Great Northeast Athletic Conference Softball Report - Week 5

Player of the Week
Abby Belcher (Winthrop, Mass.), Junior, Shortstop, Norwich University  
Belcher continued to raise her league-leading batting average with an impressive 16-for-23 (.696 average) to help the Cadets stay perfect in GNAC play with a 6-0 record on the week and a 10-0 mark overall to top the GNAC standings. Belcher blasted two home runs and drove in seven runs from the leadoff spot as an offensive catalyst. She scored all three of NU's runs in their 3-0 win over Albertus Magnus on Friday. Belcher leads the league in batting and ranks second overall in all of Division III hitting. She scored 15 runs, had five doubles and one triple while posting an unfathomable 1.957 OPS on the week.

Pitcher of the Week
Lauren Backhaus (Windsor, Conn.), Sophomore, Pitcher, Simmons College
Backhaus went 4-0 in the circle this past week including two shutout victories. She struck out 41 batters in 28 innings of work compiling an impressive 0.50 ERA for the week. 

Rookie of the Week
Patti Sciglimpaglia (Norwalk, Conn.), Freshman, Pitcher/Outfielder, St. Joseph (Conn.)
Sciglimpaglia helped pitch and hit the Blue Jays to a 5-3 record on the week. The rookie batted .480 (12-for-25) with four doubles, six runs scored, six RBI and currently has a nine-game hitting streak. On the mound, she pitched to a 1.26 ERA in 16.2 innings with 13 strikeouts and two walks. She had complete game victories over Albertus Magnus and Emmanuel and has won her last five starts.

Weekly Honor Roll
Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.), Junior, Shortstop, Saint Joseph's College (Maine)
Erin McAndrews (Marblehead, Mass.), Junior, Catcher, Suffolk University