King, Stevens named Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month for February

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum College softball pitcher Kelly King and baseball catcher Matt Stevens have been named the Applebee’s Student-Athletes of the Month for February announced College officials Thursday.

King threw the fifth no-hitter in Tusculum softball history in a 5-0 win over Limestone on Feb. 14.  The junior right-hander from Nazareth, Pa. did not allow a base-runner until the seventh inning and needed just 77 pitches for the third no-hitter of her collegiate career.  King opened the season with a four-hit shutout in a 1-0 win at North Greenville on Feb. 5, and she has thrown four complete games in six starts.

Overall, King compiled a 4-3 record in February with a 1.24 earned run average in 45 innings of work. In 11 games, she allowed 36 hits and eight earned runs, with 22 strikeouts and 11 walks.  Opponents hit just .216 off King and managed just four extra-base hits.

Stevens, a junior from St. Charles, Ill., has helped the Pioneers to a 9-5 record to start the season, including a four-game winning streak to close out the month.  He currently leads the South Atlantic Conference in walks (16), stolen bases (10) and on-base percentage (.556).  He is third on the team in batting average (.341) and leads the squad in runs scored (14), RBI (15), hit-by-pitch (5) and has yet to commit an error in his 59 total chances.

Stevens was named the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week on Feb. 26 as he led TC to a 4-0 record, including a 6-1 win over North Greenville and a three-game series sweep over Anderson.  During those four games, he hit .538 with an on-base percentage of .632 and a slugging percentage of 1.385. 

The Tusculum College Student-Athlete of the Month Award is sponsored by Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar of Greeneville.  The Applebee’s Student-Athlete of the Month Award honors one male and one female student-athlete each month from an in-season sport during the 2012-2013 academic year, recognizing their hard work, effort and performance.

- TC -

2012-2013 Applebee’s Student-Athletes of the Month
Month           Male Athlete of the Month           Female Athlete of the Month
September 2012  Xzanvion Smith (Football)           Tramicka James (Women’s Soccer)
October 2012    David Cooper (Men’s Cross Country)  Caitlyn Dean (Volleyball)
November 2012   Keith Jumper (Men’s Basketball)     Kendal Baxter (Women’s Basketball)
December 2012   Keith Jumper (Men's Basketball)     April McCann (Women's Basketball)
January 2013    Addison Flynn (Men's Basketball)    Breaira Barksdale (Women's Basketball)
February 2013   Matt Stevens (Baseball)             Kelly King (Softball)