Stony Brook’s Ashley Westphal (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) is this week’s America East Player of the Week, while teammate Molly Kestranek (Manilus, N.Y./Manilus) is the America East Rookie of the Week. UMBC’s Lauren Nicholson (Audubon, N.J./Paul VI) is the America East Pitcher of the Week. The accolades were announced Monday (March 20).
Westphal was outstanding in the Bash At The Beach Tournament, batting a team-best .692 on the weekend. In the tournament opener against Mt. St. Mary’s, she went 3-3 with an RBI Against Rutgers she went 2-4 with three runs scored to lead the Seawolves to victory. In the final game of the tournament, she went 1-1 with two sac fly’ She recorded a 1.000 fielding percentage and has been a staple in the Seawolf defense and registered an on base percentage of .667.
Kestranek was a threat all weekend from the plate, batting .500 from the designated player spot. She recorded a 1.071 slugging percentage, cracking her first two collegiate home runs on the weekend, one against Rutgers and another against Monmouth. Her seven RBI on the weekend were tied for a team-best while she added a on base percentage of .500 as well.
Nicholson won all three games she appeared in this week and is now 8-0 on the season, the best start of her career. She holds the UMBC school record with 46 career victories. Nicholson pitched two complete games and picked up one win in relief, pitching 15.2 innings on the week and allowing four runs (three earned) on 11 hits while striking out 14. In the second game of a doubleheader against LaSalle on March 14, a 10-1 UMBC victory, Nicholson allowed just one run on one hit and two walks while striking out three in the five-inning complete game. At the Delaware State Bash at the Beach on March 18 against St. Joseph’s, Nicholson allowed one unearned run in the first inning, then shut the Hawks down after that, scattering seven hits and two walks while striking out seven in the seven-inning complete game. Finally, she pitched in relief on March 19 against Drexel, entering the game with one out and a runner on third but striking out the first two batters she faced to escape the jam. She allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out four in 3.2 innings to pick up the win.