ODAC Athletes of the Week | Baseball, Football, Lacrosse, Softball, Tennis

ODAC Athletes of the Week | Baseball, Football, Lacrosse, Softball, Tennis

FOREST, Va. --- Week eight of the ODAC season features all outdoor sports for the first time this year. Those earning ODAC Athlete of the Week awards include (pictured from top and left): Alex Braun from Emory & Henry softball, Donovan Pinnix from E&H football, Presley Egbers from Randolph-Macon football, Brett Rogers from Lynchburg men's lacrosse, Nic Graziano from Hampden-Sydney baseball, Kayley Cox from LYN softball, Avery Neaves from LYN baseball, Ruth de Souza from Sweet Briar women's tennis, Vincent Oliver from LYN men's tennis, and Emerson Foster from Roanoke women's lacrosse.

Below are entries for all 10 winners from today's multi-sport release. Stay tuned for track & field, soccer, and the first field hockey awards on Tuesday followed by golf honors on Wednesday.

For more on ODAC athletics, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.

SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Kayley Cox | Lynchburg | Sr. | Pitcher
Cox, a senior from Yorktown, Va., registered a pair of complete game victories to help Lynchburg to a 4-0 week with sweeps at Methodist University and against Averett University. In a 4-1 victory in game one at Methodist, Cox gave up one run on five hits over 7.0 frames. She walked one and fanned five Monarchs. Twice during the contest she set down seven batters in a row. Cox's second victory came via a 3-2 triumph in game one against Averett. She surrendered two runs on five hits over another seven-inning shift in the circle. She did not walk a batter and struck out a pair. Three times she sat down five Cougars while scattering those five hits. For the season, Cox is 2-0 in three appearances. She is second in the ODAC with a 1.87 ERA over 15.0 innings of work. She has given up 13 hits and struck out seven batters. Lynchburg is now 4-2 on the young season.

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BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Nic Graziano | Hampden-Sydney | Jr. | Starter
Graziano, a junior from Virginia Beach, Va., made the most of his second start of the season in helping Hampden-Sydney to an 8-0 victory at Washington and Lee. Graziano toss 7.0 shutout innings to earn his first win of the year. He gave up four hits and worked around four walks. He struck out seven Generals, matching his career-best single-game total. Graziano is now 1-1 on the season with a 1.64 ERA over 11.0 innings on the bump. He has given up nine hits and fanned 11 batters.

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SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Alex Braun | Emory & Henry | Sr. | Outfielder/Pitcher
Braun, a senior from Lexington, S.C., starred both at the dish and in the circle for Emory & Henry last week as she powered the Wasps to a 4-0 week with sweeps of Marville (Tenn.) College (8-6, 6-2) and Meredith College (11-9, 10-1). With a bat in her hand, Braun slashed .667/.692/1.333 as she went 8-for-12 with five doubles, a homer, five RBI, three runs scored, and a walk. She was 5-for-6 in a the sweep of Maryville, registering a double and homer in game one and doubling twice in game two with three combined RBI. She was 3-for-7 combined against Meredith with two doubles and two RBI in game one. In the circle, Braun went the distance in game two of both series and did not walk a batter with 20 strikeouts in 12.0 innings of work. Against the Scots, Braun gave up two runs on five hits with 12 strikeouts in 7.0 frames. She followed that with a one-run five-hit effort over 5.0 innings against the Angels. She again did not issue a few pass and fanned eight batters. This season at the plate, Braun leads the ODAC in batting (.640), OBP (.654), slugging (1.280), hits (16), doubles (7), homers (3), RBI (14), and total bases (32). She is third in runs scored (10). In the circle, she is 4-0 with a 2.04 ERA over 24.0 innings of work. She has struck out 29 batters, good for third in the league. She has only walked three hitters.

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BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Avery Neaves | Lynchburg | So. | Catcher/Outfielder
Neaves, a sophomore from Reston, Va., picks up his second straight weekly award after hitting safely in all four last week with a trio of multi-hit efforts in helping Lynchburg to a 2-2 showing. Neaves went 2-for-3 in game one (L, 3-0) at Methodist and followed with a double and run scored in game 2 (L, 12-4) against the Monarchs. In a sweep (9-4, 17-3) of Ferrum, Neaves went 2-for-3 in game one with a triple, stolen base, and run scored. He exploded in game two, going 4-for-4 with two doubles, a three-run homer towards seven total RBI with four runs scored and a walk. He finished the week with a .643/.688/1.214 slash line. For the season, Neaves is hitting .455 with with a .537 OBP. He leads (or shares) the ODAC in SLG (1.061), hits (15), doubles (4), triples (2), homers (4), RBI (18), total bases (35), and stolen bases (4).

