Softball (for the week ending March 13, 2011)

Division I

Player of the Week

Liz Lucas – Lehigh University
Sophomore, Catcher, Westminster, Colo.

Lucas hit safely in five of Lehigh’s six games last week, helping lead the Mountain Hawks to a 4-2 record during competition at the Rebel Spring Games in Florida. She finished the week going 10-for-19 at the plate with two home runs, 13 RBI, six doubles and a pair of runs scored. She collected multiple hits and at least three RBI in four of the contests.

Pitcher of the Week

Sara Plourde – University of Massachusetts
Junior, RHP, Bristol, Conn.

Plourde went 4-0 with 57 strikeouts in 26.1 innings of work. The junior pitcher opened the USF Under Armour Showcase tournament throwing three straight one-hit shutouts for the Minutewomen as UMass posted victories over Toledo, USF and Colorado State. In those first three starts, Plourde allowed just one walk each time out while striking out 11, 15 and 10, respectively. The 2010 A-10 Pitcher of the Year then struck out a season-high 18 batters against Green Bay. Plourde would finish the weekend allowing just two runs on 12 hits, while walking just four batters.

Division II

Player of the Week

Deana Tortorici – Dowling College
Junior, Outfielder, Levittown, N.Y.

Tortorici helped Dowling start the season with two victories by driving in five runs in the team’s two games this week. She recorded five hits in six at-bats (.833 average), including two doubles in Dowling’s 5-0 and 11-0 victories on Saturday.

Pitcher of the Week

Felicia Mendoza – Dowling College
Senior, RHP, Bloomington, Calif.

Mendoza started off the 2011 season for the Golden Lions with a bang, hurling a no-hitter in a 5-0 win over Georgian Court University on Saturday. Mendoza struck out two and walked four batters in the no-hitter.


Division III – New England

Player of the Week

Lizz Harvey – Wentworth Institute of Technology
Senior, Third Baseman, McConnellsburg, Pa.

Harvey enjoyed a strong individual week, batting .733 (11-for-15) with two doubles, two home runs, three RBI and six runs scored during the Leopards’ opening week. Harvey hit safely in six of seven games, drove in three of Wentworth’s nine runs, and scored the other six herself.  

Pitcher of the Week

Hayley Feindel – U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Junior, RHP, River Ridge, La.

Feindel was dominant as the Bears, ranked 14^th nationally, won all 10 games at the Rebel Games. She was 10-0 with eight shutouts, one being a no-hitter, and a 0.11 ERA. She also struck out 118 batters while walking just 15. She began the season with 55 consecutive scoreless innings and has allowed just one run in 65 innings this season. Feindel became the school’s all-time wins leader and is currently 76-16 in her career.


Division III – Upstate

Player of the Week

Jessica D’Angelo – St. John Fisher College
Freshman, Third Baseman, Jamestown, N.Y.

D’Angelo batted .556 (10-for-18) with nine runs scored, four doubles, one home run and seven runs batted in as St. John Fisher won four of five games on the week. The home runs came in her second collegiate game.

Pitcher of the Week

Ashley Thayer – SUNY Potsdam
Freshman, LHP, Winthrop, N.Y.

Thayer tossed the first ever Potsdam no-hitter in a 4-0 win over Regis, walking three while striking out nine on Thursday. In her collegiate debut last Monday against Bridgewater State, she struck out 14 batters in a 7-2 triumph and followed up the next day with 11 strikeouts against Rockford. She retired seven batters at the end of the week to bring her total to 41 over 25 innings in four games with a 3-1 record.



Division III – Metro

Player of the Week

Megan Ginter – New Jersey City University
Junior, Shortstop, Nutley, N.J.

Ginter hit .500 (17-for-34) with three doubles, one triple, 11 stolen bases, eight RBI and 10 runs in eight games played. She hit safely in seven of eight contests and produced five multiple-hit games, including a 4-for-5 performance with a double, a triple and two RBI in a 9-8 win over Eastern Nazarene. In an 11-5 victory over Elms, she went 3-for-5 with a double, four stolen bases, one RBI and three runs scored. Ginter finished the trip a perfect 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts.

Pitcher of the Week

Lauren Fitzsimmons – The College of New Jersey
Junior, RHP, Bridgewater, N.J.

Fitzsimmons went 4-0 with a save while posting a 0.00 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched. She opened the week by surrendering just four hits and one walk during a 3-0 shutout of Lebanon Valley. Two days later, she allowed just two hits while striking out eight in a 3-0 shutout of Muhlenberg. She then recorded a save by securing the last out in a 6-4 win over Babson, before tossing a four-hit shutout with five strikeouts in a 5-0 win over John Carroll. She wrapped up the trip giving up just one hit in three innings while striking out four in a 10-2 victory over Rensselear. In total, she issued only one walk and no runs while striking out 22 in 24.1 innings to extend her scoreless inning streak to 31.1.

Division III – South

Player of the Week

Megan Rizzi – Catholic University
Junior, Shortstop, Mont Vernon, N.H.

Rizzi powered the Catholic offense as the team posted a 6-3 record during its spring break trip to Florida. The junior hit .536 with an .821 slugging percentage and .602 on-base percentage over the nine-game trip. She pounded out 15 hits in 28 at-bats with five doubles and a home run while driving in 10 runs. She had six multi-hit games, including three games with three hits.

Pitcher of the Week

Jenna Carmon – Moravian College
Junior, RHP, Flemington, N.J.

Carmon helped Moravian post a 7-2 record during its spring trip to Florida as she picked up three wins in the circle. She went 3-1 over the week, boasting an ERA of 0.57, as she allowed just two earned runs in 24.2 innings of action. She surrendered eight runs overall on 18 hits while striking out 21 and walking just five for the week.