2014 Softball Players of the Week

  • Marty Wilcox, Guilford, Jr., Infield/Outfield
    April 21, 2014
    Wilcox, a junior from South Charlest, W.Va., helped the Quakers to a 3-0 week. She had multiple hits in all three games, including a pair of three-hit efforts as she went 8-for-10 from the dish with a double, three homers, eight runs batted in and six runs scored. She also walked twice towards an .833 on-base percentage. She went 5-for-7 in a doubleheader sweep of Bridgewater, and then went 3-for-3 with two homers and six RBI in a 22-0 rout of Southern Virginia. Wilcox is now batting .398 and is second in the ODAC in both homeruns (9) and RBI (41).
  • Amber Ingram, Lynchburg, Jr., Pitcher
    April 21, 2014
    Ingram, a junior from Floyd, Va., won twice last week with a pair of complete game efforts as the Hornets rattled off a 5-1 week. Ingram tossed a three-hit shutout against Emory & Henry in game two of a doubleheader sweep of the Wasps. She fanned seven batters and didn't walk anyone as LC won, 3-0. She came back with another seven innings effort in a 3-2 triumph at Ferrum in game two of a split with the Panthers. She gave up two runs on eight hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Ingram is now 13-3 on the season with a 2.88 earned run average in 107.0 innings pitched.
  • Tori Higginbotham, Virginia Wesleyan, Sr., Outfielder
    April 14, 2014
    Higginbotham, a senior from Glen Allen, Va., put together strong week in leading Virginia Wesleyan to a 6-0 record. She went 12-for-20 at the dish with three doubles, a homer and 10 runs batted in. She also scored 11 times and stole 10 bases without being caught. She had at least one hit in each game, including a pair of 3-for-4 efforts with a homer, seven RBI, five runs scored and five stolen bases in a doubleheader sweep (8-3, 14-0) of Eastern Mennonite. For the season, Higginbotham is sixth in the ODAC with a .425 batting average. She leads the league in triples, is second in stolen bases (24) and third in RBI (34).
  • Kristina Karagiorgis, Virginia Wesleyan, Jr., Pitcher
    April 14, 2014
    Karagiorgis, a junior from Ashburn, Pa., won four times and record her first save of the season as she helped Virginia Wesleyan to a 6-0 week. She went the distance to get a 5-0 win over William Peace to open the week, give up two hits and walking five with four strikeouts. She followed that with five innings towards the win in game one against EMU, an 8-3 triumph. She gave up three runs (two earned) aon four hits with no walks and six strikeouts. She went three innings to start game two, giving up just one hit with a walk and two punchouts in a 14-0 shortened victory. Karagiorgios picked up the save in a 1-0 win at Bridgewater in game one. She worked the final three innings, giving up just one hit with four strikeouts. She started and went three innings in a second shortened victory, giving up three hits with five strikeouts towards an 8-0 win. Karagiorgis leads the league in wins with 16 as she's now 16-4 with a conference-best 1.10 earned run average in 108.0 innings pitched. Her 103 strikeouts are second in the league.
  • Brooke Hensley, Eastern Mennonite, Sr., Shortstop
    April 07, 2014
    Hensley, a senior from Elkton, Va., helped the Royals to a 4-2 in ODAC play that included a doubleheader sweep of Randolph College. Hensley hit .579 on the week, going 11-for-19 with a double, a homer, six runs driven in and eight runs scored. She also walked twice towards a .636 on-base percentage. She collected at least one hit in each game. He had a pair of three-hit efforts against Randolph, driving in three runs and scoring four times in the two wins. She belted her second home run of the year in an 8-3 win over Emory & Henry. Hensley is now batting .333 with 15 RBI.
  • Kelsey McLaughlin, Randolph-Macon, Fr., Pitcher
    April 07, 2014
    McLaughlin, a freshman from Richmond, Va., went 3-1 in four appearances for the Yellow Jackets covering 29.0 innings in the circle. She picked up her first win in a 4-3 triumph against Guilford. She worked a full 10 innings giving up three runs on 10 hits with one walk and six strikeouts. She followed that with a more traditional complete game, surrendering one uneared run on six hits in seven innings of work. He loss came via a 3-2 defeat to Randolph where she gave up three runs (two earned) on nine hits with three strikeouts during her third complete effort of the week. Her final victory came in extended relief as she went five scoreless innings in game two versus Randolph, earning a 7-3 win. She gave up four hits and fanned four in that outing. McLaughlin is now 8-4 on the season with a 2.03 earned run average, good for fifth in the ODAC.
