Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina senior left-hander Tessa Juett was named the Southern Conference Softball Pitcher of the Week Monday afternoon by the conference office. The Berea, Ky., native grabbed a midweek win over Gardner-Webb, plus a shutout decision against mountain rival East Tennessee State as part of a 2-0 week.
The conference office selects and announces the weekly awards based on nominations submitted by each member institution's communications or media relations contacts.
The weekly pitching award is the third for Juett in her Catamount career after receiving honors in both of the past two seasons for WCU. She's also the third Catamount to receive a weekly award from the SoCon this year, joining sophomores Maya McPherson (March 3) and Lily Bell (March 10) to receive top player awards from the league.
Juett began the week by earning her fifth win of the season in midweek action against the Runnin' Bulldogs, tossing 5.1 innings with four strikeouts. Juett benefited from a fast start and a three-run barrage in the middle innings to claim the midweek triumph.
After pitching 1.2 innings of relief against Tulsa, Juett began SoCon play with a bang, going the full five innings, scattering five hits, and recording eight strikeouts to grab her second win in the circle on the week in an 11-0 run-rule victory over ETSU as WCU swept the Saturday doubleheader.
With her eight strikeouts, Juett passed former Catamount pitcher Mendy McKenzie (382, 2006-07) for third in career strikeouts in the WCU record books. Juett has 392 career K's and counting in her career following the weekend against the Bucs.
Juett totaled six strikeouts in 4.0 innings of relief work on Sunday afternoon to run her seasonal total to 71 strikeouts after the opening weekend of league play.
Juett has been dominant in the circle in March with a 6-1 record over 11 appearances with six starts for WCU. She has struck out 57 in 48 innings, allowing just 16 earned runs. Opponents are batting a paltry .210 against the senior.
On the season, Juett is up to third in the league in strikeouts per 7 innings (7.6) and is third in total strikeouts (71).
Western Carolina (17-15) continues its 13-game homestand with a visit from Queens on Wednesday, March 26. The single game is slated for 3 p.m. and is scheduled to be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
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