Jones, Wood earn MVC Weekly Honors

02/18/2019 | 3:18:00 | Softball

Brianna Jones was named MVC Pitcher of the Week while Ashley Wood took home MVC Newcomer is the Week

By: Will Becque, SIUSalukis.com

ST. LOUIS - Southern Illinois softball players Brianna Jones and Ashley Wood earned weekly awards from the Missouri Valley Conference, the league announced Monday. Jones was named MVC Pitcher of the Week while Wood earned MVC Newcomer of the Week.

Brianna Jones was named the Puerto Vallarta Challenge Tournament MVP after she went 4-0 in the circle with a microscopic .74 ERA against four opponents that played in the postseason a year ago. The three-time All-MVC First Team selection allowed just 13 hits in 19 innings of work and struck out 18 while walking just four. Jones was masterful in the circle to come away with the complete game win against No. 25 Mississippi State- she allowed just one run on five hits- all singles - and stymied a Bulldog offense that came in averaging nearly six runs and almost eight hits a game. Jones picked up a win the following day in relief, as she threw three no-hit innings against Northern Colorado to seal the win. She followed with a complete game win against Sacramento State in which she allowed just five hits, did not surrender an earned run and struck out a season-high 10. In SIU's final game of the tournament, Jones entered in the sixth and allowed just three hits to seal the win.

Ashley Wood had arguably the best weekend of her young career this past weekend. Wood earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Puerto Vallarta Challenge after she helped Southern win all four of its games at the three-day event. Wood hit a team-best .615 (8-of-13) with two extra bases hits, two walks and 3 RBI and didn't record an error in the field at shortstop. She recorded at least one hit in all four games, and multiple hits in three of the four games. The Orland Park, Ill. native went 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI in Southern's 4-1 win over No. 25 Mississippi State and stayed hot against Northern Colorado, as she went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. The following day, Wood collected a hit and a walk against Sacramento State and went 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk and two RBI in SIU's comeback win over North Dakota State.

Wood is the first Saluki to earn MVC Newcomer of the Week since Jones did so in 2016 while Jones picked up her ninth career MVC Pitcher of the Week honor- which is tied for the fifth-most in MVC history.

The Salukis return to action at the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. beginning on Friday, Feb. 22. The Salukis open against Ohio at 11 a.m. EST and take on Western Michigan at 1:30 p.m. EST. Southern will play a total of five games during the three-day event.