Demi Turner Named SEC Freshman of the Week
3/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - A hot weekend at the plate including a pair of crucial hits in game one helped Alabama freshman Demi Turner earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors, announced by the Southeastern Conference Monday.
Turner was a force to be reckoned with at the plate this past weekend against eighth-ranked Georgia, hitting .538 (7-13) with multiple hits in all three games. Her two hits in game one of Saturday's doubleheader were two of the most crucial ones in Alabama's victory, scorching a rocket single down the third base line in the seventh inning to score one and tie the game at 4-4 and then blasting a solo home run in the ninth inning to put the Tide ahead in the eventual 7-4 comeback victory. She went 2-4 with an RBI in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader and then followed that with a 3-4 performance on Sunday, earning a hit in each of her first three at-bats. She drove in the first run of the game for Alabama with a single through the right side with two outs in the third inning after Haylie McCleney was intentionally walked ahead of her to load the bases.
The Huntsville, Texas native has now earned a hit in 12 of her last 14 games, including hits in all but one conference series so far this season. She currently leads the team and ranks seventh in the SEC with a .468 batting average, boasting a team-leading 37 hits and 20 RBI. Eight of her 37 hits have gone for extra bases, including three doubles, three triples and a pair of home runs. Batting primarily in the two-hole this year, she has done a great job of advancing runners as well, dropping a team-leading seven sacrifice bunts. She has started all 25 games at second base.
This is the fourth weekly conference honor earned by an Alabama player so far this season, as sophomore Sydney Littlejohn was named Pitcher of the Week twice and McCleney was named Player of the Week once. This already surpasses the entire total of weekly accolades earned during the 2014 (2) and 2013 (3) seasons. It is the first Freshman of the Week honor for Turner and the first for any Alabama player this season. Littlejohn was the last Tide player to be named Freshman of the Week, doing so on May 5 of last season after securing an outright championship for Alabama on the road at Missouri.
LSU junior infielder Bianka Bell was named SEC Player of the Week while South Carolina sophomore pitcher Nickie Blue was named the Pitcher of the Week.
