Golden Gophers’ Maddie Houlihan and Boilermakers’ Sydney Bates earn final Big Ten’s weekly honors of 2018 season
Player of the Week
Maddie Houlihan, Minnesota
OF – Jr. – Plymouth, Minn. – Benilde St. Margaret’s
Batted .500 with a .500 on-base percentage and an .889 slugging percentage last week, registering two home runs, 11 RBI and five runs scored to help Minnesota to four wins in five games
Hit a home run and had a season-high four RBI in the nightcap of a May 1 doubleheader sweep of North Dakota State
Added two hits and two RBI in each of the Golden Gophers’ final two games last weekend (both wins over Big Ten foe Penn State), including a two-run home run in Sunday’s series finale
Earns her second career Player of the Week honor
Last Minnesota Player of the Week: MaKenna Partain (April 30, 2018)
Pitcher and Freshman of the Week
Sydney Bates, Purdue
RHP – Fr. – Davie, Fla. – Western
Went 3-0 with three complete-game performances, including two shutouts, and a 0.37 ERA in the circle last week, adding 11 strikeouts in 19 innings of action to spark Purdue to a Big Ten sweep at Iowa
Became the first Boilermaker pitcher ever to earn a victory in all three games of a conference series, and the first Purdue hurler to throw back-to-back shutouts against a Big Ten opponent on consecutive days
Did not allow a run over her final 18 innings of the series, scattering seven hits in a five-inning shutout win on Saturday and tossing a three-hit shutout on Sunday
Earns her first career Pitcher of the Week honor
Last Purdue Pitcher of the Week: Lilly Fecho (April 25, 2016)
Earns her first career Freshman of the Week honor
Last Purdue Freshman of the Week: Lauren Stewart (April 25, 2016)