  • Christine Simon, Randolph-Macon, So., Outfielder
    March 31, 2014
    Simon, a sophomore from Richmond, Va., helped lead Randolph-Macon to a doubleheader sweep of Methodist University last week. She went 6-for-9 over the two games, including a 4-for-5 showing with a double, two runs scored and a run batted in towards a 10-1 win in game one. In a 5-3 triumph in game two, Simon smacked a double and a triple with two RBI. She also walked once. Simon collected a .700 on-base percentage and slugged 1.111 in the series. She's currently fourth in the ODAC with a .510 batting average and third with a .574 OBP.
  • Kristina Karagiorgis, Virginia Wesleyan, Jr., Pitcher
    March 31, 2014
    Karagiorgis, a junior from Ashburn, Va., picked up both wins as the Marlins swept Mary Washington last week. In a five inning shortened 10-1 win in game one, Karagiorgis started and worked the first three frames, giving up on unearned on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. She also started game two, an 8-1 win for VWC. She went six innings and gave up no runs on three hits with two free passes and five punchouts. Karagiorgis also got it done at the dish, going 4-for-6 with two RBI. She is now tied atop the conference with 10 wins, improving to 10-2 with an ODAC second-best 1.19 earned run average.
  • Kayla Dost, Virginia Wesleyan, So, Third Base
    March 24, 2014
    Dost, a sophomore from Bristow, Va., helped the Marlins to a 3-1 week that included a sweep of Emory & Henry and a split with 15th-ranked Emory University. Dost reached base at least twice in all four games played, helping her towards a .714 on-base percentage. She hit 7-for-11 (.636) with two home runs, seven RIB and five runs scored. She also walked three times. He slugging percentage for the week was a robust 1.182. One of Dost's homers was a two-run blast in the Marlins' 9-5 win over Emory. She had three RBI as part of a 3-for-3 day in game two against E&H. Dost is currently batting .419 on the season, second on the squad.
  • Logan Carter, Randolph, Sr., Pitcher
    March 24, 2014
    Carter, a senior from Richmond, Va., picked up a pair of complete game victories last week, improving her season record to 9-3 and tying atop the league in wins. Carter gave up one run on seven hits with one walk and eight punchouts over seven innings of work to defeat Ferrum, 7-1. She followed that with another strong seven-inning showing in which she surrendered one unearned run on eight hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts in a 3-1 win at Bridgewater. Carter leads the ODAC in appearances (15), starts (11) and innings pitched (72.0). She's also #1 with 68 strikeouts and her 1.75 earned run average ranks fifth in the league.
  • Hunter Glave, Randolph, Fr., First Base
    March 17, 2014
    Glave, a freshman from Ashland, Va., helped the WildCats to a 6-0 week by hitting .600 and some strong glove work at first base. She reached base in all six games, drawing a walk in a 7-4 win over Greenville despite not getting a hit. She followed that with five straight multi-hit games, including a pair of three-hit efforts. She went 12-for-20 overall with four doubles, two triples, a homer and 10 runs batted in. She scored nine times and walked four times towards a .640 on-base percentage. She went 3-for-4 with a double, two triples and four RBI in a 9-8 win over Blackburn. She went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk and a pair of RBI in a 17-3 win over Keystone. For the season, Glave is batting .446 and is ranked in the top-five in the ODAC in several categories including hits (25), runs (17), doubles (6) and RBI (18).
  • Maggie Shaffer, Guilford, So., Pitcher
    March 17, 2014
    Shaffer, a sophomore from Horsham, Pa., picked up a pair of conference wins last week to help the Quakers open their ODAC slate at 2-1. Shaffer's two victories came in a 9-7 win against Roanoke and a 2-0 shutout at eighth-ranked Virginia Wesleyan, which marked the first loss of the season for the Marlins. Shaffer started her week by fiving up four runs on five hits with four walks and a pair of strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work towards the win against the Maroons. She followed that with seven scoreless frames against VWC in which she scattered six hits while walking one and striking out one. Shaffer is now 7-1 on the season, with her seven wins ranking second in the ODAC. She owns a 2.68 earned run average covering nine appearances (7 starts) and 47.0 innings of work.
  • Melanie Tenney, Lynchburg, Sr., Second Base
    March 10, 2014
    Tenney, a senior from Yorktown, Va., picks up her second weekly award of the season after helping Lynchburg to a 4-2 week. Tenney was red-hot at the dish, going 12-for-18 with three doubles and a pair of homers. She added 12 runs scored and 14 RBI in addition to a pair of stolen bases and three walks towards a .714 on-base percentage. She had four multi-hit games, including a 4-for-4 showing with two doubles and five RBI in a 12-2 win over Wilkes University. She had three hits including a double and homer with five more RBI in a 15-5 triumph over Rutgers-Newark. For the season, Tenney is second in the ODAC with a .595 batting average, 21 runs scored and 21 RBI. Her three homers are tied atop the conference.
