Lauren Smith, who tossed two shutouts last week, including a four-hitter in Mount Olive's 2-0 victory over nationally ranked Francis Marion, has been named Conference Carolinas Softball Pitcher of the Week. The award is the second in three weeks for Smith.

Smith, a freshman right-hander from Clinton, N.C., retired the final 11 batters she faced in her game two shutout against Francis Marion. She retired the side in order in the fifth inning on just five pitches and struck out the first two batters she faced in the seventh after Mount Olive broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth. She finished with five strikeouts and no walks.

Smith also picked up the win in relief in the opener against Francis Marion, entering the game in the top of the seventh with a runner on first and nobody out. She retired all three batters she faced and Rebekah McDaniel hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh for the 3-2 victory.

Smith finished the week with a three-hit shutout in the Trojans' five-inning 8-0 win over Virginia Union. The shutout was her third in as many starts and ran her scoreless streak to 20 innings. This week, her scoreless inning streak came to an end Monday in game one against Eckerd, but she started a new streak with her fourth straight shutout in game two.

For the season, including Monday's games, Smith is 7-1 with a 1.71 earned run average. She leads Conference Carolinas with 65 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings for an average of 10.5 strikeouts per seven innings.

Mount Olive is in Florida this week for its annual spring break trip as the Trojans play four doubleheaders in four days against Sunshine State Conference opponents. The Trojans opened against Eckerd and Saint Leo, and wrap up the trip Wednesday at Florida Southern and Thursday at Rollins.