April 23, 2003
On Wednesday, April 23, 2003, Louisville Slugger and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association named St. Mary’s University pitcher Kym Kling as the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II Player of the Week. Kling’s national honors came one day after becoming the first player ever to garner both Heartland Conference pitcher of the week and hitter of the week honors in the same week.
Kling pitched for the win against No.-2 ranked Angelo State in the first game of a double header, then turned around and threw a no-hitter in the second game versus the Rambelles. She also hit a walk-off three-run homerun to end the game in the fifth inning.
Kling went 9 for 15 (.467) in the batters box for the week, with two homeruns and 12 RBIs. In the pitchers circle, Kling went 4-0, including both wins against Angelo State. Her ERA for the week stood at a miniscule 0.29, with 22 strikeouts and only two walks.
During the week of April 14-20, Kling’s torrid hitting and pitching pace led the Rattlers to a 6-0 record. The Rattlers swept Angelo State, ranked No. 2 in the nation, on April 15, with both games being called after five innings because of the eight-run rule. Heartland Conference foes University of the Incarnate Word on April 17 and St. Edwards University on April 19 were the next to fall to the Rattlers during the week.
Next up for the Rattlers is the Heartland Conference Tournament Thursday through Saturday at the University of the Incarnate Word. St. Mary’s is ranked fourth in the nation by the NFCA coaches poll and first in the South Central Region by the D-II regional committee.