USF's Osborne, TCC's Lorscheider Fuel Perfect Weeks, Gain Weekly Softball Accolades
CHICAGO --- A 1.385 slugging percentage from University of St. Francis' Brittany Osborne (Romeoville, Ill.) and two shutouts tossed by Trinity Christian College's Katie Lorscheider (Norridge, Ill.) have earned the pair Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week accord, respectively, for the seven-day period ending March 31, the league office announced on Tuesday morning.
Osborne delivered five extra-base hits among her eight total with two doubles, a triple and two home runs leading to the impressive slugging percentage. She also batted .615 (8-for-13) with five runs batted in and five runs scored, and coaxed three walks.
The graduate student shortstop had a big series in a two-game sweep of CCAC rival Olivet Nazarene University on Thursday, going 5-for-6 with two home runs and four RBIs. The two home runs came as part of a perfect 3-for-3 contest in the 9-1 first-game victory. She collected another two hits, including one triple, and scored one of the team's two runs in the 2-1 Game 2 decision.
Osborne continued her offensive sharpness on Friday, going 3-for-7 with two doubles and an RBI in a pair of wins over Rochester Christian University (Mich.). That enabled her to finish the week hitting safely in all four contests (three multi-hit affairs), scoring at least one run in each game and authoring an extra-base hit in each affair.
St. Francis' 4-0 week put the Saints at 16-8 overall and 2-0 in league contests.
Lorscheider not only posted the two shutouts, but also delivered a five-inning no-hitter in her second game. That was an 8-0 victory over Siena Heights University (Mich.) on Thursday, where she struck out two batters and walked only one.
The senior's other victory in the circle came on Wednesday in a 3-0 decision over conference foe Indiana University South Bend. In that contest, she permitted just three hits, while walking two over seven innings. She also had five strikeouts.
For the two games combined, Lorscheider allowed just the three hits and three walks against seven strikeouts in her 12 innings pitched.
Winners of six games in a row, including four this past week, Trinity Christian is 13-15 overall and 2-0 against CCAC competition.
Other Player Nominations: Brynn Dvoracek (Roosevelt), Charlie Sartoris (Trinity Christian), Jordan Watts (Indiana South Bend), Aubrey Wroble (Saint Xavier).
Other Pitcher Nominations: Kiersten Manning (St. Francis), Samantha Norman (Roosevelt), Savannah Hamilton (Indiana South Bend), Laila Summers (Saint Xavier).