Northwestern University Athletics
Foster Earns National Player of the Week Honors
4/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 29, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern University freshman Courtnay Foster (Tucson, Ariz./Sahuaro) has been named the national player of the week by both USA Softball and Louisville Slugger/NFCA. Last week, Foster tossed three shutouts and struck out 41 batters in 21 innings pitched while helping lead the Wildcats to a 4-0 record. She was previously named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week.
Foster opened the week with a remarkable 18-strikeout performance at Loyola-Chicago last Wednesday. In the 1-0 win, she allowed just one hit and struck out the first 10 batters she faced. The 18 strikeouts were the most by a Northwestern pitcher in a game since Lisa Ishikawa struck out 18 DePaul batters on May 5, 1987.
Foster followed up the effort with a pair of equally impressive performances at Big Ten leader Iowa. In a 3-0 win Friday, she limited the Big Ten's second-ranked offense to just two hits while striking out 12. The next day, Foster took the mound again and fired her third shutout of the week. She allowed three hits and fanned 11 in the 2-0 victory.
It was NU's first season series win over Iowa since 1987 and the first time the 'Cats swept the Hawkeyes since 1986. Foster has not allowed an earned run over her last 31.2 innings pitched and has yielded just 10 hits over that span.
She has a 14-8 record this season with a 1.44 ERA. Foster has struck out 229 batters in 165.2 innings pitched. Her average of 9.68 strikeouts per seven innings ranks in the top 12 nationally, and currently stands as the second-best single-season mark in NU history. She also leads the Big Ten with four saves.
Northwestern is currently 30-15 overall and 9-9 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats are back in action at 3 p.m. Wednesday when they host a doubleheader against No. 7 DePaul. NU wraps up the Big Ten season this weekend when it hosts Illinois at 1 p.m. Saturday and noon on Sunday.
