HILLSBORO, Ore. – Two complete-game shutouts and a combined 15 strikeouts later, Tayah Kelley was named the Northwest Conference Softball Pitcher Student-Athlete of the Week on Monday.
 
The junior from Myrtle Creek, Oregon, moved to 4-0 on the season and improved her earned run average to 0.29 as the Wildcats took all three games against Willamette. She didn't walk a single batter in her two outings.
 
Kelley tossed seven innings in a 4-0 win over the Bearcats on Friday, allowing just two hits while striking out eight. She went the distance again in a five-inning 8-0 rout of the Bearcats on Saturday, allowing three hits and claiming seven more victims via strikeout.
 
The 'Cats are 6-1 on the season and 3-0 in NWC play, their only blemish coming in a 12-8 loss at Whittier on Feb. 19. Kelley leads the NWC with two shutouts and has allowed two runs, one earned, in her four starts. She has struck out 25 batters on the season while walking eight.
 
NEXT
The 'Cats hit the road for the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Georgia, on March 4-6. They will go head-to-head with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Manhattanville on Friday before taking on Coe and Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday. They will conclude the tournament against Salisbury and Transylvania on Sunday.