VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., April 19, 2010 - Howard's Courtney Young was named the MEAC Softball Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday. North Carolina A&T's Hope Fletcher earned Rookie of the Week accolades while Howard teammate Emily Johnson earned Pitcher of the Week honors, respectively.
Young (OF, 5-6, Sr., Sherwood, Ark.) hit .611 in three games last week and led the Bison to a three-game sweep against Hampton to secure first place positing in the MEAC's northern division. She recorded four hits on seven batting attempts with seven RBI. She hit a grand slam in the first game of the series and posted a stolen base and an assist from the outfield in the win.
Fletcher (3B, 5-6, Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio) hit 8-for-17 (.417) to aid the Lady Aggies to a 2-3 finish last week. Fletcher scored three times and stole two bases in conference matchups against Florida A&M. She also posted five putouts and 12 assists from her third base position.
Johnson (P, 5-7, Jr., Jacksonville, Fla.) picked up a win and a save pitching two games against Hampton last week. She finished with an ERA of 0.84 in 7.4 innings. She allowed seven hits with one earned run against the Lady Pirates and struck out nine of the 25 batters faced. Offensively she hit .833 (5-for-6) with four runs, one RBI and one stolen base in the victories.
Other Top Performers
Shannon Baity (SCSU) recorded a fielding percentage of .977 from first base with 42 putouts and one assist in six games last week for the Lady Bulldogs.
Rachel Carroll (DSU) hit .750 from the plate, with three doubles and four RBI, and extended her hit streak to 13 in five games last week.
Allie Garcia (B-CU) earned three wins with an ERA of 1.33 in 21 innings for the Lady Wildcats.
Joana Hernandez (B-CU) posted 58 putouts from first base along with one assist in five games last week for the Lady Wildcats.
Ashton Hinds (B-CU) stole three bases and finished the week with a .500 ERA including five runs, two doubles, and one RBI to help the Lady Wildcats to a 4-1 non-conference finish last week.
Raven Johnson (SCSU) finished 3-2 with 17 strikeouts in 32 innings last week for the Lady Bulldogs including a 2-1 conference mark against Norfolk State.
Jennifer Lindsey (FAMU) struck out four of the 31 batters faced to earn a win over North Carolina A&T.
Jennifer Luper (NCAT) pitched an eight-inning shutout, striking out four, against Florida A&M in the final game of a three-game series against the Lady Rattlers.
Melissa Oliphant (FAMU) was perfect from the plate (4-for-4) and finished with two homers and a career high six RBI in a 12-5 win over North Carolina A&T.
Amanda Reyes (FAMU) recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts in a 4-5 loss to North Carolina A&T.
Brittany Ruark (DSU) allowed just one hit and no runs in five relief appearances for the Lady Hornets last week.
Channell Thompson (SCSU) hit .438 with one triple, one double and two RBI to help the Lady Bulldogs to a 3-3 finish last week.
Yahamma White (NCAT) hit a walk-off single in extra innings to lead the Lady Aggies to a 1-0 win over Florida A&M.