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

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

FOREST, Va. --- Week 30 of the 2021-22 season was heavy in ODAC competition as teams get ready for the turn of the calendar to the final month of regular season play this year. Those earning ODAC Athlete of the Week awards for Monday, March 28, include (pictured from left and top): Lyndsey Sears from Ferrum softball, Evan Erb from Washington and Lee men's tennis, John Benner from W&L baseball, Karle Cundiff from Lynchburg softball, Avery Neaves from LYN baseball, Allie Schwab from W&L women's lacrosse, Ray O'Brien from Hampden-Sydney men's lacrosse, and Elizabeth Teefey from LYN women's tennis.

Below are entries for each of the winners from today's release. The following schedule will be used for awards reporting:

  • Mondays: baseball, softball, m/w lacrosse, and m/w tennis
  • Tuesdays: outdoor track & field
  • Wednesdays: m/w golf

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.

BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
John Benner | Washington and Lee | Fy. | Starter
Benner, a first-year from McLean, Va., helped the Generals complete a season-sweep for Shenandoah for the first time in series history dating back to their first game in 1988. Benner became the first Washington and Lee pitcher since Tom Concklin in 2017 to toss a complete game as he pitched W&L to a 5-2 victory over the 14th-ranked Hornets. He gave up two runs -- both coming via a two-run homer -- on four hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out a season and career-best nine batters. He needed just 97 pitches in the nine-inning outing. Benner retired the first 13 batters he faced -- including six by punchout -- until a single and homer with one down in the fifth inning broke up both his perfect-game bid and the shutout. He recovered quickly, sitting down 15 of the final 17 batters he faced to allow Washington and Lee to post three runs in the ninth for a 5-2 comeback victory. For the season, Benner is 3-0 in six appearances with five starts. He owns a 4.91 ERA with a .282 opponents batting average. He struck out 30 batters and walked just five in 29.1 innings on the hill.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Avery Neaves | Lynchburg | Jr. | Outfielder
Neaves, a junior from Reston, Va., was both explosive and timely in picking up his second weekly award of the season. Neaves slashed at .529/.636/1.294 in helping Lynchburg to a 3-1 week that including a trio of ODAC victories to improve the nationally fourth-ranked Hornets' records to 17-4 overall and 7-0 in league play atop the ODAC standings. Neaves collected the deciding hit in Lynchburg's 8-7 comeback victory over Randolph-Macon. Down 7-0 late-on, he homered to drive in the Hornets' first two runs in the eighth inning. Then he walked it off in the ninth with a three-run double to give him five RBI for the game. In a 13-5 loss to Tufts, Neaves went 3-for-4 with a triple and a solo homer while also walking once. He cleared the fences for a third straight game in a 16-8 win in game one of a road sweep of Eastern Mennonite. He went 3-for-4 in that contest with two walks and a three-run blast to punctuate Lynchburg's win. He collected one hit with an RBI double to help the Hornets to a 13-6 win in the nightcap. For the season, Neaves leads the ODAC in batting (.426) and on-base percentage (.584) as well as walks (22). He is second in slugging (.779) and RBI (26) and third in homers (5).