  • Casey Snead, Guilford, So., Pitcher
    March 10, 2014
    Snead, a sophomore from Ellerbe, N.C., improved to 4-0 on the season in the Quakers 7-1 triumph over N.C. Wesleyan. Snead tossed a complete-game three-hitter, allowing one run while walking one and fanning four Bishops in seven innings of work. She also helped herself at the dish with a RBI double. Snead is fifth in the ODAC with a 1.48 earned run average in 23.2 innings of work so far this season.
  • Kayla Malkos, Virginia Wesleyan, So., Infielder
    March 03, 2014
    Malkos, a sophomore from Roanoke, Va., put together a strong week in leading Virginia Wesleyan to a 6-0 showing. She had at least one hit in all six contests, securing five multi-hit games including a 3-for-4 effort in a 4-2 win over Eastern Connecticut State. She had a triple as part of a 2-for-2 day in a 5-0 victor over Oneonta St. She scored eight runs and collected five RBI, while also walking twice and stealing nine bases. Three of those swipes came against ECSU. Malkos currently leads the ODAC with 12 stolen bases, is second in runs scored (12), and third in hits (15) and batting average (.300).
  • Kristina Karagiorgis, Virginia Wesleyan, Jr., Pitcher
    March 03, 2014
    Karagiorgis, a junior from Ashburn, Va., improved to 5-0 on the season with three wins last week as Virginia Wesleyan went 6-0 on the week. She opened with a six inning performance in which she scattered nine hits and gave up five runs (four earned) with three walks and four strikeouts in a 6-5 win over Meredith. She came back with a complete game victory in a 7-1 triumph over Western Connecticut St. She gave up four hits and one unearned run while fanning seven. She finished her week with a second complete game effort where she did not allow a hit over seven innings in a 5-0 win over Oneonta st. She walked three and struck out nine. Karagiorgis is currently tied atop the conference with five wins and 30 strikeouts.
  • Melanie Tenney, Lynchburg, Sr., Second Base
    February 24, 2014
    Tenney, a senior from Yorktown, Va., helped the Hornets to a 3-1 season-opening week with strong play both at the dish and in the field. Tenney went 7-for-14 with three doubles, a homer and seven runs batted in. She also scored six runs, walked once and stole a base. Tenney had at least one hit, highlighted by a 3-for-3 showing with a pair of doubles and two RBI in a 10-4 over Averett. Her homerun came in game two against Methodist where she collected a pair of hits and drove in four runs. In the field, LC's second baseman field 19 chances cleanly.
  • MacKenzie Creech, Virginia Wesleyan, Sr., Pitcher
    February 24, 2014
    Creech, a senior from Hilsborough, N.C., picks up her second straight weekly honor after helping the Marlins to a sweep of 17th-ranked Christopher Newport. In a matchup of nationally ranked foes, the VWC vs. CNU series was featured as a marquee showdown by the NFCA. Creech took to the circle in game one and set the down with a complete-game shutout of the Captains. She gave up five hits and walked a batter while fanning three in seven innings of work. So far this season, Creech is 2-0 with 1.00 earned run average in 14 innings of work. She's struck out 15 batters.
  • Cynthia Hayes, Guilford, Sr., Infielder
    February 17, 2014
    Hayes, a senior from Seagrove, N.C., wasted no time in getting her season started after seeing last year cut short due to injury. Hayes went 6-for-8 in the Quakers season-opening sweep of Methodist University. In a 15-3 win in game one, she went 4-for-5 with two runs scored, a pair of RBI and a stolen base. She followed that with a 2-for-3 showing and a run scored in a 4-1 victory. Hayes, also walked in the latter contest, has reached base in seven of her first nine plate appearances.
  • MacKenzie Creech, Virginia Wesleyan, Sr., Pitcher
    February 17, 2014
    Creech, a senior from Hillsborough, N.C., started off the 2014 campaign in dominating fashion in helping the Marlins to a sweep of N.C. Wesleyan. Creech went the distance in game one, equaling her 2013 season-high in her first start this year with 12 strikeouts over seven innings. She gave up two runs on two hits while walking a pair. She has now struck out 378 batters in her career, just four shy of third all-time at VWC.