FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 19, 2013

 

Hawai’i Pitcher Kaia Parnaby selected as USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week

 

OKLAHOMA CITY ---  Kaia Parnaby (Bilgola Plateau, NSW, Australia) is the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week for March 11-17, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today.  The Hawai’i senior played a key role in helping the No. 23 Rainbow Wahine go 6-2 on the week including a win over No. 15 Baylor and take home the Chevron Spring Fling Tournament Championship. Parnaby pitched 51 total innings in seven games and only allowed four runs.

 

“I’ve really felt in the zone for most of the season,” said Parnaby. “In the last few years I’ve gone through some struggles so I worked especially hard this offseason. I always want to keep improving to be the best I can be and help the team out.”

 

The senior southpaw finished the week with a .41 ERA and capped it off by breaking UH’s single-game strikeout record with 17 against Syracuse in the championship games of the Chevron Spring Fling. Parnaby had 76 K’s over the course of the week and finished with six wins and just one loss.

 

“She has just done a phenomenal job this year and has realized her potential,” said Hawai’i Head Coach Bob Coolen. “We didn’t know what to expect out of her in terms of endurance because she didn’t have a chance to exert herself last year, but she has really accepted the ball this whole season so far.”

 

This is the first ever USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week honor for Hawai’i. The Rainbow Wahine are currently ranked No. 23 in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll.

 

2013 USA Softball National Collegiate Players of the Week Week 1 (Feb. 7-10): Keilani Ricketts - Oklahoma - Senior - Pitcher– San Jose, Calif. Week 2 (Feb. 11-17): BB Bates – UCLA – Senior – Outfield – Victorville, Calif. Week 3 (Feb. 18-24): Mel Dumezich – Texas A&M – Senior – Pitcher – Whiting, Ind.

Week 4 (Feb. 25- March 3): Katie Keller – Louisville – Junior – Second Base – Livermore, Calif.

Week 5 (March 4-10): Ivy Renfroe – Tennessee – Senior – Pitcher – Jackson, Tenn.

Week 6 (March 11-17): Kaia Parnaby – Hawai’i – Senior – Pitcher – Bilgola Plateau, NSW, Australia

 

 

About ASA The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 210,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.

About USA Softball USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine World Championship titles including the last seven consecutive as well as claimed six World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.
About the NCAA Women’s College World Series The ASA Hall of Fame Stadium serves as the home to the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS). For the 23rd year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and complete for a National Championship title. Last year, over 75,000 fans attended the WCWS. Experience It Live May 30 to June 5 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2013 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and make a date with champions!

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------  Steven Embree | ASA/USA Softball

Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications 2801 NE 50th | Oklahoma City, OK 73111 Work: 405-425-3422 | Cell: 405-207-1004 E-mail: sembree@softball.org | Web: www.usasoftball.com