Softball: Heath and Ellyson Sweep the LSWA Softball Weekly Awards +Top-Notch Efforts Land Summer El

Duo made key impact in No. 13 Louisiana’s key wins over Troy and Texas State

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LAFAYETTE – Outfielder Karly Heath and right-handed pitcher Summer Ellyson, both of members of the 13th-ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Softball team, were the recipients of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association softball player awards for April 12-18, the LSWA announced.

Heath was named the LSWA Hitter of the Week, and Ellyson was chosen Pitcher of the Week.

The awards are based on nominations and voting by the state’s college softball publicists, who are not permitted to vote for their own players. Athletes from four- and two-year colleges are eligible for the awards.  

About Karly Heath:
• Sophomore from North Augusta, S.C., and a graduate of North Augusta High School.
• Week: Hit .545 (6-for-11) with five RBIs, four runs, a double, two home runs, one walk and one stolen base during the Ragin’ Cajuns’ 3-1 week.
• Hit two home runs in a 7-3 Sun Belt Conference home victory against Texas State – the first two-homer game of her career.
• Season: Hitting .286 (18-for-63) with nine extra-base hits, five home runs, 15 RBIs, on-base .357, slugging .587, 16 runs.
• The Ragin’ Cajuns are 34-7 overall, 16-2 Sun Belt (first place out of 10 teams) with a No. 14 national ranking.
• Next for the Ragin’ Cajuns: 4 p.m. Tuesday at home against Louisiana Tech.

About Summer Ellyson:
• Senior pitcher from Lafayette, La., and a graduate of Teurlings Catholic High School.
• Pitched complete-game victories in the final two games of a Sun Belt home series against Texas State – 12 strikeouts in a 7-3 victory, then a one-hitter in an 8-0, six-inning decision the following day.
• Week: 18 innings, 3-0 record, 1.94 ERA . . . 13 hits, five runs, five earned runs, one walk, 22 strikeouts, three games, two complete games.
• Season: 15-4 record, two saves, 2.35 ERA . . . 28 games, 19 starts, six complete games, 115 strikeouts, 101 hits and 18 walks in 119 innings.
• Pitcher of the Year on the LSWA’s 2019 All-Louisiana team.
• The Ragin’ Cajuns are 34-7 overall, 16-2 Sun Belt (first place out of 10 teams) with a No. 14 national ranking.
• Next for the Ragin’ Cajuns: 4 p.m. Tuesday at home against Louisiana Tech.

Heath, Ellyson and the Ragin’ Cajuns are back at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park on Tuesday (April 20) closing out their April homestand with a 4 p.m. single game against Louisiana Tech. The matchup airs live on ESPN?, and fans can also follow on SportsRadio ESPN 1420-AM and CajunStats.com.
 
Following the LA Tech matchup, No. 13 Louisiana travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a weekend showdown with No. 5 Alabama. The nationally ranked squads are set to meet Saturday-Sunday, April 24-25 at Rhoads Stadium with first pitch set for 1:30 p.m. (CDT) each day live on SEC Network Plus.

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Directed No. 13 Louisiana to vital wins that secured series victory over Texas State

LAFAYETTE – Summer Ellyson earned three wins combined in matchups with Troy and Texas State, allowing Louisiana to maintain its position atop the Sun Belt standings, and those efforts were recognized on Tuesday as she was named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week.
 
The senior right-hander collected the 12th SBC Pitcher of the Week award of her illustrious career. She has now claimed at least one weekly award in each of the past four seasons competed.
 
It’s the second weekly award of the 2021 season for No. 13 Louisiana (34-7, 16-2 Sun Belt), adding to Kandra Lamb’s honor back on March 30 following the series sweep of South Alabama.
 
In 18 innings of work combined against the Trojans and Bobcats, Ellyson yielded just five runs, scattered 13 hits and struck out 22.
 
Her week began by sewing up the road series sweep of Troy on Monday, working five innings and not allowing a runner to reach scoring position aside from a third-inning home run.
 
Over the weekend in the Texas State series, Ellyson took control in the circle after the series-opening defeat and steered Louisiana to back-to-back wins to claim yet another critical conference series victory. She worked 13 innings in the circle against the Bobcats and limited them to a .188 average, yielded just three runs, scattered nine hits, didn’t issue a walk, and struck out 19.
 
Ellyson wrangled control in the series back to the Ragin’ Cajuns dugout with 12 strikeouts in a Game 2 victory where she carried a shutout into the sixth inning. On Sunday, she twirled a one-hit shutout of the Bobcats in the rubber match facing only one batter over the minimum in six innings.
 
Louisiana, which has received at least one SBC Player or Pitcher of the Week award since the inception of the league in 2000, now owns 91 pitcher of the week awards in program history.
 
Ellyson and the Ragin’ Cajuns are back at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park on Tuesday (April 20) closing out their April homestand with a 4 p.m. single game against Louisiana Tech. The matchup airs live on ESPN�, and fans can also follow on SportsRadio ESPN 1420-AM and CajunStats.com.
 
Following the LA Tech matchup, No. 13 Louisiana travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a weekend showdown with No. 5 Alabama. The nationally ranked squads are set to meet Saturday-Sunday, April 24-25 at Rhoads Stadium with first pitch set for 1:30 p.m. (CDT) each day live on SEC Network Plus.