TU’s Kuizin Selected as NAIA National Player of the Week
KANSAS CITY – Taylor softball player Cassie Kuizin has been named the NAIA National Player of the Week, the national office announced on Tuesday.
Kuizin’s National Player of the Week honor is the first for TU softball in head coach Brad Bowser’s tenure with the Purple and Gold.
Kuizin posted a batting average of .650, a slugging percentage of 1.800 and an on-base percentage of .741 to lead the Trojans to four-straight wins last week. The senior shortstop blasted six home runs on the week, including streaks of three-straight at-bats and four-straight contests with a homer, while adding three doubles, a triple, 13 RBI and 12 runs scored.
The Springfield, Illinois native highlighted her week with a 7-for-9 performance at the plate in Wednesday’s sweep of Spring Arbor, going 4-for-4 in the first game and recording the first-ever natural cycle at Taylor under Coach Bowser. In her final at-bat of game one, Kuizin hit the game-tying, two-run home run to propel Taylor to the comeback win, before blasting two more bombs in her first two at-bats of the second outing. Kuizin then added two more dingers in game one against Bethel on Friday, belting a solo shot to lead off the game and notching a grand slam in the second frame on her way to a career-high six runs batted in for the game.
With her power display from last week, Kuizin more than doubled her career home run total at Taylor, going from five at the start of the week to now currently sitting at 11 round-trippers in her TU career. Kuizin currently ranks No. 2 in the NAIA this spring in total bases per game (3.2) and slugging percentage (1.016), No. 13 in runs scored per game (1.25) and No. 14 in home runs (8).
Kuizin and the Trojans (13-7, 7-5 CL) will return to action on Thursday, as TU visits Mount Vernon Nazarene (16-4, 8-0) for a doubleheader, with the first pitch set for 3:00 pm.