Oklahoma City, OK - NC State's Molly Hutchison and Michigan's Sierra Romero named USA Softball Collegiate National Co-Players of the Week
Following a strong offensive performance during Week 4 of the NCAA Softball season, NC State’s Molly Hutchison (San Diego, Calif.) and Michigan’s Sierra Romero (Murrieta, Calif.) have been named USA Softball Collegiate National Co-Players of the Week, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball announced today. Both sluggers hit over .500 for the week, helping their respective teams to a winning record over the last week of play.
NC State's Molly Hutchison and Michigan's Sierra Romero named USA Softball Collegiate National Co-Players of the Week
OKLAHOMA CITY — Following a strong offensive performance during Week 4 of the NCAA Softball season, NC State's Molly Hutchison (San Diego, Calif.) and Michigan's Sierra Romero (Murrieta, Calif.) have been named USA Softball Collegiate National Co-Players of the Week, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball announced today. Both sluggers hit over .500 for the week, helping their respective teams to a winning record over the last week of play.
Wolfpack junior Hutchison turned in one of the best weekly performances in NC State history, leading her team at the plate as she compiled a .667 (8-for-12) batting average. During her on-fire performance at the plate, Hutchison tallied seven RBI and scored six runs to help lead the Wolfpack to an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) series win over Virginia Tech while capturing a standalone victory over Charlotte earlier in the week. Against Charlotte, the California native went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple, driving in what would prove to be the winning run in a 6-5 victory. Hutchison ignited the Wolfpack offense in the first two games of the ACC Conference series against Virginia Tech, going 3-for-5 with three RBI, a home run and three runs scored. In their series finale, she went a perfect 3-for-3 with two singles and a three-run home run that helped NC State walk away with the series win. For the weekend, she had a 1.417 slugging percentage and a .714 on-base percentage.
"Wow, it's quite the honor," said Hutchison. "It's such an honor to represent NC State at this level and to achieve this national award is great exposure for our school and our program. I'm extremely excited about it and it feels great. I just wanted to hit the ball hard each time I stepped to the plate. Coach Rychcik talks all the time about having quality at-bats, hitting the ball hard and things worked out for me this weekend. I was happy to get some big hits to help our team win, so I'm very pleased to be named USA Softball Co-Player of the Week."
"It's well deserved for Molly," said NC State Head Coach Shawn Rychcik. "She had a fantastic week with big hits in every game and we needed her to have them. I'm super proud of her. She's been working really hard. It took her a couple weeks to get going, but she's stayed at it and it showed this week. It's a really big honor to get the national player of the week award because you're competing against all the other athletes at softball programs in the country and it's super special to our program."
Michigan second baseman Romero batted .500 (5-for-10) with two doubles, a triple, a home run, and 13 RBI over the Wolverine's busy six-game schedule last week. Against three Top 25-ranked opponents, the senior posted at least one hit in all six games, extending her current hit streak to 12 games while tallying four extra-base hits. Romero boasted four RBI apiece in back-to-back run-rule wins against then-No. 13 Missouri and Long Beach State, while recording a 3-for-4, three RBI performance versus North Carolina. Romero also utilized her speed during the Wolverine's six-game stretch, adding two stolen bases and nine runs scored to her season stats. For the week, Romero finished with a .850 slugging percentage and a .583 on-base percentage.
"Having success at the plate really helps with my overall confidence, because I know I can get the job done even if it takes me a few at-bats to get going," said Romero. "But to be honest I don't know if I'll ever be satisfied with my hitting. My biggest thing and our team's biggest thing is our focus, and we did a really good job with that over our entire spring break trip. I'm proud of how our team has kept energy in the dugout, kept swinging and kept battling each and every game."
"This is a great honor for a great player," said Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchins. "Michigan is very proud of Sierra Romero. She is a major component to our success."
This is the first USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week honors for both Hutchison and Romero. This marks the first time an athlete from NC State has received the honor since the 2007 season when Abbie Sims was honored in Week 6, while Michigan's last Player of the Week recipient was Sierra Lawrence in Week 4 of the 2015 season.
2016 USA Softball National Collegiate Players of the Week
Week 1 (Feb. 11-14): Lexie Elkins – Louisiana-Lafayette - Senior - Catcher – Victoria, Texas
Week 2 (Feb. 15-21): Jailyn Ford – James Madison - Senior - Pitcher – Hot Springs, Va.
Week 3 (Feb. 22-28): Sierra Hyland – Cal Poly - Junior - Pitcher – Visalia, Calif.
Co-Week 4 (Feb. 29-March 6): Molly Hutchison – NC State - Junior – C/OF – San Diego, Calif.
Co-Week 4 (Feb. 29-March 6): Sierra Romero – Michigan - Senior - Infield – Murrieta, Calif.
About ASA/USA Softball
Founded in 1933, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball is the National Governing Body Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation's largest sports organizations, ASA/USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 70 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.2 million. ASA/USA is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women's National Team is one of only two women's sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine World Championship titles as well as claimed eight World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about ASA/USA Softball, please visit http://www.asausasoftball.com.
About the NCAA Women's College World Series
ASA Hall of Fame Stadium – OGE Energy Field serves as the home to the NCAA Women's College World Series (WCWS). For the 26th year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and compete for a national championship. Last year, over 78,000 fans attended the WCWS. Be there to Share The Experience with softball fans from across the country June 2-8 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2016 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and secure your championship experience!
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