For the third time this season UMBC's Melanie Denischuk (Poway, Calif./Hugh Sutherland) has been named America East's softball Player of the Week, while Maine freshman Jenna Balent (Conifer, Colo./Conifer) garners Pitcher of the Week accolades. Courtney O’Hara (Pasadena, Md./Institute of Notre Dame) of UMBC earns Rookie of the Week honors for the second-straight week. The awards were announced Monday (April 3).
Denischuk hit .619 (13-for-21) in seven games on the week, scoring eight runs and driving in 13. She hit one double and three home runs. She was 3-for-3 with three RBI in the first game of the doubleheader against Howard on March 28. She went 3-for-4 with a run and three RBI against Hartford on April 1. She went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and a three-run home run in the second game of the series against the Hawks. She had at least one hit in every game of the week and she drove in at least one run in all but one game.
Balent pitched back-to-back two-hit shutouts to lead Maine in its series win over Stony Brook this past weekend. In Saturday’s 3-0 win over the Seawolves, Balent struck out seven while walking just one. In Sunday’s 1-0 win over Stony Brook, Balent allowed just four Stony Brook runners to get into scoring position the entire game. Balent has won three-straight games to even her record at 8-8. She lowered her earned run average to 2.26, which is the lowest on the team (min. 4 starts).
O’Hara continued her red-hot streak at the plate, hitting .609 (14-for-23) with a double, a triple, seven runs scored and two RBI. Both of her extra-base hits came in the first game of the doubleheader against Howard on March 28, as she went 3-for-4 with two runs scored from the leadoff spot. She went 2-for-3 with two RBI in the next game. O’Hara went 3-for-4 with a run against Hartford on April 1, and 3-for-4 with three runs scored in the next game against the Hawks. In the final game of the series she was 2-for-3.