Four Earn Weekly MIAA Softball Honors

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Krysta Baderdeen (Southwest Baptist), Krista Cummings (Central Missouri), Amanda Self (Emporia State), and Karley Schmelzer (Emporia State) have been named MIAA Softball Student-Athletes of the Week for the week of March 1-7 as selected by a conference SID panel. Baderdeen, Cummings and Self all earn hitter of the week honors for the first time this season, while Schmelzer is also a first-time selection for pitcher of the week in 2010.

MIAA SOFTBALL HITTERS OF THE WEEK
Krysta Baderdeen, 3B, Southwest Baptist
Baderdeen hit .538 with nine RBIs, three home runs and six runs scored during six games in the week. The junior from Marshfield, Mo., tied SBU records with two home runs, six RBIs and three runs in the Bearcats’ 14-4-rout of East Central Saturday. She leads team with four home runs and 14 RBIs and also with 29 total bases and a .744 slugging percentage. Baderdeen currently has four-game hitting streak and has hit safely in 11 of 14 games.

Krista Cummings, 3B, Central Missouri
Cummings went 3-for-4 at the plate in the doubleheader against Missouri Valley this week. The senior from Kansas City, Mo., had two two-run shots in the games, as well as a double for 10 total bases. Cummings recorded five RBIs in the games, and was hit by a pitch once. She recorded a .750 batting average, a 2.500 slugging percentage and a .800 on-base percentage.

Amanda Self, C, Emporia State
Self hit .364 for the week and extended her hitting streak to eight games before going hitless in three at bats in second game of  Emporia State’s doubleheader sweep of No. 12 Central Oklahoma. The freshman from Blue Springs, Mo., set the tone in game one at UCO with an RBI single in the first and also drove in a run in the seventh inning of ESU’s 6-3 win. She was one for three with a run scored in the Hornets’ 3-1 win over NAIA No. 3 Oklahoma City. Self collected one of ESU’s five hits against Northeastern State. She went one for three against UNO and scored the only run of the game after reaching on a leadoff double in the fourth inning. She threw out pinch runner Lindsay Redding in the fifth inning to erase the only base runner for the Mavericks over the last 4.1 innings. Self capped the week by going three for three with a triple, RBI and run scored in ESU’s 4-0 win over Pitt State. She has an ESU team-high nine multi-hit and eight multiple RBI games on the season. Self has yet to commit an error in 143 chances behind the plate and has thrown out six of 14 base runners attempting to steal.

MIAA SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Karley Schmelzer, RHP, Emporia State
Schmelzer has a string of 19.2 scoreless innings. The freshman from Garden Plain, Kan., tossed a three-hit shutout in ESU’s 3-0 win at No. 12 Central Oklahoma. She came in with a runner on in the seventh against No. 21 Midwestern State and got out of the inning without allowing a hit. She gave up just three hits in 8.1 innings in the Hornets’ 1-0 loss to Northeastern State. The RiverHawks’ only run came on back-to-back bunts in the international tiebreaker. Schmelzer had ten strikeouts and only one walk against NSU. She had a 15-1 K/BB ratio for the week and averaged 6.43 K/7 IP. Schmelzer only allowed one hit with runners on base during the week.

2010 MIAA Softball Student-Athletes of the Week
2/24 - Hitter: Abby Hughes, SS, ESU; Pitcher: Richelle vanGennip, RHP, TSU
3/2 - Hitter: Megan Roark, RF, MSSU; Pitcher: Melissa Slayden, RHP, PSU
3/9 - Hitter: Krysta Baderdeen, 3B, SBU, Krista Cummings, 3B, UCM, Amanda Self, C, ESU; Pitcher: Karley Schmelzer, RHP, ESU