April 12, 2016

MVC Release

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Sophomore outfielder Erika Velasquez Zimmer has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week, the league office announced on Tuesday (April 12). It is the first such honor for the Coppell, Texas native in her first season eligible.

Velasquez Zimmer led the Bears in hitting last week, going 9-for-15 overall, including a scorching .727 batting average during the league series against Southern Illinois. She hit safely in all four games, including multiple hits in each game of the SIU series. Among her nine hits were two doubles, the only MSU player with multiple extra-base hits last week. Velasquez Zimmer scored four runs on the week, all coming during conference play, the most on the team. She also drove in three runs. Her fantastic week raised her season average nearly 100 points to .322.

In Saturday's second game, Velasquez Zimmer kept a two-out seventh inning rally going with an RBI single. Then in Sunday's finale, it was Velasquez Zimmer's RBI single in the fourth inning that tied the game.

To qualify for Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week laurels, student-athletes must carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20, completed at least one academic year at a Valley institution and must be at least a sophomore in academic standing. Velasquez Zimmer holds a cumulative 3.81 grade point average and is an exercise and movement science major at MSU.

Missouri State (14-21) will wrap up a five-game home stand when Tulsa (27-10) comes to Killian Stadium on Wednesday with a 5:00 p.m. game. The Bears head to league-leader Drake this weekend for a three-game set in Des Moines.

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