Purdue Northwest’s Payne Claims GLIAC Softball Player of the Week
Hammond, Ind. – Senior Kyleigh Payne (Bourbonnais, Ill./Kankakee CC/Bishop McNamara) on the Purdue Northwest softball team was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Softball Player of the Week when the conference office released the honor Monday morning. Over six games last week, Payne was an offensive juggernaut for the Pride hitting .667 (10-for-15) with five doubles, two home runs, 11 runs scored and 10 RBI. She also recorded an impressive slugging percentage of 1.400 over the stretch.
Payne helped lead PNW to a 4-2 record last week as the team opened up conference play with doubleheaders against Saginaw Valley State (Mich.), Ferris State (Mich.) and Northwood (Mich.). She singlehandedly scored 11 of the Pride’s 44 runs over their six games last week. Payne currently leads the GLIAC in batting average (.517), on-base percentage (.646), triples (7), extra-base hits (17) and slugging percentage (1.050). She also ranks second in the conference in runs scored (24) and is tied for fourth overall in home runs (4) and RBI (20).
“It is awesome to see one of the members of our Pride family get recognized for their hard work and dedication,” said PNW softball coach Niki Stansell. “Our whole team is so excited for Kyleigh and this honor. This is just another great chapter as this group continues to write its story this season.”
Purdue Northwest (14-9 overall/4-2 GLIAC) heads to Tiffin, Ohio, on Wednesday, March 28, to play a GLIAC doubleheader against Tiffin University. The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled for a 2 p.m. CT start at the Paradiso Softball Field in Tiffin.
