Quevedo Named A-Sun Player Of The Week
4/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 14, 2008
Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate standout freshman Lauren Quevedo turned in quite a week last week, driving in the game-winning run in three of Upstate's six wins and has been named the A-Sun Player of the Week, announced the league Monday.
"Lauren had a tremendous week for us last week," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "She obviously spoke the loudest with her bat, but she also had a solid week defensively. In thinking about what she did last week, the one word that comes to mind is dominant. I don't know if I have ever had, or ever will have, a player who has given us that type of performance in one week."
Quevedo, from Wellington, Fla., was simply dominant in leading Upstate to a 6-0 record last week, including two sweeps of A-Sun foes. She hit .412 with four home runs, including two grand slams, with 12 RBIs and a 1.118 slugging percentage. In addition to her offensive abilities, she also had a perfect fielding percentage in 33 chances at first base.
Quevedo started the week by belting a walk-off solo home run to lead off the seventh inning in Upstate's 7-6 win over Furman. The homer gave Upstate the sweep of the Paladins. A-Sun foes Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast came to town over the weekend and Quevedo was not a pleasant host. She finished the four games 5-of-11 with three home runs and 10 RBIs.
Against Stetson, the Hatters walked Courtney Feldon to load the bases for Quevedo in the bottom of the sixth inning and the game tied at 2-2. Quevedo responded by launching a grand slam over the right center wall to give Upstate a 6-2 win in game one. She also hit a two-run homer in the second game to lead the Spartans to a 5-1 win over the Hatters. Against Florida Gulf Coast Saturday, Feldon was again walked to load the bases for Quevedo with the game tied at 2-2 in the fifth. Again, Quevedo hammered a grand slam over the right center fence to push Upstate to a 7-3 win in game two.
Quevedo has stepped up her play in A-Sun games. A .319 hitter overall, she leads the team in hitting against A-Sun competition with a .431 batting average. She has four homers, three doubles, 19 RBIs and six runs scored, while not committing an error in 86 chances at first in 18 conference games.
Quevedo became the first softball position player at Upstate to earn A-Sun weekly honors in the history of the program. She is the second Spartan to receive weekly honors this season, though. Morgan Childers was named the A-Sun Pitcher of the Week on March 17.
