CLEVELAND – After helping the Cleveland State softball program keep pace atop the conference standings, freshman standout Melissa Holzopfel was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season, announced by league offices on Tuesday.

Holzopfel had an absolutely unreal week over four appearances in the circle. The Massillon, Ohio native went a perfect 3-0 overall with 23 2/3 innings pitched. She allowed just 18 hits and two earned runs to post a 0.76 ERA. She also struck out 22 batters. 

The standout freshman currently ranks second in the Horizon in strikeouts (170), third in wins (12) and innings pitched (140), tied for fourth in complete games (13), sixth in opponent batting average (.239) and seventh in ERA (3.00).

Holzopfel is the first CSU student-athlete to collect three league Pitcher of the Week awards in a single-season since Amanda Macenko was selected five times during the 2010 campaign.

As a team, Cleveland State has firmly cemented itself in the race for the regular season Horizon League Championship. The Vikings currently sit third at 13-5 in conference play. CSU trails Robert Morris by a half-game at 14-5 and Oakland, who has a 12-3 record. The Vikes took 2-of-3 from the Grizzlies this past weekend. 

Cleveland State has a busy week on the schedule with a doubleheader on the road against Green Bay on Wednesday, April 27 (3 and 5 PM ET) and the Vikings host UIC for a weekend series on Friday, April 29 (single-game at 3 PM) and Saturday, April 30 (doubleheader beginning at 1 PM).

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL 

Keep up to date with everything Cleveland State Softball. Follow @CSU_Softball on Twitter, @CSU_Softball on Instagram, like /CSUVikings on Facebook and subscribe to the Cleveland State Athletics Youtube channel.