ST. LOUIS – After her dominating performances at the Leon Smith Classic, junior transfer Holly Kelley earned her first Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week award, announced by the league Monday. 

Kelley hit her stride this weekend in Oxford, Ala., earning a perfect 2-0 record. The newcomer dished out a three-hit shutout over Tennessee State, where she struck out four and gave up just three bloop hits. She helped her own cause, launching a stand-up double into deep left field. Kelley would eventually come around to score to aid Missouri State in its 7-0 win. Throwing seven complete innings, the victory marked Kelley's first shutout of the season.

In her second outing of the weekend, she earned her third win of the season in a rematch against the Samford Bulldogs. After being run-ruled at the Louisiana Tech Invitational earlier in the season, Kelley was near perfect through seven innings, surrendering only two hits in the 2-1 victory. In her second complete game of the weekend, the hurler tallied three strikeouts and surrendered just one run against the 2016 NCAA tournament team.

In the Bears' final game against Belmont, Kelley made her way to the circle to kick off top of the sixth inning. The junior recorded a quick, 1-2-3 inning, notching two strikeouts in the top frame. The following inning, she held off the Bruins once more as she recorded three strikeouts in her two innings of work. Kelley finished the Leon Smith Classic with 10 strikeouts and a miniscule 0.44 ERA over her 16 innings, surrendering a total of just five hits.

The Missouri State softball team will spend spring break week with road games at Central Arkansas on Tuesday (5 p.m.) before a Thursday game at Oklahoma State (5:30 p.m.). MSU opens Missouri Valley Conference play next weekend with a three-game series against UNI Saturday and Sunday. For more information on the Missouri State softball team, visit missouristatebears.com or follow @MSUSoftball on Twitter.