2023 NCAC Softball Athletes of the Week

 

PLAYER		PITCHER
February 13th
	Cate Barkdoll, Wooster (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park & River Forest) Wooster first-year Cate Barkdoll batted .500 (7-of-14) with two doubles, three RBI, two walks and five runs scored to lead Wooster to a 4-0 weekend over opponents Centre and Asbury. Barkdoll recorded a hit in all four games and stood out in the team's 9-1 win over Centre with a 4-for-4 showing and two doubles at the plate.		Rachael Dudziak, Wooster (Aurora, OH/Aurora) Wooster junior Rachael Dudziak pitched the program's ninth no-hitter on Saturday as the Fighting Scots opened the season at 4-0. Dudziak pitched all five innings and struck out four in an 8-0 victory over Asbury. It was the program's first no hitter since 2019. On Sunday, she pitched two innings in relief in route to a 6-4 win, allowing just one unearned run to finish the weekend with a 0.00 ERA.
March 6th
	Jacqui Abogado, Denison (Naperville, IL/Naperville Central) Denison sophomore Jacqui Abogado hit .500 (10-for-20) with 10 RBI, six runs, four walks, three homeruns and a double in a 4-2 week at the Grand Slam Triangle Softball Classic. Abogado recorded four multi-hit games, including a 2-for-3 performance in the Big Red's season opening 8-0 win over Rhode Island on Friday. She tallied three RBI and two home runs in the eight-run victory. She also went 2-for-3 with two RBI in a 7-6 win over Maryville before recording another 2-for-3 effort with four RBI, a home run and a double in an 8-7 loss to North Carolina Wesleyan on Saturday. The sophomore posted another two hits and two runs in a tough 8-7 loss to Meredith on Sunday.		Sydney Silverstein, Denison (Atlanta, GA/Pace Academy) Denison sophomore Sydney Silverstein recorded a 2-1 week after throwing one complete game and one save across four appearances during the Big Red's opening weekend at the Grand Slam Triangle Softball Classic. Over 17 innings, Silverstein faced 66 batters, allowing just seven walks and striking out 13.
March 13th
	Kylie Perez, Hiram (Los Lunas, NM/Los Lunas) Hiram senior Kylie Perez hit .455 (10-for-22) with seven RBI, three runs, two doubles, one home run and one walk in a 5-1 week in Florida. Perez recorded three multi-hit games, including a 3-for-5 performance in a tough 6-5 9-inning loss to Aurora. She recorded one double, one run and one RBI in the one-run game. She then went 3-for-4 with one home run, one run and one stolen base to go along with a programming-tying six RBI in a win over UW-River Falls. In a 2-1 victory over Fontbonne, the senior produced a 2-for-4 effort to end the week.		Darian Kanno, Hiram (Mililani, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute) Hiram sophomore Darian Kanno recorded a 2-1 record, throwing one complete game in five appearances as the Terriers went 5-1 on the week in Florida. Over 18.1 innings, Kanno faced 69 batters, allowing seven walks, six hits and zero earned runs, while striking out 18. Notably, the sophomore allowed just one hit and struck out four in 4.2 innings of work against No. 21 Rochester.
March 20th
	Kaydee Clark, Wooster (Medina, Ohio/Buckeye Senior) Wooster junior Kaydee Clark hit .407 (11-for-27) with six RBI, three stolen bases, two runs, two walks and one double in a 4-4 week for the Fighting Scots in Florida. Clark hit safely in seven of her team's eight games, with three multi-hit games, which included a 3-for-3, three RBI performance in a 10-5 win over Geneva to start the week. She then went 2-for-4 with one run and one stolen base in a tough three-run loss to Lake Forest. In a 5-4 victory over Defiance, the junior produced a 2-for-3 effort with one run, one RBI, one double and one stolen base.		Katie Chittum, Ohio Wesleyan (Hebron, OH/Lakewood) Ohio Wesleyan junior Katie Chittum went 3-2 on the mound for the Battling Bishops, throwing four complete games in five appearances. Over 30.2 innings, Chittum faced 143 batters and scattered 43 hits, while allowing just six walks and striking out 22. In a 2-1 win over Marywood, Chittum allowed just five hits, zero walks and struck out a career-high 10 batters. In a 5-3 win over no. 18-ranked Rowan, which snapped the Profs 14-game winning streak, the junior scattered 10 hits and struck out one for the complete game victory. Chittum then worked five innings, scattered nine hits and struck out six in an 8-4 victory over Trinity (CT).
March 27th
	Alaina Di Dio, Oberlin (Whitmore Lake, MI/Whitmore Lake) Oberlin junior Alaina Di Dio hit .600 (15-for-25) with nine RBI, six stolen bases, five runs, two doubles and one walk in a 3-5 week for the Yeowomen in Florida. Di Dio hit safely in seven of her team's eight games, while posting five multi-hit games which were highlighted by a 7-for-7 effort in two games against Keuka. In a 9-4 win over the Wolves, the junior went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with four stolen bases, three RBI and one scored run. The next day, she recorded a 3-for-3 performance with three runs, two RBI and one stolen base, as Oberlin shutout Keuka 10-0 in five innings.		Lynnsey , Wooster (Goshen, IN/Concord) Wooster first-year Lynnsey Delio recorded two complete-game wins in 15.1 innings of work for the Fighting Scots to record a 1.37 ERA on the week. In a 5-1 win over no. 20 Millikin, Delio faced 28 batters, allowing five hits, one earned run and one walk, while striking out four. The rookie then struck out five, while scattering six hits and allowing two earned runs and two walks in a 3-2 win over Baldwin Wallace.
