Softball's Lauren Haeger is SEC Freshman of the Week
Monday, March 12, 2012 | Softball
For the second time this season, Gator freshman Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz.) has been tabbed the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week. The weekly honor for Haeger comes following Florida's five-game SEC-opening road swing, as UF opened the conference slate 4-1 with a mid-week doubleheader sweep over Mississippi State, and a series win at No. 9 Tennessee this past weekend. After the first 25 games of the season, Florida is 23-2 overall on the year.
Not only was Haeger a factor at the plate, but the first-year Gator earned her first career save in the circle donning the Orange and Blue in UF's series-evening victory Saturday in Knoxville, while picking up the win Sunday after 3.2 innings of scoreless relief in the series finale against the Lady Vols to improve to 7-1 on the season.
Through the past week's five games, Haeger registered a team-leading .417 batting clip, highlighted by her career-best 3-for-4 day at the plate Saturday against the Lady Vols. The USA Softball Women's Junior National Team member reached base in all five games over the past week to extend her current streak to 11, ranking third on the team.
Having started all 25 games her inaugural season on campus, Haeger leads the Gators offensively in walks drawn (21) and doubles (6). She ranks second in RBI (23), third in on-base percentage (.506) and home runs (4) and fourth for the Orange and Blue in slugging percentage, with a .633 mark.
In the circle, Haeger earned a start in game two at Mississippi State and worked herself and the Gators out of two crucial jams at Tennessee. In Saturday's contest, Haeger entered the circle in the sixth inning, the score 5-2 in favor of UF, with runners on second and third, no outs and the game-tying run at the plate. Haeger proceeded to walk UT's Shelby Burchell for bases loaded with no outs, but subsequently forced a fielder's choice that eliminated the lead runner at the plate for the first out and retired Tennessee's next two batters by strikeout to get out of the inning. She then retired three Lady Vols in order in the bottom of the seventh for the save.
In Sunday's contest, Haeger and freshman counterpart Alyssa Bache (Clearwater, Fla.) tossed a combined shutout for the series win in Knoxville. After Bache's 3.1 innings of work and a 1-0 Florida lead, Haeger took over pitching duties with one out in the fourth and runners on second and third. Once again, Haeger walked Burchell to load the bags, but the righty forced a fly out and a ground out for the second and third outs of the frame. She went on to close out the UF victory, limiting the Lady Vols to just two hits through the final three innings for her seventh win of the season. For the Gators, Sunday's 1-0 victory at Tennessee marked their 14th shutout of the 2012 season, as UF earned its third straight three-game series win over Tennessee.
Haeger and the Gators return home to Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium Wednesday for a non-conference mid-week doubleheader with Chattanooga before playing host to South Carolina in their first home conference three-game series. First pitch against the Lady Mocs Wednesday is set for 5 p.m.
2012 Player of the Week Accolades
> Feb. 13: Sami Fagan, SEC Freshman of the Week
> Feb. 20: Brittany Schutte, SEC Player of the Week
> Feb. 20: Lauren Haeger, SEC Freshman of the Week
> Feb. 21: Brittany Schutte: NFCA Division I National Player of the Week
> March 12: Lauren Haeger, SEC Freshman of the Week
