March 31, 2008

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Florida State's Tiffany McDonald and North Carolina's Breanna Brown have been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Softball Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively, after a week in which the Seminoles and Tar Heels combined to go 9-1. McDonald, currently 13-3 for the season, has now been recognized as ACC Pitcher of the Week twice this season.

In three starts last week, McDonald pitched a combined 20 innings, giving up zero runs and allowing just seven hits. On Wednesday against Georgia Southern, the Seminoles' senior pitched a no-hitter, striking out 11 batters as FSU prevailed 8-0 in six innings. Taking the mound twice in the weekend series against Boston College, McDonald, a native of Belfair, Wash., was just as impressive, tossing two complete game shutouts and striking out a combined 24 batters against just one walk. McDonald currently boasts a 1.01 ERA in 16 showings this season and ranks second in the league with 13 wins.

Brown, a junior native of Durham, N.C., registered nine hits in 16 at-bats last week, including three hits apiece in a Saturday double-header against league-opponent Georgia Tech. In those two games, she went 6-for-8 at the plate, scoring three runs with three RBIs as the Tar Heels won both by a combined score of 9-3. For the week, Brown recorded a .562 batting average and a .688 on-base percentage and scored seven runs as UNC went 5-0. After eight weeks of play, she leads the league in runs scored (33), ranks second in hits (44), and ranks sixth with a .358 batting average.

Both the Seminoles and Tar Heels will again be in action this week, as each will play host to midweek competition before hitting the road for another ACC series this weekend. FSU hosts Florida A&M this Wednesday and then travels to College Park, Md., for a series with the Terps, while UNC will take on East Carolina in a Wednesday double-header before traveling to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to face Boston College.