Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern and Wisconsin Earn Big Ten Weekly Softball Awards
Wolverines’ Lexie Blair and Alex Sobczak, Gophers’ Natalie DenHartog, Wildcats’ Danielle Williams and Badgers’ Kayla Konwent receive Big Ten’s top honors this week
Co-Player of the Week
Alex Sobczak, Michigan
1B – Sr. – Bloomfield, Mich. – Mercy – Major: Biopsychology, Cognition & Neuroscience
• Batted .667 with a .714 on-base percentage and 1.500 slugging percentage last week, hitting three home runs with nine RBI and seven runs scored as the No. 23 Wolverines stretched their winning streak to a season-best 11 games
• Had two hits in all four games last week, scored two runs in three of the four games and had a home run and three RBI in each game of Michigan’s series sweep at Big Ten foe Rutgers
• Reached base in 10 of 12 plate appearances, including eight of nine trips to the plate in the RU series
• A 2016-17 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection (2016-17 and 2017-18)
• Earns her first career Player of the Week honor
• Last Michigan Player of the Week: Lexie Blair (March 18, 2019)
Co-Player of the Week
Kayla Konwent, Wisconsin
1B – Jr. – Salem, Wis. – Central – Major: Business Administration
• Posted a .600 batting average, .600 on-base percentage and 1.300 slugging percentage with three home runs, eight RBI and six runs scored as the nationally-ranked Badgers swept all five games last week
• Collected eight extra-base hits (three home runs, five doubles) among her 12 hits last week, including seven in Wisconsin’s series sweep at conference opponent Penn State
• Had multi-hit games in four of her five outings, including a four-hit, four-RBI performance with a home run in the PSU series finale on Sunday
• Earns her second career Player of the Week honor
• Last Wisconsin Player of the Week: Kayla Konwent (March 11, 2019)
Pitcher of the Week
Danielle Williams, Northwestern
LHP – Fr. – Pleasanton, Calif. – Amador Valley – Major: Undeclared
• Went 2-0 with a 1.31 ERA, two complete-game shutouts and 29 strikeouts in 16.0 innings in the circle last week, pacing the nationally-ranked Wildcats to a Big Ten series sweep at Iowa
• Carried no-hit bids into the fifth inning of both outings at Iowa, finishing with a one-hitter on March 29 (career-high 15 strikeouts) and a two-hitter on Sunday (nine strikeouts)
• Her 15 strikeouts on March 29 at Iowa were also the second-most by a Big Ten pitcher this year (16 by Indiana’s Tara Trainer at Mercer on Feb. 23) and most by a Northwestern hurler since Feb. 16, 2013 (15 by Amy Letourneau against Campbell)
• Earns her second career Pitcher of the Week honor and fifth honor this season, having also earned three Freshman of the Week awards to date
• Last Northwestern Pitcher of the Week: Danielle Williams (Feb. 11, 2019)
Co-Freshman of the Week
Lexie Blair, Michigan
OF – Fr. – Winter Garden, Fla. – West Orange – Major: LSA Undeclared
• Batted .583 with a .688 on-base percentage and a .917 slugging percentage last week, registering a home run, four RBI and nine runs scored in helping the No. 23 Wolverines extend their current winning streak to 11 games
• Scored eight runs in a series sweep at conference foe Rutgers, including four runs in the opener on March 29, the most by a Michigan student in two years and one off the Big Ten season high and conference record (set by Minnesota’s MaKenna Partain at Maryland on March 23)
• Reached base in 11 of 12 plate appearances last week, including all nine trips to the plate during the Rutgers series
• Earns her second career Freshman of the Week honor
• Last Michigan Freshman of the Week: Lexie Blair (March 18, 2019)
Co-Freshman of the Week
Natalie DenHartog, Minnesota
OF – Fr. – Hopkins, Minn. – Hopkins – Major: Undeclared
• Recorded a .600 batting average, .600 on-base percentage and 1.000 slugging percentage last weekend with a home run, seven RBI and three runs scored in the nationally-ranked Golden Gophers’ conference sweep of visiting Purdue
• Had at least two hits, two RBI and a run scored in all three games against the Boilermakers, including a three-run home run in the sixth inning of Sunday’s series finale
• Put Minnesota in front to stay in the middle game of the series on Sunday with a two-run single in the fifth inning
• Earns her second career Freshman of the Week honor
• Last Minnesota Freshman of the Week: Natalie DenHartog (March 18, 2019)
2019 Big Ten Players of the Week
Feb. 11
PL: Hope Brandner, So., MINN
PL: Jordyn Rudd, Fr., NU
P: Danielle Williams, Fr., NU
F: Danielle Williams, NU
Feb. 18
PL: Tristen Edwards, Jr., NEB
P: Tara Trainer, Sr., IND
F: Lindsey Walljasper, NEB
Feb. 25
PL: Bella Loya, So., ILL
P: Tara Trainer, Sr., IND
F: Kaitlyn Coffman, OSU
March 4
PL: Jenny Behan, Sr., PUR
PL: Caroline Hedgcock, Jr., WIS
P: Amber Fiser, Jr., MINN
F: Danielle Williams, NU
March 11
PL: Kayla Konwent, Jr., WIS
P: Allison Doocy, Jr., IOWA
F: Natalie DenHartog, MINN
March 18
PL: Lexie Blair, Fr., MICH
P: Amber Fiser, Jr., MINN
F: Lexie Blair, MICH
March 25
PL: Maddie Houlihan, Sr., MINN
P: Meghan Beaubien, So., MICH
F: Danielle Williams, NU
April 1
PL: Alex Sobczak, Sr., MICH
PL: Kayla Konwent, Jr., WIS
P: Danielle Williams, Fr., NU
F: Lexie Blair, MICH
F: Natalie DenHartog, MINN
