NATCHITOCHES – Behind three solid relief outings in Northwestern State’s weekend series at Houston, junior Bronte Rhoden was named the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced on Monday.

This is the second weekly honor for a Lady Demon pitcher this season after Maggie Darr collected the honor in week two, and the third NSU player overall to receive recognition from the conference.

Rhoden did just what relief pitchers are asked to do out of the bullpen by attacking the strike zone and keeping opponents off the scoreboard.

She appeared in all three games of the series with Houston, throwing the final innings of each game. In her first outing on Saturday she struck out three batters in 1 1/3 innings with her only blemish of the weekend an unearned run in the sixth.

She threw a perfect frame in the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday, needing just nine pitches to get through the three batters, and struck out another batter along with four soft ground ball outs in 1 2/3 innings of work in the finale on Sunday.

In her past five outings on the season Rhoden has allowed just two hits with 11 strikeouts in seven total innings with a 0.00 ERA and holding opponents to a .083 batting average.

The Lady Demons continue their lengthy March road swing on Wednesday with a doubleheader at Jackson State before traveling to Memphis for four games in the Tiger Classic beginning on Friday.

Photo: Evelyn Winger | Graphic: Brad Welborn

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