Valpo's Ichiyama, Pico Sweep Softball Weekly Awards

INDIANAPOLIS -- Valparaiso senior third baseman Joylyn Ichiyama (Torrance, Calif./Redondo Union) has been named Horizon League Softball Player of the Week, while Crusaders freshman Sierra Pico (North Las Vegas, Nev./Legacy) has earned Horizon League Softball Pitcher of the Week honors, for the week of Feb. 4-10.

The pair helped Valparaiso post a 2-1 record at the Belmont Invitational to open the softball season. The Crusaders collected victories of Jackson State and Central Arkansas, while falling in extra innings to the host Bruins. Ichiyama hit .444 in the three games, slugging .556. Pico, in her first collegiate action, started the season opener.

Ichiyama was 4-for-9 at the plate, opening the season by scoring three runs as part of a 1-for-2 effort at the plate in Valparaiso’s 11-2 shortened game against Jackson State. The senior’s RBI single gave the Crusaders the early lead in the game. Against Central Arkansas, Ichiyama went 3-for-4, keeping Valpo’s six-run fifth inning alive with an RBI single.

Pico made the start for Valparaiso against Jackson State, scattering five hits across five innings in her debut. The right-hander struck out two in the game, taking a shutout into the fifth inning of the shortened contest.

Valparaiso will take the week off before heading to Bowling Green, Ky., for the Holiday Inn Hilltopper Classic Feb. 22-24. The Crusaders will play five games in three days, meeting Western Michigan, Western Kentucky, Pittsburgh, South Dakota State and Dayton in the tournament.

Softball Player of the Week:
February 12:              Joylyn Ichiyama, Valparaiso                                                              

Softball Pitcher of the Week:
February 12:              Sierra Pico, Valparaiso