Dunne Named SEC Freshman of the Week
2/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ?? After another outstanding weekend in the pitching circle, true freshman Kelsi Dunne of the top-ranked University of Alabama softball team has been named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week, the league announced today.
Dunne, a native of Port Orange, Fla., made a successful return trip to her home state over the weekend, helping the Tide move to 15-0 on the season with five wins at the 2008 Golden Panther Invitational, hosted by Florida International University in Miami.
The rookie pitcher made history on Friday, Feb. 22, when she tossed the 12th no-hitter in school history in a 6-0 win over Illinois. Dunne allowed only two Illini base runners in the game, one on an Alabama fielding error and the other on her only walk of the contest. She struck out nine Illinois batters and moved to 5-0 on the season with the win.
“Kelsi was really great for us all weekend long, as she has been pretty much throughout the season,” said UA head coach Patrick Murphy. “To throw a no-hitter as a freshman is really impressive, and to do it against an Illinois team that had just beaten a ranked squad from UCLA makes it even more special.”
Dunne earned her second save of the season in a rematch with Illinois on Saturday, coming on in relief of Chrissy Owens in the Tide’s 2-0 victory. She pitched one inning and struck out all three batters she faced for the save.
Her final appearance of the weekend came against Florida International, where she earned her sixth win of the season in as many starts. Dunne pitched five full innings, struck out six and did not allow a run in the 8-3 Alabama victory.
For the weekend, Dunne pitched 13 innings, striking out 18 batters while not allowing a run to cross the plate. She has a perfect 6-0 record as a starter and two saves as a reliever to go with an 0.36 ERA on the season and a team-high 60 strikeouts.
Dunne becomes the second Alabama player in as many weeks to earn SEC honors after teammate Brittany Rogers was named league Player of the Week last Monday.
The No. 1 Crimson Tide travels to Seattle, Wash., this weekend to compete in the U of Washington Husky Invitational alongside Washington, Portland State and Nevada.
