MOC pair honored by CVAC

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on March 9, 2005 2:16 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive College pitcher Shauna Cowdrey was named the NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference softball pitcher of the week Tuesday.

The award is the first for Cowdrey and the first this season for a Mount Olive player.

A sophomore from Alta Loma, Calif., Cowdrey pitched 12 scoreless innings in a pair of shutouts Sunday as the Trojans won their final three games of the Catawba College Invitational over the weekend.

Cowdrey, who started all five games in the tournament, tossed a complete game three-hit shutout Sunday morning in Mount Olive's 1-0 win over West Virginia Wesleyan. She retired 12 of the last 13 batters she faced and did not allow a hit after the first inning.

Sunday afternoon against Coker (S.C.) College, Cowdrey allowed three hits and tossed five scoreless innings as the Trojans posted their second consecutive 1-0 victory. Saturday, she allowed one unearned run in seven innings pitched as Mount Olive defeated Queens 2-1 in eight innings.

Cowdrey posted a 0.68 earned run average in 31 innings pitched.

Mount Olive is scheduled to entertain Wingate this afternoon at Nancy Chapman Cassell Field. The doubleheader begins at 2 p.m.

Staatz recognized

MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive College pitcher Justin Staatz was named the CVAC baseball pitcher of the week Tuesday.

The award marks the second consecutive week a Mount Olive player has earned pitcher of the week honors. Philip Pennington won the award last week.

Staatz, a junior from Woodstock, Md., posted a 0.00 earned run average in 121/3 innings of relief during two appearances last week. He entered Mount Olive's game at nationally 13th-ranked Augusta State in the fifth inning with the score tied 9-9 and pitched 42/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win. He allowed two hits and struck out seven.

Against Limestone, Staatz struck out 10 batters in 72/3 innings of relief. He retired 20 consecutive batters during one stretch and held the Saints scoreless and hitless until a two-out error in the 13th inning led to two unearned runs and the only hit he allowed.

For the season, Staatz is 3-2 with a 2.63 ERA. He has 27 strikeouts in 271/3 innings pitched.

Mount Olive returns to action Thursday at 2 p.m. as the Trojans play host to Francis Marion in a non-conference contest at Scarborough Field. The two teams were scheduled to play Wednesday, but structural damage to Scarborough Field caused by Tuesday's wind and rain storm forced cancellation of the game.