April 3rd
	Annabelle Calderon, Denison (Perris, CA/Orange Vista) Denison sophomore Annabelle Calderon went 9-for-21 (.429) on the week with nine runs batted in, nine runs scored, three doubles and two home runs. Calderon hit a first-inning grand slam and finished 3-for-4 with five RBI and three runs scored during game two against Marietta on Thursday. She was a combined 5-for-8 with six RBI and four runs scored against the Pioneers. Then during Denison's sweep over Oberlin on Sunday, Calderon collected two hits, three RBI, three runs, one home run and one double.		Darian Kanno, Hiram (Mililani, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute) Hiram sophomore Darian Kanno recorded two wins in 12.2 innings of work for the Terriers. In a win over Carnegie Mellon, Kanno faced 29 batters, allowing five hits, one earned run and three walks, while striking out four. The sophomore then struck out six, while allowing just two hits, one walk and zero earned runs in a conference win over Wittenberg.
April 10th
	Sophia Cegledy, Ohio Wesleyan (Pataskala, OH/Bishop Hartley) Ohio Wesleyan junior Sophia Cegledy recorded four hits with a team-high five RBI to go along with four walks for a .533 on-base percentage to help lead the Battling Bishops to a 3-1 week in conference play. Cegledy collected two hits and one RBI as OWU split with Wooster. In a doubleheader sweep of Hiram, the junior belted a two-run double to highlight a seven-run sixth inning which lifted her team to 10-8 win in the opener. Cegledy then recorded a two-run single during a five-run fourth inning that put OWU ahead to stay in the nightcap.		Megan Asher, DePauw (West Lafayette, IN/Benton Central) DePauw freshman Megan Asher got the start and recorded the win in game two of a doubleheader against Kenyon on Saturday. Asher went five innings, allowing just one hit and one walk, while striking out six.
April 17th
	Callie Rheinheimer, DePauw (Lebanon, IN/Zionsville) DePauw sophomore Callie Rheinheimer went a perfect 3-for-3 to help lead the Tigers to a 6-4 win over Oberlin in the second game of a twinbill. Down 4-2 in the sixth inning, Rheinheimer belted a grand slam for the Tigers. She also tallied one double to go along with her four RBI and two scored runs.		Sydney Silverstein, Denison (Atlanta, GA/Pace Academy) Denison Sydney Silverstein made three appearances on the week, collecting a 2.39 ERA in 14.2 innings, and earning one win and one save in conference play. During Denison's Senior Day sweep over Hiram on Saturday, Silverstein pitched all seven innings to earn the complete-game victory in an 8-3 win in game one before tossing the final 1.2 innings to pick up the save in an 8-7 win in game number two.
April 24th
	Katie Mathies, DePauw (Shelbyville, IN/Shelbyville) DePauw sophomore Katie Mathies went 5-for-12 (.417) with nine RBI and two scored runs during a 3-1 week of conference action for the Tigers. In a doubleheader sweep with Wittenberg, Mathies went 2-for-4 with five RBI and one scored run to go along with a grand slam in the first inning of game two. Then in a twin-bill split with Hiram, the sophomore went 3-for-7 with four RBI and one scored run.		Darian Kanno, Hiram (Mililani, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute) Hiram sophomore Darian Kanno went 2-1 on the week, allowing just four earned runs over 21.1 innings pitched, while striking out 24. In an 8-1 victory over Oberlin, Kanno threw seven innings, allowing just three hits and striking out five. Then in a win over DePauw, she recorded five strikeouts, scattered seven hits and allowed four earned runs to collect a 5-4 victory. In a tough 2-1 loss to Westminster, she threw six innings, allowed two hits and struck out 10 batters. In the one-run loss, Kanno became the second pitcher in Hiram program history to have multiple career games with double-digit strikeouts.
May 1st
	Maggie Ballentine, Denison (Crown Point, IN/Crown Point) Denison senior Maggie Ballentine was a combined 6-for-8 (.750) with four RBI, three runs, two doubles and a home run during the Big Red’s sweep over Wittenberg. Ballentine finished 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs and two doubles in an 8-5 win in game one and was 3-for-4 with a home run in a narrow 3-2 win in game two.		Kaelyn Rodriguez, Ohio Wesleyan (South El Monte, CA/South El Monte) Ohio Wesleyan sophomore Kaelyn Rodriguez went 2-0 with a 1.54 earned run average in a must win doubleheader against Kenyon. In the opener, Rodriguez came on in relief and blanked the Owls on one hit over the final 3.0 innings, while striking out two as the Bishops rallied for an 8-2 win. In the nightcap, the sophomore scattered nine hits over seven innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out one for the 5-3 win. The two wins clinched a spot in the NCAC tournament for Ohio Wesleyan, the Bishops' first tournament bid since the 2016 season.
May 8th
	Abby Pyburn, DePauw (Antioch, IL/Antioch) DePauw senior Abby Pyburn went 10-for-15 (.667), hitting .500 or better in each game, with nine scored runs, two RBI and five stolen bases during a 5-0 week the Tigers. In a doubleheader sweep of Denison which clinched DePauw's NCAC title, Pyburn went 3-for-4 with three scored runs and one stolen base. Then in a non-conference twin-bill with Illinois College, the senior went 5-for-7 with four scored runs, two RBI, two stolen bases and one double. Earlier in the week, Pyburn went 2-for-4 with two scored runs and two stolen bases in a win against Illinois Wesleyan.		Megan Asher, DePauw (West Lafayette, IN/Benton Central) DePauw first-year Megan Asher went 3-0 on the week, allowing one earned run over 9.1 innings of work for a 0.75 ERA, while striking out twelve. In a win over Denison, Asher allowed no hits and struck out three in 3.0 innings of work. In non-conference victories over Illinois Wesleyan and Illinois College, the rookie threw a combined 6.1 innings, allowing just two hits and one earned run, while striking out nine.