March 17, 2008

Greenville, S.C. - Furman pitcher Lana Mackey was named Southern Conference Pitcher-of-the-Week and fellow Paladin Meredith Mielke garnered SoCon Player-of-the-Week honors, it was announced on Monday by the league office.

The pair guided Furman to a 4-2 record last week, including a 3-1 worksheet and tie atop Pool B in this past weekend's Winthrop/adidas Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. The sophomores combined to go 13-of-32 at the plate with a double, triple, four home runs and 14 RBI in Furman's six games.

Mackey allowed just five earned runs in 26 innings while posting a 3-1 record and 1.35 ERA in five appearances in the circle. The Perry, Ga., native limited Charlotte to just one earned run on five hits over nine innings in Furman's 3-2 victory last Wednesday before tossing two scoreless innings and notching two extra base hits in a game two loss. After holding Vermont to no earned runs on six hits to earn a 6-3 victory on Friday, Mackey pitched two innings of scoreless relief to pick up a win over Gardner-Webb later in the day. Mackey also belted a grand slam against the Bulldogs in Furman's 11-run fourth inning. On Sunday, the designated player hammered a solo shot to center field to give Furman a 1-0 victory over Charlotte.

Mielke batted .438 (7-16) for the week, including three two-hit games. The Matthews, N.C., product earned Winthrop/adidas Invitational All-Tournament honors after a record setting performance in the Paladins' 13-3 victory over Gardner-Webb. The centerfielder belted her first career homer in the third inning to trim the Bulldog lead to 3-2. In the fourth, Mielke lined a grand slam to right field to equal Furman single game records with two homers and six RBI.

Furman, 10-11 on the season, returns home to host USC Upstate in a non-conference doubleheader Wednesday at 3 p.m.