IRVING, Texas – Behind the first extra-inning no-hitter in WKU Softball history, sophomore Kelsey Aikey has earned Conference USA Co-Pitcher of the Week honors, the league office announced Monday afternoon. The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native collected her first C-USA weekly honor after recording 12.2 innings of work from the Chattanooga Challenge with a 1.66 weekend ERA.
Aikey was untouchable from the circle Thursday night inside Chattanooga's Frost Stadium, taking the 12th no-hitter in WKU Softball history through eight innings before the Hilltoppers were able to walk off in the bottom of the frame. The right-handed sophomore tossed a career-best seven strikeouts against zero walks and a lone hit-by-pitch en route to her first win of the season. Aikey needed just 85 pitches in her second career complete game shutout.
With two weeks of the 2018 softball season already in the books, 21 no-hitters have been recorded, however, Aikey is the only pitcher to carry the feat through extra innings.
In her last appearance of the weekend, Aikey tossed the final 4.0 innings in WKU's 16-4 rout of Tennessee State on Saturday. Facing 14 batters, Aikey allowed just one hit in the appearance while striking out three.
Across her four weekend appearances, Aikey (2-1) allowed a total of five hits while holding the 47 opposing batters she faced to just a .119 batting average. She registered 11 punch outs across Chattanooga Challenge play while allowing just two walks and a hit by pitch.
Aikey's laurel is the first for the Hilltopper softball squad this season. The last pitcher to earn C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors was Kathryn Downing on March 7, 2016. A year prior - WKU's first season in the league - Miranda Kramer collected eight weekly pitching awards.
After spending the first two weekends on the road, the Hilltopper squad will play its next 11 games from the WKU Softball Complex. Coming up next, the Red and White will welcome Green Bay, Toledo and Indiana State to town for the Hilltopper Classic.
How to Follow the Hilltoppers: For complete information on WKU Softball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUSoftball, Instagram @WKU_Softball and Facebook /WKUSoftball.
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