UCO Sports
Chris Brannick, Director of Sports Media Relations
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced its players of the week Wednesday and University of Central Oklahoma sophomore standout Jayden Chestnut earned the distinction of Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II Pitcher of the Week.
It’s the third player of the week honor for Chestnut this week, who also took home Oklahoma Sports.Net and Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Pitcher of the Week honors.
“Jayden has a certain mentality that she is going to go out there and dominate,” UCO head coach Cody White said. Her focus and ability to lock in last week was tremendous. And all season, she has settled in. She understands what it takes to win and she is doing everything she can to help us win.”
Chestnut last week threw three complete game shutouts. The first was a one-hit shutout against Cameron on Tuesday, April 4. She followed that with another one-hit shutout, this time against MIAA foe Southwest Baptist, on Friday. Chestnut capped off the week in style, throwing a perfect game against Central Missouri on Saturday.
In the three games, the sophomore from Mustang notched 20 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched. She walked four against Cameron, but just one against Southwest Baptist before hitting the perfect mark in her final game of the week. The three opponents combined to hit just .033 against Chestnut on the week.
Chestnut has won eight-straight games and is 15-3 on the season, her first at Central Oklahoma after transferring from Oklahoma last summer. She boasts a 1.89 earned run average and has a team-high 139 strikeouts. She has also played a major role in UCO’s 19 shutouts this season, most of any team in the nation.