OKLAHOMA CITY — A big week in the circle for Alabama’s Alexis Osorio (Riverside, Calif.), including three wins in the Crimson Tide’s opening week of Southeastern Conference (SEC) play, helped land her Week 5 USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Week. Announced today by USA Softball, this marks the first USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week award for the junior pitcher, whose efforts over the week helped land her atop the NCAA leaderboard with 161 strikeouts this season.
“This is such an honor to receive this award,” Osorio said. “Thank you to USA Softball and thank you to my teammates and coaches who have pushed me to my full potential from the start. I’m truly honored and thankful for receiving this award.”
Osorio started her standout week with a complete game, one-hit shutout of Loyola-Chicago, in which the California native struck out 18 batters in the 5-0 win. Osorio would continue that momentum into a three-game SEC series against a Top 25-ranked Arkansas, where she would pick up an additional three wins. In their opening game of the series, Osorio pitched a one-hit, 9-0 (five inning) shutout while fanning eight Razorback batters. In her next appearance in the circle, Osorio would ultimately earn the win in relief after pitching one and two-third shutout innings as Alabama picked up the 4-3 (nine inning) win in their second game of the series. Alabama would complete the series sweep as Osorio pitched yet another shutout, her fourth of the week, as the Crimson Tide collected a 5-0 (six inning) win. Pitching all six innings, Osorio would add another 10 strikeouts to her weekly total while giving up just one hit.
“What a tremendous honor from USA Softball for Lexi,” said Alabama Head Coach Patrick Murphy. “She has been awesome all season long and this award is a testament to her hard work and determination in the off-season. Thank you to USA Softball for recognizing her.”
For the week, Osorio went 4-0 with only four hits and five walks allowed through 19 and two-third scoreless innings. The junior right-hander also issued 39 strikeouts on the week.
Alabama (24-2), rose one spot in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll this week following their unblemished week of play. The Crimson Tide are slated for a mid-week meeting with Winthrop and Georgia Southern before heading to Starkville, Miss. to face SEC foe Mississippi State.
2017 USA Softball National Collegiate Players of the Week
Week 1 (Feb. 9-12): Sierra Hyland – Cal Poly – Senior – Pitcher – Visalia, Calif.
Week 2 (Feb. 13-19): Alyssa Denham – Louisiana – Freshman – Pitcher – Alvin, Texas
Week 3 (Feb. 20-26): Mo Mercado – Arizona – Senior – Infield – Temecula, Calif.
Week 4 (Feb. 27-March 5): Nicole Schroeder – Arkansas – Senior – Outfield – Yorba Linda, Calif.
Week 5 (March 6-12): Alexis Osorio – Alabama – Junior – Pitcher – Riverside, Calif.
About USA Softball
USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 70 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million. USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch. USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.
As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit, www.USASoftball.com.
About the NCAA Women’s College World Series
ASA Hall of Fame Stadium – OGE Energy Field serves as the home to the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS). For the 27th year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and compete for a national championship. Last year, over 78,000 fans attended the WCWS. Be there to Share The Experience with softball fans from across the country June 1-7 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2017 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and secure your championship experience!