Forester softball players Alex Hemmer and Jenny McTague were named Midwest Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, on Monday after helping lead their team to four doubleheader sweeps at home in a six-day span.
Lake Forest started the week with 9-0 and 13-1 five-inning victories over Beloit College. Hemmer, a senior catcher, was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two runs scored in the opener before sitting out game two. McTague, a junior pitcher, allowed just two base hits in the second game while striking out a season-high eight batters and walking just one. She was also 1-for-2 and scored and drove in a run in the contest.
Hemmer was 5-for-7 with a double, home run, four runs scored, and two runs batted in as the Foresters swept Ripon College 11-3 in six innings and 9-1 in five on Wednesday. McTague was perfect through four innings before settling for her fourth career one-hitter. She struck out five batters and moved into second place in program history in career strikeouts with 264. She once again had a base hit in two at-bats and scored a run.
The Foresters defeated Carroll University 8-1 in the opener and 1-0 in game two on Saturday. Hemmer was 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored, and two runs batted in during each game and became just the seventh player in program history to surpass 100 career RBI. McTague pitched the 16th no-hitter and third perfect game in team history in the second contest, striking out eight and fielding four of the Pioneers' 12 groundouts herself.
Lake Forest closed out the week with an 8-0 five-inning victory and a 5-1 triumph over Knox College on Sunday. Hemmer walked, hit a sacrifice fly, and scored a run after reaching on an error in game one but saw her 13-game hitting streak and run of six consecutive multi-hit performances come to an end. McTague earned the victory in game two, allowing just two base hits while striking out six in four-and-a-third innings.
Hemmer batted .647 with three doubles, two homers, nine runs scored, and five driven in on the week. McTague was 4-0 with a 0.98 earned run average and .072 opponent batting average while recording 27 strikeouts in 21.1 innings of work.
MWC Performers of the Week are selected by the league's director of media and information. McTague was also named MWC Pitcher of the Week twice as a freshman and once last season.
