DALLAS – After one of her most dominant weeks in the circle yet, WKU Softball junior Kelsey Aikey has earned Conference USA's Pitcher of the Week title. The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native registered 13 scoreless innings of work across the week while striking out 21 opposing batters as the Hilltoppers went a perfect 4-0.
"Kelsey Aikey had a great week in the circle," head coach Amy Tudor commented. "She got better and stronger as the week progressed; her performance on Sunday was as good as it gets. I'm proud of her."
Sunday's performance saw Aikey enter the game in a save situation with no outs and a runner on second in the top of the sixth inning. The junior proceeded to strike out the next three Charlotte batters to get the Red and White back to the dugout with their 3-0 lead still intact. Back out for the top of the seventh, Aikey continued her tear through the 49er lineup and recorded the first and third outs of the final frame for a five-strikeout, six-out save. The save was Aikey's fifth of the season – a new WKU single-season record and the most in Conference USA.
Across the week, the junior made three relief appearances along with one start. In her relief outings, Aikey posted 14 strikeouts against just two walks and three hits. In total, she recorded at least two strikeouts in an inning seven times and sat down the side twice across her 13 innings.
As WKU improved to 22-5 overall and 6-0 in league play with the 4-0 week, Aikey picked up two wins from the circle along with a save. She's now 5-3 on the season with a 1.92 ERA overall which drops to a perfect 0.00 mark and 2-0 in Conference USA action.
Aikey is the second Hilltopper pitcher to be recognized as the league's pitcher of the week after Kennedy Sullivan shared the honor the week of March 4. With this award, Aikey now owns three C-USA Pitcher of the Week accolades after collecting two during her sophomore campaign.
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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