PacWest Release
Phoenix, AZ -- After achieving a sub-1.00 ERA and winning three of four starts in Hawaii this past week, Academy of Art University's
Kimberly Dauer was awarded Pacific West Conference Pitcher of the Week honors. The PacWest's current innings pitched leader struck out 27 batters in 29.0 innings which included three complete games and a shutout. In addition, sophomore infielder
Lauren Stover helped propel the Urban Knights to their 5-1 week on the islands by hitting over .460 and posting her second 10-game hit streak this season. The honors were announced by the PacWest Media Office in Phoenix, AZ on Monday, Mar. 26 for games played Mar. 19-25.
Starting off the week with a tough outing at Hawaii Pacific (Mar. 18), Dauer (9-8) then allowed just one earned run in her second pairing with the Sea Warriors a day later despite ART U's loss (Mar. 19). Bouncing back from the HPU series, Dauer would blank Chaminade with a two-hit shutout that included only a single walk and three strikeouts (Mar. 21). That performance was followed by a career-high 10 strikeouts in a program record 10.0 innings pitched to begin the BYU-Hawaii series (Mar. 23). The Los Osos, CA native would strike out four more in 1.1 innings of game two that day before finishing strong with a complete 6.0 innings, two earned runs allowed, and nine strikeouts in a win over the Seasiders on Mar. 24.
Dauer continues to lead the ART U pitching staff in a host of statistical categories this season. She has the most innings pitched (113.1, 1st in PacWest), ERA (3.09, 12th in PacWest), wins (9, 5th in PacWest), complete games (12, 2nd in PacWest), and strikeouts (62, 3rd in PacWest). The junior's recent success has come in the form of a 0.97 ERA and the aforementioned 27 strikeouts in her last 29.0 innings which saw her allow just four earned runs, three extra-base hits, as well as a .213 batting average against during that span. Her season ERA dropped nearly half a run while in Hawaii where she went 4-2.
Few ART U hitters were as consistent throughout the entire Hawaii roadtrip as Stover. The sophomore had posted a team-best 10-game hit streak earlier in the season (Feb. 17-Mar. 10) and built back yet another after the first game on the islands. Her week began with a 1-for-3 game at HPU (Mar. 19) before she matched the program record with a 4-for-4 game two. She continued to wield a hot bat with a 3-for-7 series against Chaminade (Mar. 21) which saw her score three times in the opening contest alone. That game also included Stover's ninth double of the year and was the second consecutive outing with her notching an RBI. The Las Vegas, NV native would drive in a pair in her 3-for-8 day opening the series with BYU-Hawaii (Mar. 23). She then added her 10th multi-hit game of the year, her team-best 10th double, and her sixth stolen base on the final day of the trip.
Stover batted .464 (13-for-28) during the week with eight runs scored, two doubles, four RBIs, two sacrifice bunts, and went a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts. She also contributed a .536 slugging percentage and was again on-base in half of her at-bats (.500).
This is the first Pitcher of the Week honor for Dauer this season and the third overall in her career. Stover picks up her second Weekly Top 10 selection of the 2012 season and the fourth in her career.
