Pac-12 announces softball players of the week

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - UCLA junior Stephany LaRosa and OREGON sophomore Cheridan Hawkins have been voted the Pac-12 Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for play from Mar. 25-30, the Conference office announced today. 

LaRosa (Diamond Bar, Calif.) recorded eight hits in 13 at-bats, including three home runs, for a .615 batting average over the course of five games, all UCLA victories. The junior, who split time between catcher, first base and designated player, scored four times and walked twice, driving in eight RBI. LaRosa opened the week with home runs in both ends of a Wednesday doubleheader against UC Santa Barbara. In the weekend series against Utah, she extended her reached-base streak to eight consecutive, going 4-for-7 against the Utes with three RBI. LaRosa is second on the team with seven home runs, fourth with a .347 batting average and tied for fourth with 23 runs batted in. 

Hawkins (Anderson, Calif.) posted back-to-back shutouts of No. 5-ranked Washington in the Ducks’ doubleheader with the Huskies on Saturday, following with a 2.2-inning relief appearance against UW on Sunday to improve her overall record to 18-2. The sophomore allowed just two hits in an 8-0 five-inning win in the first game and six hits in a seven-inning shutout in the second, then picked up the win in the 4-3 walk-off victory in the final game of the series. She posted a 0.95 earned run average over 14.2 innings of work, allowing just two earned runs while recording 11 strikeouts. 

It is the third weekly honor for LaRosa, who earned it once in 2013 as a sophomore and once in 2012 as a freshman. Hawkins’ selection is the sixth of her career, the most for any UO student-athlete. It is the 129th all-time honor for UCLA and the 46th all-time honor for Oregon. 

UCLA and Oregon face off this weekend in what is sure to be a marquee matchup. The three-game series stretches from April 4 to April 6 and takes place on UO’s home turf in Eugene. All three games will be televised on Pac-12 Networks. 

For more information, including a full schedule, visit www.pac-12.com. 

Also Nominated:
Player: Courtney Ceo, ORE; Hanna Winter, STAN; Hannah Flippen, UTAH. 
Pitcher: Madi Schreyer, STAN; Ally Carda, UCLA; Sammy Cordova, UTAH. 

2014 Pac-12 Softball Players of the Week