March 15, 2005
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Arizona State University freshman pitcher Katie Burkhart and sophomore first baseman/designated player Sharee Zaleski swept the Pac-10 Softball Pitcher and Player of the Week honors for the week of March 8-14, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced Tuesday. This is the first weekly honor for both Zaleski and Burkhart and the awards are the 41st and 42nd all-time honors for the Sun Devils.
Zaleski was one of the main offensive players to carry Arizona State to five straight wins, including a game-winning home run in the championship game as ASU shut out No. 2 California, 1-0 to win the National Invitational Softball Tournament title in Sunnyvale, Calif. Overall, Zaleski batted .600 (6 for 10) with four home runs, five runs scored and 11 RBIs. She had 18 total bases and a slugging percentage of 1.800. She also had an on-base percentage of .583, hit a sacrifice fly and a sacrifice bunt.
In the championship game against second-ranked California, Zaleski tallied the only run of the game in the fifth inning as she took Cal pitcher Kristina Thorson's pitch over the center field fence.
In the quarterfinal game against UC Davis, Zaleski went 2 for 2 with two home runs, including a grand slam with five RBIs. In the semifinal game against Colorado State, Zaleski went 2 for 2 with another home run and five more RBIs.
On the year, Zaleski is batting .300 with a team second-best nine home runs and 25 RBIs. She has scored 13 runs and holds a .714 slugging percentage.
Burkhart went 3-0, including a complete game two-hit shut out over No. 2 California to lift ASU to the NIST title. She won three of ASU's five games, combined for a no-hitter and did not allow a single run to score the entire tournament. In four appearances, Burkhart pitched 16 and two-thirds innings, posting a 0.00 ERA and allowed only two hits with 30 strikeouts. She also held opponents to a 0.38 batting average.
In the championship game against Cal, Burkhart recorded her third win at the NIST, allowing only two singles with nine strikeouts. In the combined no-hitter against UC Davis, Burkhart pitched the first four innings to pick up her second win of the tournament, facing 12 batters with seven strikeouts.
Against host San Jose State, Burkhart posted her first win of the tournament, pitching three and two-thirds innings with 10 strikeouts (faced 12 batters). Burkhart also pitched two innings in the semifinal game against Colorado State, striking out four of the six batters she faced.
Overall, Burkhart holds an 8-2 record, including two no-hitter, four shutouts and four saves with a team-leading 0.31 ERA. In 15 appearances she has pitched 67 innings, allowed only three earned run with five walks and 110 strikeouts (six double digit strikeout games).