Monday, April 09, 2007

MACON, Ga. (April 9, 2007) - In a week where almost any member of the ETSU softball team could have been named Atlantic Sun Player of the Week, senior Stephanie Gaynord (Manassas, Va.) received the honors by the league office Monday afternoon after her dominating efforts over Belmont and Lipscomb this past weekend.

Gaynord's stats speak for themselves as she posted four outstanding performances over the weekend, hitting an astonishing .833 (10-12) with a double, four home runs, seven RBI and 11 runs scored. The senior leadoff hitter also recorded a massive slugging percentage of 1.917.

The shortstop kicked things off Friday by going a perfect 6-for-6 with two home runs, two RBI and six runs scored as the Bucs swept the Bruins, 10-2 and 13-3. She also tied the school record for most hits in a single game with her 4-for-4 performance in game two against Belmont. On Saturday, Gaynord and the rest of ETSU's bats continued to be on fire as they swept at the time first-place Lipscomb, 12-0 and 13-1. Gaynord made her Senior Day a memorable one by belting a home run in both games, and finishing 4-of-6 (.667) with a double, five RBI and five runs scored against the Bisons.

The Manassas, Va., native majors in Business (Marketing), and became the first ETSU softball player to receive the honor this season.

The Bucs have now won four straight games as they have scored 48 runs on 47 hits over this stretch, and improved to 20-20, 7-3 in the Atlantic Sun, and set a new ETSU record for its offensive output during the four-game stretch. 

The Atlantic Sun Conference hands out Player and Pitcher of the Week awards weekly during the 2007 softball campaign.

The 12-member league headquartered in Macon, Ga., consists of Belmont, Campbell, ETSU, Gardner-Webb, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Mercer, UNF and Stetson with Florida Gulf Coast and USC Upstate beginning competition in 2007-08.