[2023 MIAA Softball Athletes of the Week: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced its Softball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week for the tenth week of the 2023 season.
 
MIAA Hitter of the Week – Terin Ritz – Central Oklahoma
Terin Ritz had a big weekend at the plate as Central Oklahoma went 3-1 in league play. The sophomore pitcher/first baseman hit .727 with eight hits in 11 at bats. Ritz finished the weekend with one home run, six RBI and scored four runs while finishing with 1.000 slugging percentage and .769 on-base percentage. Ritz also went 2-0 with an 0.00 ERA in the circle.
 
MIAA Pitcher of the Week – Sara Llamas-Howell – Rogers State
Sara Llamas-Howell went 2-0 in the circle last week pitching two shutouts againt MIAA opponents. Over 11.0 innings of work, Llamas-Howell totaled nine strikeouts and no walks while scattering six hits. In the Hillcats’ 8-0 win over Missouri Western, the junior allowed just two hits and tallied four strikeouts the 6.0 innings victory. Against Northwest Missouri, she again went wire-to-wire allowing four hits with five strikeouts. Llamas-Howell currently leads the league with a 0.69 ERA.
 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Hitters
McKensy Glass – Emporia State
McKensy Glass hit .462 with a 1.178 OPS as the Hornets went 6-0 last week, which included hitting .444 with a 1.167 OPS in the four MIAA victories. In Emporia State’s 15-0 shutout of William Jewell, Glasss was hit by a pitch and walked, scoring both times with an RBI. She then went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI in the 9-1 win in the nightcap. After being held off base against Nebraska Kearney, Glass reached base in all five plate appearances against Fort Hays State. She was 1-fo-1 with a walk, single and run scored in the Hornets’ 4-3 win in game one over the Tigers. She capped the week going 3-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored in ESU’s 6-0 win over FHSU.
 
Chelsea Spain – Rogers State
Chelsea Spain led the No. 8-ranked Hillcats to a 4-0 week with sweeps of Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri. The junior hit .636 (7-for-11) with four RBI and five runs scored. Spain went a perfect 3-for-3 in the 7-1 win against the Bearcats, finishing the game a double shy of the cycle with a triple and a two-run home run.
 
Pitchers
Gracie Rabe – Emporia State
Gracie Rabe went 3-0 in the circle last week with a 0.88 ERA as the Hornets ran their winning streak to six games. Rabe started the week by taking a no hitter into the last batter in ESU’s 15-0 run rule win over William Jewell. The lone hit came with two outs in the bottom of the fifth when Alexis Dial dove for a sinking line drive in center field for a single, but the Cardinal hitter was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Rabe then took a one hitter into the fifth inning of the Hornets’ 7-2 win over UNK before giving up her only two runs of the week. She finished the week tossing 6.0 shutout innings with six strikeouts and only four hits in the Hornets’ 6-0 win over FHSU. Rabe only came out to allow senior Hannah Norquest to pitch the seventh on Senior Day.
 
Terin Ritz – Central Oklahoma
Terin Ritz had a dominating weekend in the circle as UCO went 3-1 in MIAA competition. The sophomore right-hander went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, allowing seven hits and no runs in 9.0 innings. She didn’t walk a single batter and struck out 11. Ritz threw a complete-game five-hitter in a 10-0 run-rule rout of Lincoln, then allowed two hits in a four-inning start of a 12-0 run-rule win over Central Missouri.
 
ALSO NOMINATED
Hitters: Ashlyn Cook (Central Missouri), Kalee Higdon (Missouri Western), Emily Perry (Missouri Southern), Add Wolfe (Northeastern State), Adysen Burghart (Fort Hays State)   
Pitchers: Natalie Bates (Missouri Southern), Faith Gaynor (Nebraska Kearney), Savannah Evans (Northeastern State)