Western Illinois’ Rondon, Omaha’s Elsasser Earn Weekly Softball Honors
Western Illinois’ Rondon, Omaha’s Elsasser Earn Weekly Softball Honors
ELMHURST, Ill. – Western Illinois' Monica Rondon and Omaha's Dana Elsasser were named The Summit League's Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week for their performances March 4-10.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Monica Rondon, Western Illinois
Jr. // C/UT // Champaign, Ill.
Rondon garners her first career Player of the Week award after contributing to nearly half of the Leathernecks runs and hitting a homer in three-of-five games during the week. The junior opened the weekend going 2-for-4 from the plate with a pair of three-run home runs, seven RBI and two runs scored. She blasted her third long ball of the tournament against No. 24 Georgia and also went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored in the 10-3 victory over Delaware State. In the Leatherneck's 9-1 win vs. Harvard, the Champaign, Ill., native was 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored. For the week, Rondon hit .353 (6-for17) with a 1.118 slugging percentage, five extra-base hits, four homers, a double, 12 RBI and five runs scored.
Also nominated: Larissa Franklin, Fort Wayne; Ali Mosier, IUPUI; Marlee Maples, Kansas City; Alyssa Reina, North Dakota State; Allie Mathewson, Omaha; Lindsey Boyd, South Dakota.
Previous winners: Feb. 11 – Jessica Lam, IUPUI; Feb. 18 – Erika Polidori, OU; Feb. 25 – Liz Broyles, UMKC; March 4 – Brittany Kachur, IPFW & Maritza Lopez-Portillo, NDSU.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Dana Elsasser, Omaha
Jr. // RHP // Hershey, Neb.
Elsasser claims her third Pitcher of the Week honor this season after going undefeated (3-0) with a trio of complete-game shutouts and being named the Tennessee State Tiger Classic Tournament MVP. The right-handed hurler fanned nine batters in a two-hitter against the Big Ten's Indiana. In an 11-0 run-rule vs. Tennessee State the Hershey, Neb., native struck out eight in five innings of work. In her final start of the weekend, she threw her second two-hitter of the tournament, striking out six more. On the weekend, Elsasser went 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA, striking out 23, while yielding seven hits and three walks in 19 innings of work. She held her opponents to a combined .103 batting average for the weekend.
Also nominated: Megan Flenniken, Fort Wayne; Cassie Vodde, IUPUI; Whitney Johnson, North Dakota State; Erica Denney, South Dakota; Teagan Walsh, Western Illinois.
Previous winners: Feb. 11 – Dana Elsasser, UNO; Feb. 18 – Whitney Johnson, NDSU; Feb. 25 – Dana Elsasser, UNO; March 4 – Miranda Kramer, IPFW & Whitney Johnson, NDSU.
ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
Entering its fourth decade of Division I athletics, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 144,000 at nine universities, four of which are located in top 58 U.S. metro populations (Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Omaha). Member institutions include: Fort Wayne (Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), Kansas City (University of Missouri-Kansas City), North Dakota State University, Oakland University, Omaha (University of Nebraska Omaha), the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University. Previously known as the Mid-Continent Conference, The Summit League rebranded in 2007 and has since produced 54 All-Americans, 37 Academic All-America selections and seven NCAA Championships. For more information about the league and its history, visit www.thesummitleague.org to "See The Summit" or follow on Twitter @thesummitleague.
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