<html><head></head><body lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple" data-blackberry-caret-color="#00a8df" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: initial;"><div style="width: 100%; font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br style="display:initial"></div> <div style="width: 100%; font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br style="display:initial"></div> <div style="font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.</div> <table width="100%" style="background-color:white;border-spacing:0px;"> <tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: initial; text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <div id="_persistentHeader" style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: rgb(181, 196, 223); border-top-width: 1pt; padding: 3pt 0in 0in; font-family: Tahoma, 'BB Alpha Sans', 'Slate Pro'; font-size: 10pt;"> <div><b>From: </b>Steven Embree <sembree@softball.org></div><div><b>Sent: </b>Friday, July 25, 2014 12:30 PM</div><div><b>To: </b>Steven Embree</div><div><b>Subject: </b>Outstanding weekend in the circle earns Hannah Newton ASA JO Player of the Week honors</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: rgb(186, 188, 209); border-top-width: 1pt; font-size: initial; text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div><br><div id="_originalContent" style=""><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 14 (filtered medium)"><!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">July 25, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Outstanding weekend in the circle earns Hannah Newton ASA JO Player of the Week honors<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">OKLAHOMA CITY — Hannah Newton (Peachtree, Ga.) led the Georgia Power DeMarini Gold with dominating performances in the circle earning her the 12th ASA Junior Olympic (JO) Player of the Week award, presented by Worth Fastpitch and StudentSports.com. <span style="background:white">Announced today by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball,</span> the ace pitcher amassed 25 innings while allowing just two runs on four hits, one walk and struck out 31 opposing batters. <br> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">“It’s an honor to be selected as the National ASA Player of the Week,” said Newton. “My teammates and coaches are winners of this just as much as I am. I’ve played for my coaches since I was little and there’s no way I would be where I am now as a player without them or my team around me.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Newton has an 18-2 record on the season with an ERA of less than 1 and a 0.56 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) average. She has recorded 179 strikeouts in 131 innings in the circle. The starting pitcher is in her fifth year with the Georgia Power DeMarini Gold and holds an 11-1 record in ASA Nationals (14-Under 2010, 2011 and 16-Under 2012, 2013). This week, Newton and her Georgia Power DeMarini Gold team are competing at the ASA/USA 18-Under GOLD National in Oklahoma City.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif""><br>“Hannah’s not a pitcher that’s going to blow anyone away with her speed but she has great movement,” said Georgia Power DeMarini Gold Head Coach Ernie Yarbrough. “She always wants the ball and that’s all you can ask of a pitcher. She’s never missed a turn in six years playing for me. She has always been there. Hannah is very deserving of ASA (JO) Player of the Week.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Established to recognize JO players 18 years or younger for outstanding play in an ASA/USA sanctioned event, the ASA/USA Softball JO Player of the Week will honor 14 athletes, male or female, from May 9 - August 8 following the conclusion of the ASA/USA JO National Championships. Nominations will be taken on a week-by-week basis (see below schedule) and will be submitted and accepted through <span style="color:blue"><a href="http://www.studentsports.com/softball/2014/02/12/asa-player-week-form/">http://www.studentsports.com/softball/2014/02/12/asa-player-week-form/</a></span> until noon ET every Tuesday. In order to be eligible for the award, athletes must be registered with their local ASA/USA association and must have participated in ASA/USA Softball sanctioned events or tournaments during the week nominated. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">2014 ASA/USA Softball JO Player of the Week award schedule </span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif""><br>Week 1 (April 30 - May 6): Faith Willis (Liberty, Mo.) - Originals-Shanks<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Week 2 (May 7 - 13): Allie Roberts (Rogers, Minn.) – Northwest Diamonds<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Week 3 (May 14 - 20): Jordyn Kadlub - Tampa Mustangs<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Week 4 (May 21 - 27): Lauren Mathis (Windermere, Fla.) – Windermere Wildfire<br>Week 5 (May 28-June 3): <span style="background:white">Mackenzie Dixon (Huntsville, Texas.) – Huntsville Heat<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Week 6 (June 4 - 10): Lauren Gohacki (Finleyville, Pa.) - Pittsburgh Diamond Stars 14U<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Week 7 (June 11 - 17): Avery Winchell (New Cumberland, Pa.) - Columbus County Magic Red 12U<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Week 8 (June 18 - 24): Morgan Hirai (Pasco, Wash.) - Tri-City Fuzion 12U<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Week 9 (June 25 - July 1): Sydney Hoffman (Lewisburg, Pa.) – PA Power Elite 12U<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Week 10 (July 2 - 8): Jaycie Cline (East Moline, Ill.) – Quad City Lady Hitmen 12U Red<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Week 11 (July 9 - 15): Haylee Petre (Atlanta, Mo.) – Velocity 12U<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Week 12 (July 16 - 22): <b>Hannah Newton (Peachtreee City, Ga.) – GA Power DeMarini Gold</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Week 13 (July 23 - 29): Winner announced August 1<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">Week 14 (July 30 - August 5): Winner announced August 8<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">About ASA</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif""> <br>The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.5 million. For more information on the ASA, visit<span style="color:red"> </span></span><a href="http://www.asasoftball.com/"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">http://www.asasoftball.com/</span></a><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">.</span><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif""><br><br><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">About USA Softball</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br>USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine World Championship titles including the last seven consecutive as well as claimed six World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.usasoftball.com"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif"">http://www.usasoftball.com</span></a><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">.</span><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:gray">---------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br></span><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#C00000">Steven Embree</span></b><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:gray"> </span><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">| <b>ASA/USA Softball<o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications<br>2801 NE 50th | Oklahoma City, OK 73111<br>Work: 405-425-3422 | Cell: 405-207-1004<br>E-mail: <a href="mailto:sembree@softball.org">sembree@softball.org</a> | Web: <a href="http://www.usasoftball.com/">www.USASoftball.com</a></span><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:#C00000"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:#00006C"><img border="0" width="137" height="64" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image001.jpg@01CFA7F8.F5610D20" alt="ASAUSALogo"></span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div><br><!--end of _originalContent --></div></body></html>