Gilbert’s Amaya Kearse is The State’s May 3 spring sports Player of the Week

Gilbert senior softball player Amaya Kearse is the winner of this week’s The State’s spring sports Player of the Week.

Kearse threw a no-hitter to cap her week. She won two games, pitched 12 innings with 19 strikeouts. She went 3-for-6 at the plate with a grand slam, two doubles, seven RBIs and four runs scored.

For the season, Kearse is hitting .438 with five homers and 24 RBI and is 16-0 with a 1.60 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 83 innings pitched. She is signed to play at North Carolina A&T.

Kearse received 36.1 percent of the vote.

The State’s sports staff would like to recognize noticeable athletic performances for the spring season, and we are giving you a chance to vote for the local high school Athlete of the Week. A new list of nominees will be published each Monday as we move toward the end of spring sports season.

Deadline to vote is 1 p.m. Thursday. Read about the nominees, then cast your vote below.

MEET THIS WEEK’S FINALISTS

Carew Bates, A.C. Flora baseball: The Falcons sophomore was perfect at the plate for the week. He had two 2-for-2 nights with a double and four RBIs as A.C. Flora won twice last week. He added a walk and two runs scored in his 4-for-4 week.

Allison Dulaney, Cardinal Newman softball: The Cardinals junior pitcher did a bit of everything as Cardinal Newman advanced to the SCISA 3A state championship series against Wilson Hall. In four games, Dulaney went 2-0 in 13 1/3 innings pitched. She allowed three earned runs and struck out 12. She was 4-for-11 with a double and six RBIs as well.

Aubri Dunigan, Brookland-Cayce softball: The Bearcats eighth-grader finished the week 4-of-9 with 7 RBIs, a triple and three runs scored in two victories. She collected six of those RBIs in a 24-8 win over Orangeburg-Wilkinson.

Matthew Harrison Cardinal Newman soccer: Harrison scored in each of the Cardinals’ three playoff matches last week, including one in the SCISA 3A championship match against Porter-Gaud. He finished with four goals as the Cards won the school’s 11th state title.

Parker Hocutt, Cardinal Newman baseball: Hocutt broke open a 7-6 game with a fifth-inning grand slam to put the Cardinals in the SCISA 3A state finals. He finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored from his leadoff spot.

Emily Johnson, Irmo softball: The Yellow Jackets shortstop finished the week 6-for-9 with two home runs, two doubles, seven RBIs and four runs scored. In the lone win for the week over Airport, Johnson was 4-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs.

Amaya Kearse, Gilbert softball: The Indians senior pitcher threw a no-hitter to cap her week. She won two games, pitched 12 innings with 19 strikeouts. She went 3-for-6 at the plate with a grand slam, two doubles, seven RBIs and four runs scored.

Eduardo Moisa, Brookland-Cayce soccer: The junior tallied seven goals to propel the Bearcats to the Class 3A semifinals. He scored four goals with an assist in a 7-1 win over Crestwood then added three goals in a 4-3 win over Oceanside Collegiate.

Savion Smith, Gray Collegiate baseball: The outfielder went 5-for-12 with five RBIs and three runs scored as the War Eagles went 3-1 last week and clinched the Region 3-2A championship.

Will Taylor, Dutch Fork baseball: The senior went 2-for-3 with two home runs, four RBIs, three runs scored and a walk in the Silver Foxes’ region clinching win over Lexington. He also closed things out on the mound. He pitched the final inning and didn’t allow a run with one strikeout.

Vote here

Voting ends at 1 p.m. Thursday

How to nominate

Player of the week honors highlight high school athletes for their outstanding performances. The goal is to recognize athletes across several different sports. If you would like to suggest a nominee to be added to the weekly ballot through the end of the spring sports seasons, please send an email to Chris Dearing at dear82c@gmail.com. You can also direct message him on Twitter at @CDearing82. Include the athlete’s name, school, class and game statistics for the week. Coaches will need to verify information

This story was originally published May 10, 2021 at 8:45 AM.