April 23, 2012
San Antonio – St. Mary’s softball stars Emily Brittain and Taylor Vidrine have once again been named the Heartland Conference Players of the Week, the league announced Monday.
And this announcement comes days before the Heartland Conference season awards will be unveiled, begging the question: Are they locks to win the Hitter and Pitcher of the Year awards, too?
Brittain (So., Corpus Christi, Texas), named Pitcher of the Week for the fifth time this season, is the league’s reigning Freshman and Pitcher of the Year. Her 1.96 ERA is second in the conference, and leads all pitchers with at least 20 appearances. She also leads the league with 15 wins (to go along with just three losses) and ranks second in opposing batting average (.236). Brittain also ranks third in strikeouts with 85.
She – and Vidrine – just so happen to play for the league’s best team, too, as the Rattlers wrapped up the Heartland Conference regular-season championship by sweeping St. Edward’s over the weekend to finish 13-2 in league play.
Speaking of Vidrine, the freshman sensation from San Antonio leads the league in home runs with 12 and is third in RBIs with 41. Her .390 batting average is third in the conference, and her .486 on-base percentage also ranks second.
She has those stats despite starting just 41 of the Rattlers’ 49 games, as it took her a few weeks to crack the team’s starting lineup on a full-time basis.
The Hitter of the Week award marked Vidrine’s third this season – the most won by any Heartland hitter this season. Brittain also received more Pitcher of the Week awards than any other Heartland pitcher this season.
Last week, Vidrine had a monster week, blasting four home runs against St. Edward’s, helping the Rattlers capture the regular-season crown. She totaled 13 RBIs, one double and had seven runs scored to go along with a .400 batting average for the week. Meanwhile, Brittain went 2-0 in two starts last week, posting 11 strikeouts with a 0.64 ERA.
St. Mary’s will compete in the Heartland Conference Softball Tournament Thursday-Saturday in Austin, Texas. Game times will be released later today.