Last Week’s Stats: .545 AVG (6-for-11), .727 SLG%, .500 OB%, 4 R, 6 H, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 0 K, 1-1 SB
Smith became the first freshman to repeat as NEC Rookie of the Week this season. Previously earning the honor on Feb. 25, the Guilford, CT turned the trick once again after she combined to bat .545 in Saint Francis U’s three-game sweep of Stonehill. With the victories, the Red Flash have now won 30-straight games against conference competitors in a rally that dates back to a 4-3 extra-inning win over Le Moyne back on March 16, 2024. Going 6-for-11 at the plate over the weekend without a strikeout in that span, Smith drove in six runs and scored four more for a Saint Francis U offense that put 33 runs up on the scoreboard. Driving in the Red Flash’s first two runs of the conference campaign in the bottom of the first on a double, the catcher/infielder accounted for the ninth run of her team’s 10-run opening frame with an RBI single on Friday. Saint Francis U went on to hold on for the 10-9 win to begin the weekend. On Saturday, Smith once again got the scoring going for the Red Flash, as her sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third tied up the game at 1-1 in an eventual 13-2 triumph. In the series finale on Saturday, she scored one run and finished 2-for-4 with a two-run double to lead Saint Francis U to the sweep with a 10-6 win. With Smith’s latest award, the Red Flash have racked up four NEC Rookie of the Week awards, as AB Cipalla (Feb. 11) and Sofia Zielinski (March 4) have also taken home the distinction this season. Smith enters the week ranked fifth in the NEC in batting average (.367), while her 14 runs scored are good for fourth.