RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – East Central’s Emily Kennemer (pictured left) and Arkansas-Monticello’s Kayla Jackson (pictured right) have been named the Great American Conference Softball Players of the Week for their performances during the 10th week of the 2012 season.

GAC SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
East Central senior first baseman Emily Kennemer has been named the GACSoftball Player of the Week for the third time this season after hitting .700 at the plate during a four-game conference sweep of Henderson State at homethis past weekend. The Mesquite, Texas native went 7-for-10 and added threewalks to her totals for a weekly .769 on-base percentage. She had two runs batted in, four runs scored and three doubles. Kennemer started the series with her best offensive performance of the weekend, a perfect 3-for-3 outing with two runs scored and a double in ECU’s 5-0 victory on Friday, followed by a 2-for-2 showing with one run scored, one RBI, one double and one walk in a 9-1 victory to conclude the first day of the four-game set. On Saturday, she went 1-for-3 with one walk in the first game, a 7-5 victory, and concluded her weekly campaign with a 1-for-2 outing with one run, one RBI, one walk and one stolen base in the series finale 4-3 victory. Kennemer and the Lady Tigers are 19-14 overall this season and 9-9 in GAC games.

GAC SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Arkansas-Monticello senior Kayla Jackson has been named the GAC Softball Pitcher of the Week for the first time this season after tossing a no-hitter and eclipsing the 100 career wins milestone during a four-game conference sweep of Arkansas Tech this past weekend at home. The Hallsville, Texas native went 3-0 in the circle during the sweep and added a save to have a hand in each of UAM’s victories. She tossed a total of 16.2 innings during the series, allowed no runs, just four hits, seven walks, and struck out 17 batters while holding the ATU hitters to a .080 batting average. Jackson recorded two complete-game shutouts, the first coming in the series-opening 1-0 victory on Friday. It was Jackson’s 100th career victory. She allowed just four hits in that win, while striking out nine and walking just one in seven innings. She was called on in relief in Friday’s second game and picked up the win after keeping the Golden Suns hitless with two strikeouts and one walk in the final two innings to help UAM grab a come-from-behind 4-3 victory. Jackson started Saturday’s double-header by recording her sixth career no-hitter in UAM’s 6-0 win over ATU. She struck out five and allowed five walks, and only allowed ATU to reach scoring position on two occasions. Following that performance, she recorded her third save of the season by retiring the final two batters of the series finale to give UAM a 6-3 win. In addition to her pitching numbers, Jackson also contributed to UAM’s offensive success during the series, going 5-for-10 at the plate with two runs scored, four RBI, two doubles, one triple and two walks. Though this is Jackson’s first GAC pitcher of the week selection, the senior was named the league’s player of the week last Tuesday. Jackson and the Cotton Blossoms are 28-10 overall and 16-2 in GAC games with a current 15-game winning streak.

NOTABLE NOMINEES
1 – Sara Matthews, FR, 3B, Arkansas-Monticello (4-for-8, 4 RBI, 2 runs, 2 doubles, 4 walks in a 4-0 week)
1 – Ashton Long, FR, OF, Arkansas Tech (4-for-10, 1 double, 2 walks in a 0-4 week)
1 – Lindsey Lacy, SR, 2B, SE Oklahoma State (5-for-12, 1 RBI, 2 runs in a 4-0 week)
2 – Audra Rhudy, SR, P, SE Oklahoma State (2-0 week, 2 saves, 18 inn., 8 hits, 0 runs, 8 strikeouts, 1 walk)
2 – Brianna Nunley, FR, P, East Central (2-0 week, 11.2 inn., 10 hits, 2 runs, 7 strikeouts, 1 walk)
(1 - nominated for player of the week. 2 - nominated for pitcher of the week.)