Cleveland State's McNew, Youngstown State's Lacatena and UIC's Heflin Collect Weekly Honors

INDIANAPOLIS –Cleveland State junior Erica McNew (Canton, Ohio) and Youngstown State’s sophomore Maria Lacatena (Stanhope, N.J.) are the Horizon League softball Co-Players of the Week while UIC sophomore Elaine Heflin (Downers Grove, lll.) is the Horizon League softball Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 13-19.

Cleveland State competed in five contests this past week starting with a mid-week doubleheader at Kent State. The Vikings fell in both contests with the first game ending 10-5 followed by the second at 3-1. Cleveland State then hosted Valparaiso for a three-game conference series and went 1-2 against the Crusaders. The Vikings won the first contest 9-2 on Friday before dropping both games of the doubleheader on Saturday.

McNew started all five games for the Vikings and tabbed a .533 batting average while going 8-for-15 at the plate. The junior posted an on-base percentage of .611 and a slugging-percentage of .933. For the week, she scored five runs, hit two home runs and notched three RBI. In addition, McNew reached first base on three occasions by a walk and did not have a single strikeout.

Youngstown State had six-complete games and a forfeit over the week with doubleheaders versus Akron and Robert Morris in addition to a three-games series facing UIC. The Penguins spilt the contests against the Zips with a 3-1 loss and 6-3 victory in the second game. The squad then took the road to take on Robert Morris, winning the first 4-3 and the second 7-0 via a forfeit by the home school. Over the weekend Youngstown State lost the first game at UIC on Friday 6-3, won the first game on Saturday 17-4 and closed out the series with a 4-0 loss in the second game.

Lacatena led the Penguins at the plate throughout the week by batting .533 on 8-of-15 hitting. The sophomore posted a double, triple, home run, four RBIs and four runs scored in the contests. Lacatena also tallied a slugging percentage of .933 and an on-base percentage of .650. For the week, she posted two hits in three of the six games.

After winning the weekend series over Youngstown State, UIC currently has a 10-4 Horizon League record while only losing one game at home so far this season.

Heflin led the Flames in the circle collecting two wins versus the Penguins. The sophomore pitched a complete game in the first matchup against Youngstown State where she allowed just seven hits, struck out six batters and had just one earned run. She dealt her first-career shutout in the series finale matching a career-high eight strikeouts, allowing just five hits and two walks. For the two games, she tallied a .50 earned-run average over 14.0 innings pitched while holding batters to a .222 batting-against average in the circle.

UIC and Cleveland State are back on the field on Tuesday with the Vikings taking on St. Francis (Pa.) for a doubleheader and the Flames traveling to Bradley. Youngstown State continues contests Wednesday with a doubleheader at Eastern Michigan.

Top Players of the Week:
Sara Cupp, Oakland (Sr.): Hit .571 going 4-for-7 with a triple, two doubles and two RBI in conference play against Green Bay. During the week, she posted a .333 batting average with one home run and two walks.
Hanna Floyd, Wright State (Jr.): Had a RBI and a stolen base in the series opener against Detroit. During the doubleheader on Saturday, went 1-for-3 with two RBI in the first game and 2-for-4 with a double and RBI in the second.
Kayla Kostich, Detroit (Sr.): Hit .350 going 7-for-20 at the plate with two home runs, two doubles, four RBI, four stolen bases and five walks against Wright State.
Taylor Nadler, Valparaiso (Fr.): Went 5-for-9 in the doubleheader sweep over Cleveland State on Saturday with three runs scored and three RBI. For the week had a .429 batting average on 6-for-14 hitting at the plate.
Kaleigh Nagle, UIC (So.): Recorded her sixth multi-hit outing in game three against Youngstown State going 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI, which was the eventual game-winner. Hit for a .429 batting average while going 3-for-7 at the plate.

Top Pitchers of the Week:
Susan Knight, Cleveland State (Jr.): Went 1-2 with a 2.80 earned-run average in three appearances last week for Cleveland State. Posted complete games in all three of her outings and collected eight strikeouts.
Ashley Sharp, Wright State (Fr.): Went 1-0 against Detroit, pitching a complete game and allowing just two-earned runs and notched three strikeouts.
Haley Zemmer, Oakland (Fr.): Grabbed her fourth win of the year with a complete game to clinch the series win over Green Bay. In the win, she had seven strikeouts and only allowed six hits.

Players of the Week
Feb. 2: Nena Doran, Cleveland State
Feb. 9: Nena Doran, Cleveland State
Feb. 16: Jorgi Calombaris, Valparaiso
Feb. 23: Sarah Hartley, Oakland
March 1: Nena Doran, Cleveland State
March 9: Eleni Polites, UIC
March 16: Angie Clark, Wright State
March 23: Becka Peterson, Wright State
March 30: Sara Cupp, Oakland
April 6: Hanna Floyd, Wright State
April 13: Erica McNew, Cleveland State
              Maria Lacatena, Youngstown State

Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 2: Karissa Frazier, UIC
Feb. 9: Alex Radjen, Cleveland State
Feb. 16: Karissa Frazier, UIC
Feb. 23: Susan Knight, Cleveland State
March 9: Bridget Boyle, UIC
March 16: Erin Kownacki, Oakland
March 23: Susan Knight, Cleveland State
March 30: Erin Kownacki, Oakland
April 6: Ashley Sharp, Wright State
April 13: Elaine Heflin, UIC