RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Morgan Max and Kayleigh Jones swept this week's Great American Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week awards after leading Oklahoma Baptist to a 4-0 record last week, the league announced on Monday.
Jones has now been named the conference Pitcher of the Week six times this season. For Max, it is the first GAC weekly accolade of her career.
The duo helped the Bison set a new program record for regular-season and conference wins in a season. After the sweep of Ouachita Baptist over the weekend, OBU improved to 37 wins and 22 GAC victories, its best in the DII era.
Max led the team with a .636 batting average, finishing 7-for-11 inside the batter's box through four games. She blasted two home runs and collected six RBIs en route to a slugging percentage of 1.182. Furthermore, Max totaled 13 bags and registered an on-base percentage of .583.
The sophomore began the week by recording her third straight game with a home run. It was the longest home-run streak on the team this season. Then she opened the series against Ouachita with a 3-for-3 showing at the plate. Max brought in two runs and scored another while batting .571.
On Saturday, Max batted 2-for-3 before finishing 1-for-1 in the finale. She charted one home run and three RBIs without striking out.
Max skyrocketed her batting average from .296 to .328 after last week's performances. She adds the second-most RBIs (31) and home runs (6) on the team and is riding a seven-game hit streak.
Jones posted a 3-0 record after a near-flawless 18.1 innings of work. She tallied three straight appearances with 10-plus strikeouts, highlighted by 12 against SNU, for a total of 33 punchouts. The senior finished the week with a .76 ERA after facing 75 batters.
Furthermore, Jones became the program's all-time leader in career wins and single-season victories. Jones improved her season record to 26-5 and career mark to 60-26.
This season, Jones stacks up with the best in Division II softball: 1st in strikeouts (268), 2nd in complete games (21), 2nd in shutouts (10), 2nd in victories (26), and 5th in ERA (.76).
The Bison return to action this weekend for their last road series of the year at Henderson State.
