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

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

FOREST, Va. --- Week 34 marks the second to last weekly report of the ODAC season as sports close or prepare to end their regular season campaigns. Those earning ODAC Athlete of the Week awards for Monday, April 25, include (pictured from left and top): Gracie Ellis from Randolph-Macon softball, Conner Butler from Roanoke baseball, Drew Ramos from R-MC baseball, Shanan Hester from RC softball, Taylor Witherell and Julia Thomson from Washington and Lee men's and women's lacrosse, Will Kistler from W&L men's tennis, and Christina Harris from Lynchburg 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
Drew Ramos | Randolph-Macon | So. | Starter
Ramos, a sophomore from Williamsburg, Va., is a big part of why Randolph-Macon is rounding into form towards the backend of the schedule as he won for a second start in a row and third consecutive appearance overall. Ramos toed the rubber for six innings and allowed two unearned runs in a 5-2 victory over Hampden-Sydney. He surrendered just three hits and walked three while matching his career-high with 11 punchouts. He set down the last 12 batters he faced including six via strikeout. For the season, Ramos is 4-0 in nine appearances including seven starts covering 36.1 total innings. He has struck out 56 batters, fifth-most in the ODAC, at a clip of 13.87 per nine innings, which ranks third. He owns a 2.971 ERA, the league's eighth-best mark. Opponents are hitting .234 off him.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Conner Butler | Roanoke | Jr. | 2nd Base
Butler, a junior from Chesapeake, Va., was a hitting machine for Roanoke as he helped lead the Maroons to a 4-0 week that included an important sweep of Virginia Wesleyan. Butler posted a .706/.684/.882 slash line in going 12-for-17 with multiple hits in all four games. He went 2-for-2 with a walk in a 7-6 non-conference victory at Greensboro. He also stole two bases and contributed to five runs in the seventh and eighth innings in RC's comeback from a 6-2 deficit. In a 15-8 non-conference win over Pfeiffer, Butler registered the first five-hit game of his collegiate career. He drove in one run and scored four times while also stealing a base. The ODAC sweep (11-5, 9-4) of Virginia Wesleyan improved Roanoke's league record to 9-8 as the Maroons battled for a spot in the upcoming ODAC Tournament. Butler went 5-for-9 in the two games. He singled twice with two RBI and a run scored in game one, and belted a solo homer amongst three hits in game. He scored twice in the latter contest. For the season, is hitting .382 with a .424 OBP and a .515 slugging percentage. He is fourth in the ODAC in hits (52) and seventh in runs (40). His 11 extra-base hits include seven doubles, a triple, and three homers. He has driven in 26 runs.

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MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Taylor Witherell | Washington and Lee | Sr. | Attackman
Witherell, a senior from Wilmington, Del., put together a big week in helping Washington and Lee extend its winning streak to six straight games to stay atop the ODAC standings with a pair of conference victories last week. Witherell registered 15 points over the two contests. He opened with a career-high nine points in an 18-11 win at Bridgewater. He scored four times and dished out five assists to go with three ground balls and a caused turnover. Witherell followed up on the weekend with six points in a 27-6 win over Guilford. He scored three goals and helped out on three others. He also collected four ground balls and caused a two turnovers. For the season, Witherell has recorded a team-best 41 points on 25 goals and 16 assists. He has picked up 28 ground balls and caused seven miscues.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Will Kistler | Washington and Lee | Fy.
Kistler, a first-year from Hilton Head, S.C., put together a 6-0 week in helping Washington and Lee to three team victories including a pair of triumphs over regionally ranked teams. Kistler competed at #2 singles and joined Eli Hirshberg at #1 doubles in all three matches. The pair posted an 8-1 victory over Hardt Lesko and Carter Hylton in a 9-0 team win over Roanoke. Kistler defeated Lesko, 6-0, 6-0, in singles play. He won 6-2, 6-0 over Gianluca Beaujon in the regionally 11th-ranked Generals 9-0 team win over Salisbury, which is ranked 12th in the Atlantic South. Kistler and Hirshberg won 8-4 over Beaujon and Brad Pappalardo in doubles play. The match was much tighter against Isaac Rockower and Adrian Charchalis from regionally 20th-ranked Franklin & Marshall, but the W&L pair pulled out an 8-7 (7) win towards a 7-2 team triumph over the Diplomats. Kistler added a 6-1, 6-4 singles win over Justin Pace. For the season, Kistler is 12-8 in singles matches and 10-9 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
Gracie Ellis | Randolph-Macon | Fy. | Pitcher
Ellis, a freshman from New Kent, Va., caps her first collegiate regular season with her fifth ODAC weekly award after tossing 16.0 scoreless innings in three appearances for Randolph-Macon last week. Ellis opened with a two-hit shutout for a 3-0 non-conference win over McDaniel College. She did not walk a batter and fanned eight. She retired the first nine batters she faced, gave up two singles in the fourth, and then set down the next 11 batters in a dominating effort. Ellis turned up the strikeout total in a second two-hit shutout, this time on the road at Shenandoah. She did walk one batter, but struck out 14 Hornets on the way to a 2-0 victory. The 14 K's mark her seventh game with 10 or more punchouts. She closed the game by retiring 11 consecutive batters. Ellis capped her week with a pair of unblemished frames in a 1-0 loss to SU in game two. Four of the six outs she recorded were by strikeout. For the season, Ellis is 17-3 with three saves in 24 appearances including 17 starts. Her win total is second in the ODAC along. She leads the league in ERA (1.08), strikeouts (183), K's per seven innings (9.88), and shutouts (7). She is second in innings pitched (129.2) and third in opponents batting average (.166).

