Lenoir-Rhyne’s Brittany Cherry, Wingate’s Allison Smith Named Softball Players Of The Week

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Wingate University pitcher Allison Smith (Daleville, Va.) and Lenoir-Rhyne University left fielder Brittany Cherry (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) have been named the South Atlantic Conference Pitcher and Player of the Week, league officials announced Monday.

Wingate's Smith went 2-0 on the week, including a shutout of No. 9 Francis Marion, 2-0. The sophomore also fired the Bulldogs to 3-2 win at Tusculum. For the week, she compiled a 0.79 ERA in 17.2 innings of work.

Smith started her week with a complete-game shutout over the ninth-ranked Patriots, allowing only four hits while striking out seven.

Brittany Cherry

Allison Smith

She also went 3.2 innings in the second game without giving up an earned run. The Daleville, Va. native went the distance at Tusculum, allowing two runs on six hits in seven innings of work while striking out four. She is 10-3 on the year with a 0.98 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 86 innings.

L-R's Cherry led the Bears to a 5-1 record last week, pounding out a team-high 11 hits and seven RBI. The junior from Myrtle Beach, S.C., batted .458 (11-for-24) for the week and had four multi-hit games. She also hit a solo home run in the Bears' 12-5 win in a sweep at Lincoln Memorial on Saturday. Cherry, a two-time All-SAC selection, is batting .356 on the season and leads the team with four home runs and 21 RBI.

The SAC Player of the Week is determined by a vote of the league's sports information directors.