GREENSBORO, N.C. – Georgia Tech softball junior catcher Emma Kauf has been named ACC Player of the Week after a scorching four games at the dish, the league announced on Tuesday.
With the recognition, Kauf garners her first weekly ACC honor of the season and second of her career. The award also marks Tech’s second honor this season, following junior pitcher Chandler Dennis’ ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week recognition in March.
Kauf was a force at the dish throughout the week, punishing opposing pitchers with a gaudy .750 batting average as she went 9-for-12 with three doubles, a triple, four RBI, two runs scored and three walks. The Lincoln, Neb., native led Tech to a 4-0 week, including a midweek victory over UAB and the Jackets’ second ACC series sweep of the season over NC State, posting an exceptional .800 on-base percentage and 1.167 slugging percentage.
The decorated catcher opened the week going 2-for-4 against the Blazers, including a critical two-RBI double in the top of the seventh with the Yellow Jackets down to their final out and trailing by one, allowing Tech to come away with the 5-3 win in extras.
Kauf was perfect at the plate through the Jackets’ doubleheader against the Wolfpack, going 2-for-2 with a double, a triple and a walk in the first leg before following with a 3-for-3 performance plus an RBI and a walk in game two. Her triple in game one resulted in one of Tech’s two security runs in its 3-0 victory as she was driven in on graduate first baseman Tricia Awald’s dinger. In game two, her RBI single furthered a four-run fourth inning that propelled the Jackets to a 9-1, mercy-rule triumph.
Kauf entered program history in game three against NC State, lacing her 18th double of the season to tie fourth in the Tech record books in doubles through a season. Already coming into the weekend ranked second in the nation in doubles, that RBI double in the fourth extended Tech’s lead to three before she added the fourth run for the White and Gold in the sixth, trotting home on a moon shot from Awald to cap a 2-for-3 day as the Jackets claimed a 5-1 win and series sweep.
On the year, the preseason all-ACC selection leads the Jacket bats going .391 at the plate with 59 hits, 18 doubles and two triples, as well as tying for second on the squad with six dingers to date.
Up Next
Georgia Tech will play its rescheduled home contest against Troy (25-13, 11-7 SBC) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Mewborn Field. The game will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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