NORFOLK, Va., April 9, 2012- Bethune-Cookman junior Michelle Banuelos-Smith earned Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Week honors in softball, the conference announced on Monday. Madison Hedderly of Savannah State was named the Pitcher of the Week, while Bethune-Cookman's Karina Romero earned Rookie of the Week accolades.

Banuelos-Smith (OF, 5-5, Jr., Mission Hills, Calif.) batted .545 in 11 appearances with four doubles, four RBI and four runs scored to guide the Lady Wildcats to a 3-0 sweep of South Carolina State.

Hedderly (P, 5-10, Jr., Dublin, Ohio) posted a 2-0 record with a 0.82 ERA in 17 innings last week. In her first game against North Carolina Central, Hedderly pitched 10 innings and struck out 12 of 40 batters. She followed that performance with a 0.00 ERA with four strikeouts and one walk in a 5-0 victory against NCCU.

Romero (OF, 5-7, Fr., Cathedral City, Calif.) hit .545 (6-for-11) with three runs and two RBI in three victories for the Lady Wildcats. In the second game of the series, Romero was 3-for-4 from the plate. She added 29 putouts in the defensive effort last week. 

Other Top Performers:

Paige Arnold (CSU) had a 1.00 ERA and struck out 17 batters in 21 innings.

Casey Beighley (DSU) struck out four of 24 batters in 5.0 innings to earn the 7-3 win against Morgan State.

Morgan Boyd (NSU) hit .556 (5-for-9) with one RBI in five games.

Shamekia Edwards (NCCU) was 2-for-3 in a loss to Savannah State.

Amber Hallman (SSU) combined for one double and three RBI with six hits to aid the Lady Tigers to a 3-0 record against North Carolina Central.

Tera Gainer (FAMU) hit a homerun and tallied 3 RBI in a 8-3 loss to North Carolina A&T.

Jennifer Lindsey (FAMU) was 1-1 with a 3.1 ERA and seven strikeouts in 9.0 innings against North Carolina A&T. 

Tiffany Macklin (NCAT) combined for two triples and two RBI while batting .500 to aid that Lady Aggies in three games.

Rachel Meagley (DSU) earned the save with a 1.17 ERA with five strikeouts and three walks in 6.0 innings.

Jordan Reid (DSU) posted two triples, one double and one RBI while batted .444 in three Lady Hornet victories.

Jamie Schulle (NSU) tied a school record with 12 strikeouts in a 8-0 win against Maryland Eastern Shore.

Raven Smith (NCAT) was 2-for-4 with one double and one RBI in a 9-5 win over Florida A&M. 

Shanel Tolbert (B-CU) was 3-0 last week with a 0.37 ERA, including 11 strikeouts in 19 innings.

Megan Uhrman (SSU) batted .600 (9-for-15) with three runs and five RBI in three wins last week.

Lydia Walther-Rodriguez (MSU) led the Lady Bears with a team-high seven hits (7-for-10) in three games.

Haley Ward (NSU) was a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBI in a win over Maryland Eastern Shore.  

-www.MEACSports.com-