UMBC's Melanie Denischuk (Poway, Calif./Hugh Sutherland/Indian River CC/Auburn) has earned her fifth America East softball Player of the Week award of the 2006 season. Albany's Casey Halloran (East Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia) and Boston University's Cassidi Hardy (Jupiter, Fla./ Jupiter) share Pitcher of the Week honors, while Brooke Hudson (La Porte, Texas/La Porte), also of Boston U., garners Rookie of the Week accolades. The awards were announced on Monday (April 17).
Denischuk hit .471 (8-for-17) with four home runs and eight RBI in six games last week. She collected 20 total bases for a 1.176 slugging percentage, and she walked five times for a .609 on-base average. She was 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in the series finale against Albany on April 10 and 2-for-2 with two home runs, three walks and three RBI in the first game of a doubleheader against Binghamton on April 12. She hit 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the nightcap, and she homered with two outs in the bottom of the seventh in the series finale against Boston University. Denischuk leads the NCAA in home runs (22) and RBI (78), and she is hitting .473 on the season.
Halloran started five of UAlbany’s six games last week, going 4-1 in five America East contests. In three of those games, Halloran allowed only one run. In just 32 innings pitched, the junior struck out 47 batters, increasing her season total by over 50 percent. The junior, who had never struck out more than nine batters in a game before this season, tallied double-digit strikeouts in three straight games for the first time in her career. She recorded the 299th strikeout of her career against Maine and improved to 18-4 in her performances last week. She needs only two wins to become the Great Danes’ all-time leader in that category.
Hardy was dominant this weekend, earning a win in a start against Maine and a no decision in a start against UMBC. Against the Black Bears, Hardy tossed six shutout innings before allowing an unearned run in the seventh in a 2-1 BU win. She walked five and struck out five in the complete game effort. Against a heavy-hitting UMBC lineup in Friday, she allowed one run on four hits in 4.2 innings. She fanned eight and walked only two. She earned a no-decision, as the Retrievers rallied for a 5-3 victory once she departed. Hardy leads Boston U. with 10 wins and 132.0 IP on the season.
Hudson had her best week as a Terrier, going 8-14 (.571) and raising her average from .228 to .280 on the season. She went 1-4 with a run scored in a doubleheader split against Maine on Wednesday, and was 1-3 with a run scored in the first game of a series at UMBC on Friday. In games two and three of the series, however, she exploded. Hudson went 4-4 in game two, including a grand slam. It was her first career home run at any level and established a career-high for hits and RBI in the game (4). In game three on Saturday, she went 2-3 with a home run and three RBI, helping the Terriers earn their lone win of the weekend against the Retrievers. She had a 1.071 slugging percentage in five games last week.