April 30, 2012

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Senior Chanda Bell has been named the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week it was announced on Monday afternoon by the league office.

Bell simply had the best pitching performance of the season during one of the most critical stages of the season for the Wildcats. With UK needing to stay close to .500 for the season for any post-season hope, UK traveled to No. 2 Florida who had not yielded a single SEC series this season.

Bell opened the series as UK’s starter and pitched a four-hit shutout of the Gators – only the fourth time all season Florida had been shutout. She struck out eight in the contest and gave up just one walk.

After Florida evened the series on Saturday, UK turned to its senior right-hander in the rubber game. Bell simply was masterful; she struck out a season-high 13 batters and gave up just one run to the powerful Gators. Three times in the game she struck out the side. The 13 strikeouts tossed against Florida was the second-highest total of the year for any pitcher.

She walked just one batter in the contest and for the weekend struck out 10.5 batters for every one she walked.

For her career, she now sits a mere 13 strikeouts away from recording 900 for her career. She’s the only pitcher in UK history to throw 150 or more strikeouts in each of her four seasons.

This is the third SEC weekly honor of the season for the Wildcats as Griffin Joiner earned SEC Freshman of the Week accolades in February and Lauren Cumbess Pitcher of the Week honors earlier in the month after throwing a no-hitter against Georgia.

Bell’s Pitcher of the Week award is the first of her career, and the third weekly honor after being tabbed the league’s top freshman twice in 2009.

Kentucky will return to action with a three-game series to complete its regular season at home next weekend. UK welcomes LSU to Lexington beginning with a 6 p.m. ET first pitch on Friday, May 4.

For continuing coverage of the 2012 UK softball season, log on to UKathletics.com.