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Oregon pitcher Cheridan Hawkins earns USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week honors
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OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oregon Ducks  improved their record to 18-2 over the weekend at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla. thanks in part to pitcher Cheridan Hawkins (Anderson, Calif.). The sophomore pitched the Ducks to three shutout wins and entered in relief  to take No. 1 Florida to eight innings before falling 2-1. Through 24 innings in the circle, Hawkins gave up just one run (unearned) and struck out 49 batters, averaging just over two Ks per inning. For her efforts, Hawkins has been named the USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Week the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today.
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"This is a great honor for not only Cheridan but for the Oregon softball program," said head coach Mike White. "I know she will be the first to credit others on her team - she is that type of person and teammate. A true competitor who settles for nothing less than her best effort every time she toes the rubber."
Hawkins was 3-1 on the week with a perfect 0.00 ERA, 49 strikeouts and just five walks in 24 total innings in the circle helping the Ducks move up from No. 6 to No. 5 in this weeks ESPN.com/USA Softball College Top 25 poll. On Friday, facing an Auburn squad with just two losses on the season, Hawkins struck out 12 batters and allowed just three hits to shut out a Southeastern Conference (SEC) team that was averaging nine runs per game. Friday evening, with the Ducks clinging to a 1-1 tie with the No. 1 Florida Gators, Hawkins was called on to pitch three innings of relief. The Sophomore rang up five of the first six batters she faced before allowing the game-winning run in the eighth.
On Saturday in her second start of the week, Hawkins went the distance, tossing seven scoreless innings, scattering three hits with 16 strike outs in the 2-0 Oregon win. It was the fifth shutout for Hawkins and the seventh complete game of the year for the lefty. Hawkins rung up 16 batters for the second time in as many days on Sunday as Oregon defeated Illinois State 2-0 to close out the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic.
With the three wins, Cheridan improved her yearly record to 10-2 and now holds a 1.00 ERA with eight complete games and six shutouts. This is the first USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week honor for Hawkins and the first for an Oregon Duck since Jessica Moore earned the award in Week 13 of the 2013 season. The Ducks return to action this week, March 12-15, at the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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2014 USA Softball National Collegiate Players of the Week
Week 1 (Feb. 6-9): Kylee Lahners - Washington - Junior - Infielder– Laguna Hills, Calif.
Week 2 (Feb. 10 -16): Aimee Creger - Tulsa - Senior - Pitcher– Yukon, Okla.
Week 3 (Feb. 17-23): Ally Carda – UCLA – Junior – Pitcher – Elk Grove, Calif.
Week 4 (Feb. 24 – March 2): Cheridan Hawkins – Oregon – Sophomore – Anderson, Calif.
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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 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.5 million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.
About USA SoftballÂ
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. Â
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About the NCAA Women’s College World SeriesÂ
The ASA Hall of Fame Stadium serves as the home to the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS). For the 24th year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and complete for a National Championship title. Last year, over 70,000 fans attended the WCWS. Experience It Live May 29 to June 4 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2014 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and make a date with champions!
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Steven Embree | ASA/USA Softball
Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications
2801 NE 50th |Â Oklahoma City, OK 73111
Work:Â 405-425-3422 | Cell: 405-207-1004
E-mail: sembree@softball.org | Web: www.usasoftball.com
