PDF Release
NEC Player of the Week: Sierra McKee, SFU
NEC Pitcher of the Week: Ketarah DeVries, SFU
NEC Rookie of the Week: Gabrielle Ermish, BRY
Previous NEC Releases: April 24 | April 17 | April 10 | April 3 | March 27 | March 20 | March 13 | March 6 | Febrruary 27 | February 20 | February 13 | Preseason Poll Release
NEC SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sierra McKee, Saint Francis U
So., 2B, DuBois, PA/DuBois
McKee and the NEC regular season champion Red Flash wrapped April in style, winning all six of their games last week, including the program's first-ever doubleheader sweep of Penn State on Wednesday. She hit .539 (9-17) and recorded five RBIs, two doubles and two home runs. In the sweep of the Nittany Lions, McKee recorded a pair of doubles, a run and an RBI. She followed with two solo home runs and three RBIs in a sweep of Sacred Heart on Saturday, and added an RBI and stolen base in a pair of wins over Wagner the following afternoon to close out the first perfect regular season in NEC history and extend SFU's win streak to 18 games. On the season, McKee is batting .339 with 18 doubles (second in the nation), a triple and five homers. She has driven in 43 runs, scored 38 and has 14 steals.
NEC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Ketarah DeVries, Saint Francis U
Sr., P, Forreston, IL/Forreston
DeVries' efforts on the mound helped the Red Flash to close out a perfect NEC regular season. She went 2-0 with a 0.43 ERA over 16.1 innings and tossed two complete-game, one-hit shutouts. DeVries allowed just one run, five hits, struck out 17 and posted a 0.43 WHIP for the week. The senior threw a one-hit, eight-inning shutout in a 1-0 victory over Penn State on Wednesday to secure SFU's first-ever sweep of the Nittany Lions. Her second one-hitter of the week came on Sunday, when she went the distance in a 1-0 victory over Wagner to close out the regular season. On the season, DeVries is 13-5 with a 2.04 ERA and 117 strikeouts over 113 innings. She threw four complete-game shutouts and recorded six games allowing one hit or less. In NEC play, she posted a 5-0 mark in eight starts with a 1.17 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 36 innings. She is a three-time NEC Pitcher of the Week.
NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Gabrielle Ermish, Bryant
Fr., P, Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove
Ermish earned her first NEC Rookie of the Week Award after her role in Bryant's sweep over Mount St. Mary's. The freshman went 2-1 on the week with a 1.53 ERA, and allowed 15 hits over 18.1 innings of work. She earned a pair complete game wins against the Mount, starting with a three-hit shutout in a 4-0 victory in Saturday's opener. In the nightcap, Ermish went nine innings, yielding a lone run on five hits as the Bulldogs earned a 2-1 triumph. She also doubled and hit her first career homer the following afternoon against LIU Brooklyn. Ermish leads Bryant with ten wins on the year.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Emily Sargent (Lancaster, MA/Nashoba) went 3-0 last week, all in complete game fashion. She allowed one run in wins over Boston University (3-1) and LIU Brooklyn (3-1), and tossed a five-inning shutout in a 10-0 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday. Sargeant recorded a 0.74 ERA for the week to help keep the Blue Devils' playoff hopes alive.
Central Connecticut's Brittany Camara (Merrimack, NH/Merrimack) batted .421 with six runs, five RBIs and two doubles in a 5-1 week for the Blue Devils.
Sacred Heart's Kristen McCann (Phoenix, AZ) batted .500 and drove in four runs for the Pioneers. She went the distance in Sunday's 9-2 win over RMU that clinched the Pioneers a spot in the NEC Tournament. McCann allowed two runs over seven innings in the win, while also going 4-4 with a double, a homer and three RBIs.
NEC HEADLINES
After going 4-0 over the weekend, Saint Francis U became the first NEC school to post a perfect season in league play, finishing 16-0 this spring. With 45 wins, the Red Flash are three away from breaking UMBC’s conference record of 47 set back in 2002. The Red Flash have one of the nation’s most potent offenses, averaging 6.11 runs per game to rank 13th in the country. Saint Francis U also has a team slugging percentage of 0.487, which ranks 16th nationally.
Sacred Heart clinched an NEC Tournament berth on Sunday. Robert Morris (7-5), Wagner (8-6) and CCSU (8-8) are battling it out for the remaining two spots in the four-team field.
Red Flash slugger Jordan Seneca (Plum, PA/Plum) has continued her offensive prowess. She ranks third nationally in both home runs (21) and home runs per game (0.40). She also has 63 RBIs, which ranks sixth in the country. Her teammate, Sierra McKee (DuBois, PA/DuBois) averages 0.33 doubles per game, which is 22nd in the nation.