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ray O'Brien | Hampden-Sydney | So. | Attackman
O'Brien, a sophomore from Scituate, Mass., helped Hampden-Sydney to a pair of victories to improve the Tigers' records to 6-3 overall and 1-1 in ODAC play. O'Brien posted an 11-point week over the two victories. He opened with seven points on five goals and two assists with a pair of ground balls and a caused turnover in a 17-9 road win at Mary Washington. The points and goals totals are both personal career-bests. O'Brien then helped the Tigers to their first conference victory with three goals and an assist in a 10-6 triumph over Bridgewater. He added three ground balls and a caused miscue. For the season, O'Brien has notched 33 points on 19 goals and 14 assists, the latter number tied for seventh in the ODAC.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Evan Erb | Washington and Lee | Fy. | #1 Singles | #2 Doubles
Erb, a first-year from St. Louis, Mo., led Washington and Lee to pair of ODAC victories last week to improve the Generals' season marks to 4-8 overall and 4-0 in ODAC play. Erb and Evan Brady teamed up for an 8-0 win over Gabe Elder and Noah Hughes at #2 doubles in a 9-0 team win over Bridgewater. Erb defeated Elder in straight sets at #1 singles. He then posted a 6-3, 6-0 victory at #1 singles over Felix Bevc in an 8-1 team win over Virginia Wesleyan. Erb and Brady posted an 8-5 win over Camden Perry and Timothy Tep at #2 doubles. Erb is now 4-3 overall in singles action and 5-1 in doubles play.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC MEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Lyndsey Sears | Ferrum | Jr. | Pitcher
Sears, a junior from Forest City, N.C., helped the Panthers rattle off four wins to kickoff their ODAC slate with sweeps of nationally third-ranked Virginia Wesleyan (5-3, 5-4) and Shenandoah (4-0, 4-3). Sears went 3-1 four appearances as she earned victories in both games against VWU. She shook off a 6-5 loss to former ODAC foe and current Division II-reclassifying opponent Emory & Henry with a second complete game performance in game one against the Marlins. She gave up three runs (2 earned) while scattering eight hits. She walked a pair and fanned five batters. Sears then finished the second game and earned her second win. She gave up one unearned run on one hit. She walked two and struck out a pair in 2.0 frames. She also helped out offensively and she blasted a solo homer in the second game. Sears returned to the pitching plate in game one against Shenandoah and fired a one-hitter on the way to the shutout. She walked one Hornet and struck out four others. For the season, Sears is 9-3 in 12 appearances including 10 starts covering 69.0 total innings. She owns the league's second-best ERA (1.62) and has punched out the third-most (64) hitters. Opponents are hitting .191 against her.

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SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Karle Cundiff | Lynchburg | Jr. | 3rd Base
Cundiff, a junior from Glade Hill, Va., was both ever-present on base and run-producer for the Hornets last week in a 3-1 showing that included a road sweep (6-5, 8-5) of Eastern Mennonite and a home split (4-13, 4-3) against Bridgewater. Lynchburg's extra-inning victory in the open at EMU marked the 650th career victory for head coach Dawn Simmons. Cundiff went 4-for-6 with a walk in that series. She single and walked while driving in a run in game one, then twice gave Lynchburg leads in game two. She went 3-for-4 in that contest with a grand slam in the fourth inning for a 4-3 advantage, and then gave the Hornets the lead for good with an RBI double in sixth frame. Against Bridgewater, Cundiff went 1-for-4 in the first game and followed up with a 2-for-3 showing in game two. She again left the yard with a solo shot in the fourth for a 3-2 lead in yet another extra innings win for Lynchburg. On the season, Cundiff is hitting .404 (21-for-52) with a .466 OBP and a .615 slugging percentage. Her home runs this week were her first two of the year and she has driven in 11 runs.

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WOMEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Allie Schwab | Washington and Lee | Jr. | Attack
Schwab, a junior from Bryn Mawr, Pa., helped lead the nationally third-ranked Generals to a pair of wins against two other ILWomen/IWLCA Division III Poll recognized programs. Schwab posted an 11-point week that began with five points in a 10-5 victory over Williams College, which was receiving votes towards last week's IWLCA survey. Schwab scored three times and dished out a pair of assists. She also pulled down a draw control. Schwab then registered six points in Washington and Lee's 12-7 triumph over then 11th-ranked (now 13th) York College (Pa.). She scored three times and handed out a trio of assists to go with a ground ball against the Spartans. For the season, Schwab is third in the ODAC with 31 points on 20 goals and 11 assists.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC WOMEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
WOMEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Elizabeth Teefey | Lynchburg | Jr. | #2-3 Singles | #1-2 Doubles
Teefey, a junior from Amelia, Va., helped Lynchburg improve to 11-1 on the season with a pair of non-conference team victories last week. Teefey joined Lauren Pascadlo on an 8-1 win over Hannah Eastridge and Katlyn Massie at #1 doubles in the Hornets 9-0 whitewashing of Mary Baldwin. Teefey won 6-0, 6-0 at #2 singles over Gretchen Lutz. Then in a marathon against Methodist University, Teefey was responsible for two points including the deciding tally in a 5-4 triumph over the Monarchs. Teefey and her sister Grace paired up for an 8-7 (5) win over Megan Kidd and Valeria Matute at #2 doubles. In singles play, Teefey dropped the first set, 4-6, to Jill Lawrence, but rebounded to win the next two sets, 7-6 and 6-0, to secure the deciding point. Teefey is now 12-0 in dual match singles play and picked up her ninth and 10th victories in doubles action.

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