March 23, 2009

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Central College softball player Angela Davis (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) and Buena Vista University baseball player Brandon Pietrzyk (Portland, Ore./Marshall) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 22. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for the three sports in competition during the week.

Softball – Angela Davis, Central College, West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley
Davis, a freshman second basemen, delivered a two-out, two-RBI hit in the sixth inning for the tying runs in Central’s come-from-behind 6-4 upset win over No. 2 and defending national champion Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She hit .419 with two triples, eight RBI, and 10 runs scored and committed just one error as the Dutch posted a 10-0 mark during the week. (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Baseball – Brandon Pietrzyk, Buena Vista University, Portland, Ore./Marshall
Pietrzyk, a junior outfielder/pitcher, finished the wee hitting .579, including five extra-base hits, to go along with 10 runs scored and eight RBI, to help lead Buena Vista to a perfect 5-0 record. Pietrzyk came into the week hitting .188 overall with only four hits and two RBI, and has since upped his average to .366. He also picked up his first win of the season on the mound during a key IIAC win over Dubuque Saturday, allowing two earned runs and striking out four over 5 2/3 innings. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Men’s Tennis – Mitch Eslick, Wartburg College, Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge
Eslick, a junior, turned a 2-1 record at No. 1 singles and partnered with junior Tom Koenen to go 2-1 at No. 1 doubles in duals against St. Ambrose, Augustana (Ill.), and Monmouth (Ill.).

Other Outstanding Weekly Performers
The IIAC also recognized the following outstanding athletic performances from the past week.

• Baseball – Loras College junior infielder Ben Kuebel (Fulton, Ill./Fulton) had a walk-off base hit in the final game of the Duhawks’ weekend series with Wartburg Saturday, giving Loras a sweep of Saturday’s doubleheader and a series win over the Knights.

• Baseball – Central College freshman pitcher Corey Eisenman (Bloomingdale, Ill./Driscoll Catholic) threw a 2-hit complete-game shutout at Coe Saturday in his first career Iowa Conference start. He also pitched three innings without giving up an earned run March 17 against Plattsburgh State. Eisenman also made two assists and one error defensively.

• Baseball – Coe College junior pitcher Cody Raisch (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) threw a complete game 9-hitter March 20 against Central, earning his first win as a Kohawk. He struck out five while allowing just one earned run and made three assists defensively.

• Softball – Coe College senior shortstop Ashley Leonard (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy) moved into second place on Coe’s career hits list with 193 with 11 during the week. She also became just the fourth player in school history with 500 career at-bats. Her two home runs over the weekend, including a grand slam March 22 against Maryville (Mo.), give her 14 for her career, the seventh most in school history. Leonard also scored the 120th run of her career, ranking third in school history.

• Softball – Wartburg College sophomore pitcher/designated player Lexy Determan (Terril, Iowa/Graettinger-Terril) fired a five-inning perfect game with 12 strikeouts in the opening game of a doubleheader against Martin Luther March 22. She ended the four-game weekend with the team offensive lead in batting average (.875), slugging percentage (1.625), and on-base percentage (.889) while posting a 2-0 record in the circle and allowing opponents to hit only .080. She did not surrender an extra-base hit or walk in eight innings of work and helped to add to the Knight pitching staff’s current string of 47 consecutive scoreless innings.

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