LOUISVILLE, Ky. –West Chester’s Trisha Kopinetz and Malone’s Kelsey Byers were named Louisville Slugger / NFCA Player of the Week and Wilson / NFCA Pitcher of the Week, respectively. They were recognized for their outstanding performances in contests played during the week of March 8-14.

Kopinetz, a sophomore from Pine Grove, Pa., was nearly perfect at the plate as the 20^th-ranked Golden Rams opened 2021 with four wins in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference play. She reached base safely in all but one of 14 plate appearances, going 9-for-10 with four multi-hit contests and three multi-RBI games. Kopinetz registered three doubles, three home runs, nine RBI and seven runs scored, while slugging 2.100 and reaching base at a .929 clip. She homered twice, drove in four and scored three times in game one of a doubleheader versus Mansfield. Kopinetz also left the yard and knocked in three in a season-opening victory over Lock Haven. 

Byers was a workhorse in the first week of the season for Malone. The junior righty was 6-0 with a 0.21 ERA and 69 strikeouts to just two walks in 34 innings of work. In her first start of the season, Byers tossed a five-inning perfect game versus Rochester University on March 8. She fanned nine in the first known perfect game in program history. Byers, a native of Alliance, Ohio, fanned a career-high 16 batters on two occasions against Rio Grande University and Mississippi College for Women (one-hit shutout).

2021 Weekly honors

Selected Top Performances

Madison Fernandez, Angelo State - .636, 3 2B HR, 12 RBI, 6 R, 1.727 SLG; Anna Kasner, Western Washington – 2-0, 0.54 ERA, 2 R, 1 ER, 14 K, 3 BB, perfect game vs. Saint Martin’s; Anna Shenefield, Rollins – 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 14 K, BB, .188 opp. BA, 0.71 WHIP; Lily Tanski, Harding – 3-0, 0.91 ERA, 20 K, 23 IP, .103 opp. BA, no-hitter vs. Arkansas Tech; Whitney Wendel, Lindenwood - .667, 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, SB, .800 OBP, 2.333 SLG; Carissa Della Vecchia, St. Thomas Aquinas - .444, 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 8 R, .522 OBP, 1.111 SLG / 3-0, 2.58 ERA, 36 K, 19 IP; Kayla Betts, Saint Leo – 2-0, 0.49 ERA, 14 K, 3 BB, SHO, 14.1 IP; Kali Crandall, Oklahoma Christian – 3-0, 1.08 ERA, 18 K, 9 H, 2 ER, .164 opp. BA; Kiley Robb, Valdosta State - .400, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 4 R, BB.