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FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Donovan Pinnix | Emory & Henry | Jr. | Def. Lineman
Pinnix, a junior from Eden, N.C., made a living in Southern Virginia's offensive backfield in helping Emory & Henry move to 2-0 with a 47-14 triumph over the Knights. Pinnix, who also stars as a shot put thrower for the Wasps track & field team, led E&H with eight tackle tackles. He registered a pair of sacks amongst 2.5 tackles for a loss that set SVU back 17 yards. One of his quarterback stops was a strip-sack, with the fumble turning into a Wasps touchdown for a 27-7 lead midway thru the third quarter. For the season, Pinnix leads the ODAC with 4.0 sacks and is tied with teammates Ivan Phillips and Jay Swegheimer with 4.5 tackles for a loss. Pinnix's TFLs have cost teams 36 yards of offense.

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FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Presley Egbers | Randolph-Macon | So. | Quarterback
Egbers, a sophomore from Clifton, Va., was both efficient and productive in Randolph-Macon's 25-13 win over Bridgewater on Friday. Egbers accounted for 293 yards of total offense and three total touchdowns. Under center, he was 11-of-14 passing for 190 yards and two touchdowns via a six-yard strike to Zach Bowman and a 73-yard catch-and-run by David Wallis. Egbers also carried the ball 24 times for 103 yards including a one-yard touchdown run. His efforts, along with 109 yards from Justin DeLeon, helped R-MC rack up 261 yards on the ground. For the season, Egbers has completed 21-of-31 passes for 318 yards and five touchdowns without an interception. He has also run the ball for 123 yards and two scores.

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WOMEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Emerson Foster | Roanoke | Jr. | Midfielder
Foster, a junior from Richmond, Va., helped lead Roanoke to a 15-10 victory over Christopher Newport University. Foster scored six times on just nine shots, each of which went on net. Four of her goals came in the first half as the Maroons built a 9-6 halftime advantage. Foster added seven draw controls, five ground balls, and four caused turnovers to her line. For the season, Foster is second in the ODAC in goals scored (12) and third in points (13). Roanoke is now 2-0 on the year.

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MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brett Rogers | Lynchburg | Jr. | Attackman
Rogers, a junior from Leesburg, Va., helped spur #10 Lynchburg to a 2-0 week that included a huge 10-8 triumph over nationally top-ranked Salisbury University. In that game, Rogers scored twice and dished out a pair of assists as the Hornets ended a six-game losing skid to SU that dated back to the 2015 season. Rogers' second goal, Lynchburg's ninth of the game, put LYN ahead for good late-on. He added two ground balls against the Sea Gulls. Rogers registered six points in a 20-9 win over St. Mary's (Md.) the next day. He scored three goals and handed out two assists with four ground balls. For the season, Rogers leads the ODAC in assists (9) and is second in points (17).

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WOMEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ruth de Souza | Sweet Briar | So. | #1 Singles | #1 Doubles
de Souza, a sophomore from Marilia, Brazil, lost only two games combined in her two singles matches as she helped Sweet Briar to a pair of team victories last week. In an 8-1 road win at Randolph-Macon, de Souza won 6-1, 6-0 at #1 singles and then joined Allison Wandling for an 8-1 triumph at #1 doubles. In a 7-2 victory on the road at Roanoke, de Souza again won 6-1, 6-0 at #1 singles and paired with Wandling for an 8-2 win at #1 doubles. For the season, de Souza is 6-0 in singles and 6-0 in doubles action.

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MEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Vincent Oliver | Lynchburg | Sr. | #5 Singles | #2 Doubles
Oliver, a senior from Springfield, Va, helped propel Lynchburg to a pair of team victories last week. In a 9-0 triumph over Ferrum, Oliver won 6-0, 6-0 at #5 singles and then joined Colton Mullins for an 8-1 victory at #2 doubles. In a 6-3 win over Randolph, Oliver posted an 8-0 super-set win at #5 singles and again paired with Mullins for an 8-6 result at #2 doubles.

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