March 14, 2001

MACON, Ga. - Samford University pitcher Brianne Mertens was named the Trans America Athletic Conference pitcher of the week on Wednesday.

The Tucson, Ariz., native went 4-0 last week with a pair of wins against SEC-foe Auburn. She struck out 44 batters in 31.1 innings and had an ERA of 1.12 while being named the Most Outstanding Pitcher at the Samford Invitational Tournament over the weekend.

Mertens struck out a season-high 13 batters in a 3-1 victory over Austin Peay and she fanned 10 batters in two other games while to even her overall record at 8-8 on the season. This is the fifth time in her career that she has been the TAAC Pitcher of the Week. She garnered the honor twice in 1999 and twice in 2000.

Samford has won eight of its last 10 games and will face ACC-foe Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday, March 17.