NASHVILLE – Sewanee’s Sydney Tackett and Tusculum University’s Chelsey Stinesifer were named Tennessee Sports Writers Association Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, as announced Tuesday by the organization.
Tackett batted .727 (8-for-11) with seven runs scored, eight RBIs and three walks over four games. She was 3-for-4 with a home run, one double and three RBIs in the first game at Talladega College and followed that with a double, three RBIs and a run scored in the second game.
She posted a single with a run scored and one RBI in the first game and was 3-for-3 with one RBI and three runs scored in the second contest at Hanover College. She also posted her 100th career hit on Sunday at Hanover.
Stonesifer posted two victories and one save in three appearances covering 16.0 innings, striking out 14 with four walks and 14 hits allowed. She tossed eight shutout innings in a 1-0 victory over Lock Haven, giving up one walk with five strikeouts. She also worked one inning of relief for a save in the second contest, allowing two hits with two strikeouts.
Stonesifer pitched seven innings in a 6-1 victory over Bluefield State, giving up one run on eight hits with seven strikeouts. She improved to 7-3 with two saves and a 1.78 ERA in 12 appearances covering 59.0 innings this season, recording 67 strikeouts and allowing just 40 hits.
BASEBALL: Sewanee’s Zach Fortman and Trevecca Nazarene’s Logan Harrell were named Tennessee Sports Writers Association Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively
Fortman batted .733 (11-for-15) with one double, two triples, three home runs, nine runs scored and 18 RBIs in four games for the Tigers. He was 3-for-5 with a double and three runs scored in a midweek contest against Covenant College
In Saturday's doubleheader versus Asbury University, he singled home a run and hit a two-run homer before breaking a 5-5 tie in the seventh inning with a bases-clearing triple, giving him six RBIs in game one (4-for-4 in the game).
In the second contest he tripled home a run and added an RBI on a bases-loaded walk before hitting a grand slam and then a three-run homer, all in the first five innings, giving him nine RBIs in the game and 15 for the day. He added a single and a run scored (was also hit once) in the series finale.
Fortman is hitting .463 with three triples, three homers, 25 RBIs and 17 runs scored in 14 games this season.
Harrell tossed eight innings against fifth-ranked West Florida, allowing just one run on five hits in a 5-1 win. He did not walk a batter and struck out eight, retiring the side in order in the third, fifth and eighth innings. UWF plated its only run on a leadoff homer to start the game and had only two other runners reach second base.
Harrell improved to 4-1 in six appearances this season, all starts, striking out 37 in 32.1 innings.
2026 TSWA SOFTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Feb. 10 | Shay Hollingsworth, Trevecca Nazarene (Player); Maya Johnson, Belmont (Pitcher)
Feb. 17 | Avary Makarewicz, UT Martin (Player); Taylor Long, Chattanooga (Pitcher)
Feb. 24 | Macauley Bailey, Carson-Newman (Player); Kayleigh Smith, Bryan College (Pitcher)
March 3 | Macauley Bailey, Carson-Newman (Player); Maya Johnson, Belmont (Pitcher)
March 10 | Sydney Tackett, Sewanee (Player); Chelsey Stinesifer, Tusculum University
2026 TSWA BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Feb. 17 | Cohl Proctor, Cumberland University (Player); Tegan Kuhns, Tennessee (Pitcher)
Feb. 24 | Will Curcio, Bryan College (Player); Logan Baskin, Cumberland University (Pitcher)
March 3 | Jacob Sitton, UT Martin (Pitcher)
March 10 | Zach Fortman, Sewanee (Player); Logan Harrell, Trevecca Nazarene