NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Atlantic 10 Conference recognized George Washington graduate student Sierra Lange as the A-10 Softball Player of the Week while sophomore teammate Maddie Spell received the nod for Rookie laurels. Meanwhile, Fordham senior Makenzie McGrath garnered Pitcher of the Week honors. The awards were announced Monday and are for games played April 18-24.
A product of Plano, Texas, Lange set the table for the GW offense out of the leadoff spot, slashing .538/.611/1.000 as part of a perfect 4-0 week. The graduate student posted at least one hit and one walk in all four games and tallied six RBIs and six runs scored along the way, cracking a pair of home runs while also swiping three bases on the week. Lange equaled her career high with three runs scored in an 8-2 win over Rhode Island on Saturday to begin that series, and she finished the weekend with a 3-for-4 performance that included a homer and two RBIs in a 9-4 victory.
McGrath, a native of Dumont, N.J., continued her stellar senior campaign with three instrumental appearances for the Rams in the circle. She opened her week with a tough loss in game two of a doubleheader at Army, with all three runs unearned during an eventual 3-0 loss, throwing a complete game and striking out eight with just five legal baserunners allowed. In the second game of the George Mason series, McGrath allowed two more unearned runs, both in the first inning, while setting down seven on strikes en route to the win. A day later, the senior came on in relief in a nine-inning win, allowing just a hit and two walks over 2.1 frames to pick up her second W for the week.
Hailing from Suwanee, Ga., Spell reached base in all four games of GW's 4-0 week, finishing with a .300/.533/.400 slash line thanks to three hits and five walks along with three runs scored and two RBIs. The sophomore reached base three times in the second game at URI with a hit and two walks as part of a 15-10 victory before registering a double and a walk during the series finale en route to a 9-4 win for the Colonials.