Virginia Beach, Va., May 4, 2009 - North Carolina A&T’s Jennifer Luper earned MEAC Softball Player of the Week honors, the league announced Monday. Danielle Wright of Norfolk State was named the Rookie of Week while Florida A&M’s Amanda Reyes was named Pitcher of the Week.
Luper (P, 5-8, So., Fort Mill, SC) posted an ERA of 1.88 in four games, 26 innings, for the Lady Aggies. She allowed no more than one earned run and one walk in her last three outings and struck out 17 of the 112 batters faced last week. She also proved to be key at the plate, belting a home run in the Lady Aggies first game against non-conference foe North Carolina Central. She was perfect in game-two against NCCU, hitting 2-for-2 from the plate, with one double and two RBI. Offensively she hit 4-of-9 with one homer, one double, and three RBI. She also tallied 12 assists to help N.C. A&T finish 4-2 for the week.
Wright (OF, 5-2, Fr., Safety Harbor, Fla.) hit .500 from the plate with three triples, two doubles and 10 RBI. She was perfect against Hampton in game one, hitting 4-for-4, with one triple, one double and one RBI. She also posted three stolen bases in the first game against the Lady Pirates. Defensively, she added five putouts and two assists to help the Spartans finish 3-2.
Reyes (P, 5-7, Jr., Scott Valley, Calif.) dominated the South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs with an ERA of 0.000 and posted back-to-back wins in the double-header. She pitched a complete-game shutout in the first game including seven strikeouts. She also struck out eight of the 24 batters faced in game two, allowing just two hits and one walk in the win.
Other Top Performances
Ashley Carter (NCAT) hit .400 with one triple and three RBI in six games last week for the Lady Aggies.
Ebony Hahn (UMES) finished 5-of-12 from the plate with a .416 batting average in four conference games for the Lady Hawks.
Melissa Oliphant (FAMU) went a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate in the final game of a three-game series against South Carolina State.
Mishayla Truttman (UMES) recorded a .454 hitting percentage with two home runs and four RBI in four games for the Lady Hawks.
Alyssa Velazquez (NSU) pitched 21 innings with a 1.67 ERA to finish 2-1 with one save in four appearances last week for the Spartans.
Inde Whitehurst (UMES) hit .571 for the week and pitched a complete game shutout against Morgan State.