to lead her team to more of the same in their last home series of the year, against Purdue.
Carolyn Lee, Stanford
>>> Lee has reached over 100 innings pitched in each season of her career, but was cast into the shadows a year ago after the emergence of Maddy Dwyer. Lee has made impressive strides this season in the circle, currently sporting a 2.13 ERA that is nearly three full runs below her previous career-low. Along with Dwyer, Lee has helped the Cardinal anchor down and grow exponentially in the pitching department, a major catalyst to the team’s resounding success thus far this season. Lee will have to lead her junior circle-mates as they seek to calm the explosive bats of Arizona this weekend.
Brittany Finney, Ole Miss
>>> Since her transfer from Oklahoma, Finney has been used in a variety of roles for Ole Miss, both as a pitcher and an offensive player, but seems to have hit her stride as a #2 pitcher behind Molly Jacobsen. The senior actively sports a 2.27 ERA on the season and boasts an 11-5 record thus-far; the eleven wins have already passed her career total from her previous two years with the Rebels. She has thrown a career-high ninety-five innings, with eighty-six strikeouts. Always a heavy bat on the offensive side, Finney owns eight home runs on the year with thirty-three RBIs. Both numbers are career highs.
Photo of Brittany Hitchcock via hawaiiathletics.com & Andrew Lee/Hawaii Media
