Turning in a two-day performance unparalleled by any other player at her position last Friday and Saturday, senior superstar Jenna Greene of the Presbyterian College softball team was selected as the Big South Conference’s Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday afternoon, chosen by league officials. The sixth time in her marvelous tenure gaining such a distinction, Greene runs away with the award following consecutive complete-game shutouts to begin the 2023 season, capped off with a nine-K no-hitter in a 4-0 triumph over Bellarmine.
A focal point of the Blue Hose’s exceptional defensive effort in two sweeps against the Knights and Toledo over a 48-hour window, Greene’s fabulous display confirmed the conference’s Preseason Pitcher of the Year pick as a valuable choice, part of a PC lineup that blanked three of its four opponents for a total margin of 19-2.
Seventeen batters fell victim to a Greene strikeout over the weekend – already the all-time program leader in that category, now with 464 K’s – retiring eight in her season-starting victory prior to the no-hitter. Saturday’s lockdown conduction registered as the 19th shutout win of the senior’s career (at least eight more than any other pitcher in Presbyterian history), moving into second place in the school record books with her 40th W.
The first time that a PC hurler stayed in the circle for all seven frames with no hits given up since March of 2021 – coincidentally Greene’s other no-hitter against South Carolina State – the veteran put forth her 43rd complete game since joining the program, walking only two batters in 14 full innings.
Granted the league’s Pitcher of the Week nod for the first time since the final announcement of the 2021 season, Greene’s flawless ERA translated to an opposing average of .106 in 47 batters faced. Nearly 43% of all outs obtained in the no-hitter came via strikeout, completing a performance that will be vastly difficult to top over the remainder of the ’23 season, a slate that figures to be an exultant one following the team’s second 4-0 start in the past three years.
In the midst of a 10-game series of home meetings to begin the year, the Blue Hose and their sensational defense will welcome Seton Hall, IUPUI, and Appalachian State to the PC Softball Complex this weekend, competing in four more bouts on Friday and Sunday. Head coach David Williams’ squad will face the Pirates and the Jaguars in three days at 12:15 and 2:30 respectively.
