ST. LOUIS – Senior catcher Dayna Kennedy and freshman pitcher Hannah Meeks have been named the Missouri Valley Conference's Player and Newcomer of the Week respectively as announced by the conference office on Tuesday.
Kennedy, a senior from Decatur, Ill., started all three games behind the dish for Illinois State in the Redbirds' weekend series at Valparaiso. She made huge contributions at the plate as Illinois State scored 37 runs over the three-game series. Kennedy was 7-for-10 (.700) while posting three consecutive multi-hit contests. In the first game of the weekend, Kennedy was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and 3 runs scored which was a career high for the senior. The following game was Kennedy's best of the weekend as she was 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. In the series finale against the Beacons, Kennedy started a chain of seven consecutive singles in her first at-bat and then blasted a three-run home run in her second at-bat of the inning as the Redbirds put up 13 runs in the second inning alone. It was her third multi-hit contest of the weekend as she was 2-for-3 with a home run, 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. Defensively, she collected 13 putouts with a perfect fielding percentage while catching three different pitchers. Overall, she slashed .700/1.500/.727 in the series sweep of the Beacons with two home runs, two doubles, a walk, 7 runs scored, and 7 RBI.
Meeks, a true freshman from Naperville, Ill., got the start in the circle in the series finale against Valparaiso and tossed her second one-hitter of the season and her young career. Meeks picked up her sixth win in the circle to lead all Redbird pitchers in W-L with a 6-2 overall record. In the finale against the Beacons, Meeks faced one above the minimum in her five-inning, complete game shutout while only allowing one hit and striking out two. She allowed the lone hit for the Beacons in the top of the second, but then proceeded to retire the next 12 batters in a row to earn the victory in the circle. She did not allow a single walk or hit-by-pitch and Valpo had one baserunner the entire game (from the hit in the second inning). This is Meeks' second one-hit bid this season as the freshman achieved this feat earlier against Jacksonville State (2/25/23) in her second career start. She holds a 1-0 record with a 0.00 ERA in Valley play so far.
Both Kennedy and Meeks earn their respective honors for the first time in their careers.
ON DECK
Illinois State (14-15, 4-1 MVC) will host the UIC Flames (0-28, 0-6 MVC) for a three-game weekend series at Marian Kneer Stadium on Mar. 31-Apr. 2 with the first game of the series set for Friday, Mar. 31 at 5 p.m. CT.
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