May 5, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M sophomore Rhi Kliesing and freshman Rebecca Arbino were selected as the final Big 12 Player and Pitcher of the Week for the 2009 season, the conference announced today.
Kliesing and Arbino led the Aggie softball team to its first two Big 12 road wins and second conference sweep with wins at Texas and Baylor. The duo earned the league honors for the first time in their careers.
From Pearland, Texas, Kliesing, who was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week earlier this year, tallied at least one hit, one walk and one RBI in each contest last week. With the score tied 2-2 in the top of the seventh at Baylor, Kliesing hit the game-winning RBI single to the right center wall for a 2-for-3 performance. At Texas, her RBI single in the fifth started a six-run rally that gave the Aggies the win. Kliesing also scored the lone run at Kansas with a solo home run - her eighth of the year.
Kliesing hit .500 on the week with a .875 slugging percentage and .636 on base percentage and extended a seven-game hitting streak. She was also perfect in the field with 16 putouts and two assists.
Arbino led the Aggies with two complete-game victories in the circle. The Clovis, Calif., native held Texas and Baylor, teams that average over four runs and eight hits per game to just four hits and two runs or less each game. Arbino did not give up an earned run and allowed only four hits against the Longhorns. In fact, she only improved as the game went on, striking out her first and second batters for the final two outs of the contest.
For the first time this season, Arbino earned her second consecutive conference start at Baylor and held the Lady Bears to four hits and two runs while striking out three. She posted a 1.00 ERA on the week earning her 10th and 11th wins of the year.
Kliesing, Arbino and the rest of the Aggie softball team travel to Oklahoma City, Okla., this weekend for the Big 12 Championship. A&M is the sixth seed and faces the No. 3 seed Baylor at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.