Aurora University softball sophomore pitcher Natalie Zanella (Caledonia, Wis./Union Grove H.S.) was named Northern Athletics Conference Softball Pitcher of the Week for the week ending April 28, 2013.
Zanella went 4-0 while leading the Spartans to the 2013 NAC Championship. She had four complete-game victories and two shutouts in the circle for the Spartans who are 33-3 overall and 23-1 in the NAC in 2013. She struck out 13 batters and allowed just three runs in her starts while only walking five. In AU’s 3-2 victory over regionally ranked University of Chicago, she pitched eight innings, striking out four and allowing two runs. That performance was followed up with back-to-back shutout performances against Lakeland College (7-0) and Marian University (8-0).
On the season, Zanella has a perfect 18-0 record with a 1.03 earned run average, 14 complete games, six shutouts and 73 strikeouts in 108-1/3 innings pitched.
Next action for the Spartans comes on Tuesday, April 30, when they travel to North Central College. Game one is set for 3:00 p.m. in Naperville, Ill.
