Monday, April 17, 2006

Macon, Ga. -- Mercer's Jamie Madruga (Warner Robins, Ga/Criminal Justice.) and Campbell's Lauren Caviness (Fuquay-Varina, N.C./Pre-Pharmacy) each earned Atlantic Sun Player & Pitcher of the Week honors as announced today by the conference office.

For the second straight week, Madruga powered the Mercer offense. In addition to her .611 batting average, the sophomore sported a .696 on-base percentage and slugged 1.278 in six games as she helped Mercer to a 3-3 week. Her two homers against ETSU propelled the Bears to a doubleheader sweep over the A-Sun newcomer.

Madruga went 11-of-18 with 12 RBI, three doubles, three homers and five walks on the week. She struck out only once and recorded 50 putouts.

Caviness was 3-0 last week, winning each time she stepped into the circle. Guiding the Camels to a 5-1 record for the week. The sophomore southpaw struck out 13 batters, while allowing just four earned runs in 21 innings of work.

Caviness threw three complete games, including a 1-0 complete game shutout of North Florida. She has a career-best 15 wins this season, after walking just three batters for a stikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.3-to-1. She is now 5-2 with a 1.02 ERA in conference games.

The Atlantic Sun Conference announces the Player of the Week every Monday during the 2006 softball campaign.

The 11-member league headquartered in Macon, Ga., consists of Belmont, Campbell, ETSU, Florida Atlantic, Gardner-Webb, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Mercer, North Florida and Stetson.

Other Top Performers

Krysten Vlacancich, CAM (Fr. - 3B - Marietta, Ga. - Undecided) -- Vlacancich hit .500 for the week (6-for-12) with five RBIs. She had a .500 slugging percentage and on-base percentage for the week.

Danielle Arriaga, FAU (Sr. - SS - Miami, Fla. - Social Science) -- Arriaga batted a team-high .556 (10-of-18) with two doubles and a grand slam.

Jessi Williams, GWU (So. - LF - Ellenton, Fla. - Biology) -- Williams hit .417 (5-12) with four runs, two home runs and six runs batted in over four games against Jacksonville and North Florida.

Jennifer Nolan, KSU (Jr. - 3B - Woodstock, Ga. - Exercise & Health Science) -- Nolan hit .571 for the week in four games for the Owls. She also had multiple hits in three games as she went 8-for-14 for the week.

Tori Ahern, UNF (So. - P - Wellington, Fla. - Education) -- Ahern threw two complete games, only allowing one run in each of those starts, while pitching 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.

Heather Colding, STET (Jr. - RHP - Lakeland, Fla. - Rehab Studies) -- Colding helped Stetson to a 2-2 week on the road in Atlantic Sun Conference play. The junior went 1-1 with a 0.48 ERA in 14.2 innings of work.