Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Hutchinson Community College softball freshman third baseman Olivia Sandoval and super-sophomore relief pitcher Kierstan Weitze are both off to tremendous starts to the 2023 season and on Tuesday, both were honored by the Jayhawk Conference as the league's Division I Player and Pitcher of the Week.
Sandoval hit safely in all four games and Weitze earned two pitching wins as No. 17 Hutchinson roared out of the gate to 4-0 start to the season.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Olivia Sandoval
The freshman from Newton had a tremendous debut for the Blue Dragons and she didn't slow down.
Sandoval became the first Blue Dragon since Izzy Godinez in in 2018 to have a four-hit game in the season opener, which was January 27 against the Ottawa JV in Ottawa. Sandoval was on base in all five plate appearances with a double, three singles and a walk. Her five RBIs are the first season opener with five or more RBIs in the game since Kiara DeCrane's six RBIs in the 2018 season opener.
Sandoval is off to a hot start with 10 hits and 16 RBIs out of the No. 2 slot in the batting order for the Blue Dragons. Against the McPherson JV on Sunday, she had a combined five hits and eight RBIs in a doubleheader sweep of the McPherson JV.
She hit safely in four straight games and is slugging .750. She is the first Blue Dragon in team history with two five-RBI games in the first four games of the season.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – KIERSTAN WEITZE
The third-year sophomore from Spring Hill, Kansas, came out of the bullpen and pitched the Blue Dragons to two victories in the first two weeks of the season.
The Blue Dragons were behind early in each of her appearances, but Weitze came in and did a solid job in both appearances.
Weitze worked three innings out of the bullpen and allowed three hits and one unearned run with a pair of walks and four strikeouts against Ottawa. She followed that performance with 3 2-3 innings of scoreless relief with five strikeouts.
Weitze worked 6 2-3 innings with nine strikeouts and two walks. She allowed seven hits and one unearned run to earn her first KJCCC Pitcher of the Week honor.