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SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Shanan Hester | Roanoke | Sr. | Shortstop/Pitcher
Hester, a senior from Wendell, N.C., got it done both at the dish and in the circle in helping Roanoke to a 4-0 week that included a pair of ODAC sweeps of Ferrum (1-0, 10-2) and Eastern Mennonite (6-5, 2-0) to wrap-up the fourth seed in the upcoming conference tournament. With a bat in her hand, Hester slashed .600/.714/.600 as she reached safely in 10-of-14 plate appearances. In the sweep of Ferrum, Hester went 1-for-1 in both games, but also walked twice in each contest. She scored two runs and drove in one while also stealing a base. In the circle, She earned a victory in game two against the Panthers. She gave up one run on four this with 5 walks and a strikeout over 4.0 innings in the shortened outing. Hester went 4-for-8 in the sweep at Eastern Mennonite. She drove in a run in game one and scored once in game two. She fired a two-hit shutout in the second game. She walked a pair and struck out five. For the season, Hester leads the ODAC in hitting (.465) and doubles (14). She is second in OBP (.505), fifth in slugging (.717), and sixth in hits (46). In the circle, Hester is 4-7 with a save in 13 appearances including nine starts covering 56.0 innings. She owns a .388 ERA and has struck out 41 batters.

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WOMEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Julia Thomson | Washington and Lee | So. | Attack/Midfield
Thomson, a sophomore from Larchmont, N.Y., helped the nationally fifth-ranked Generals to a pair of ODAC victories run their winning streak to 10 straight games and improve their records to 13-2 overall and 6-0 in conference play. In a top of the table ODAC matchup, Thomson scored a career-high six goals in a 20-10 come-from-behind over Shenandoah. With W&L trailing 5-0 after the first quarter, Thomson scored Washington and Lee's first goal. She scored three times inside of five minutes gone in the second half, giving the Generals the lead for good. She added a draw control to her stat line. Thomson was again on the scoresheet in Washington and Lee's 10-5 non-conference victory over Denison University, which is receiving votes towards the IWLCA top-25. She scored early in the second quarter to give W&L a 6-2 lead, and added two draw controls is a sound victory. For the season, Thomson has registered 32 points on 25 goals and seven assists.

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WOMEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Christina Harris | Lynchburg | Gr. | #1 Singles | #1 Doubles
Harris, a graduate student from Falls Church, Va., continues to add to her legacy at Lynchburg as the former ODAC Player of the Year went a combined 4-0 between top flight singles and double action in leading Lynchburg to a pair of ODAC victories. In the process, Harris became the first player in Hornets history to registered 100 career singles wins. In an 8-1 triumph at Virginia Wesleyan, Harrison won 6-1, 1-6, 6-0 over Alexa Brewster at #1 singles and joined Lauren Pascadlo for an 8-3 win over Brewster and Christine Zalameda at #1 doubles. The pair won against at #1 doubles in a 9-0 team victory at Randolph-Macon. Harris and Pascadlo topped Grace Holderman and Adele Huffman at #1 doubles. Harris then posted a 6-0, 6-0 win over Holderman at #1 singles. Harris is 15-4 in all singles matches this season including 12-2 at the top flight and 5-1 in ODAC play. She is 13-6 in all doubles matches.

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