EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.
By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal / Fennimore Times / Boscobel Dial
Bentley Cutts, Jr., P/2B, Iowa–Grant softball
Iowa–Grant junior Bentley Cutts had a whale of a week to lead the Panthers to three wins and a near-upset of two-time defending SWAL champion Boscobel.
Cutts went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBI, and struck out 14 batters and allowed just two runs on three hits in a 5–2 non-conference win over Lancaster Monday, March 27. Cutts' bat stay hot a night later when she went 3-for-4 with another home run and five runs batted in a 17–7 win over Wisconsin Heights, March 28. She then went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored and pitched 3 1/3 strong innings in a 5–4 eight-inning loss at Boscobel Monday afternoon in the SWAL opener for both teams. Cutts collected two more hits with an RBI in a 7–3 non-conference win at Benton/Shullsburg Tuesday afternoon.
Cutts is currently batting .583 (14-for-24) with two doubles, two homers, a team-high 12 RBI and seven runs scored in six games for the Panthers (4–2). She is also 2–1 with a 2.14 ERA and 30 strikeouts and 16 1/3 innings pitched.
HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Brach Holman, Jr., P, Iowa–Grant baseball
Holman's hot start to his junior year has the Iowa–Grant baseball team off to a sparking 4–1 start. He struck out 11 in and allowed just two unearned runs in 5 2/3 innings to lead IG to a 5–2 season-opening win at Potosi/Cassville last Tuesday, March 28. This Tuesday he improved to 2–0 with four strong innings (2H, 4R, 1ER, 3K) in a 14–4 win over Southwestern. Holman is 2–0 with a 0.72 ERA, and 14 strike outs in 9 2/3 innings. He is also batting team-high .385 (5-for-13) with two doubles, three RBI, five walks and five runs scored through five games.
Katie Kinney, Sr., SS, Bosocbel softball
Senior Katie Kinney’s one-out walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the eighth lifted two-time defending SWAL champion Boscobel to a dramatic 5–4 victory over Iowa–Grant Monday afternoon. The Panthers (2–2, 0–1 SWAL) scored four runs in the top of the first against two-time SWAL Player of the Year and Division 1 Mississippi State recruit Gretta Grassel and appeared on the verge of a upset. But the Bulldogs (2–4, 1–0 SWAL) two on a two-run homer by Grassel. Boscobel then tied the game on a safety squeeze bunt by Kinney, after IG elected to intentionally walk Graseel to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the second.
Lucas Lendosky, Sr., CF/P, Fennimore baseball
Lendosky opened his senior season with a bang, blasting a three-run homer in the second inning of Monday's 14–3 win at Platteville. He also added a pair of RBI singles later in the game and finished 3-for-4 with five RBI. He then struck out seven and allowed just two runs on one hit and seven in four innings to pick up the pitching win Tuesday at Darlington, and aided his own cause with a 2-for-4, two-RBI, two-run night at the plate.
