April 24, 2002

Bluffton College senior Emily Kurtz (Wooster/Smithville H.S.) has been named the softball player-of-the-week in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference for her efforts in pitching BC to two HCAC victories last week.

On Thursday Kurtz shut out Anderson University 2-0, recording eight strikeouts and allowing just three hits. On Saturday Kurtz returned to the mound to beat Franklin College 3-2 in extra innings. Kurtz pitched all eight innings for Bluffton and struck out seven hitters while only allowing one earned run.

Kurtz currently holds a 6-8 record on the season and owns a 1.49 earned run average. Kurtz holds the career Bluffton College record for ERA (1.94) and innings pitched 458.2, both breaking previous records held by her sister Erin (1997-2000). She is also tied for the all-time lead for pitching appearances with 67 and now ranks 2nd all-time in career strikeouts with 205. Kurtz also holds the single season record for wins (13) and ERA (1.28) both as a junior in 2001, when she was selected first team All-HCAC.

Kurtz received the Kathryn E. Little Award on April 16, recognizing her as the top senior female student-athlete of the year as selected by the BC athletic department faculty. She carries a GPA of 3.5 in Middle Childhood Education with a concentration in Math and Social Studies.

Bluffton is now in second place in the HCAC with a 9-4-1 league record. The Beavers are 11-17-1 overall and will travel to Ohio Northern on Thursday and Kalamazoo on Saturday to wrap up the regular season part of their schedule. The HCAC tournament begins May 3 at Hanover College.