NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Atlantic 10 Conference has named George Mason junior Nicole Bechtel as its Softball Player of the Week.  Saint Louis fifth-year student Chloe Wendling was named Pitcher of the Week. Fordham freshman Neleh Nogay was selected as the league’s Rookie of the Week. The awards were announced Monday and are for games played April 17-23.
 
Bechtel had a slash line of .857 / .917 / 1.857. The Harrisburg, Pa., catcher led the Patriots in average (.857), on-base percentage (.917), slugging (1.857), hits (6-for-7) and RBI (8). She hit a home run in both of her Saturday doubleheader games against Dayton and hit a bases-clearing double as well. In Sunday's game, she went 2-for-2 with two RBI and two walks. Bechtel batted 1.000 in her last two games as well. In 12 plate appearances last week, she reached safely in an impressive 11 of those.
 
Wendling, a Centralia, Ill., native, was the winning pitcher in four of SLU's five victories last week, posting a 0.93 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP and a .175 opponents' batting average. She allowed just two extra-base hits in 22 2/3 innings and turned in a 2.5-to-1 strike to walk ratio. Wendling began the week by firing a complete-game five-hitter to beat Loyola 5-2. She went the distance again in a 6-2 victory in the opener at Saint Joseph's, striking out seven and allowing no earned runs and four hits. She earned the win in relief in a 7-6 game-2 win, pitching the final 1 2/3 innings. Wendling tossed a 3-hitter and surrendered no earned runs and just one walk in the finale, a 2-1 Billiken victory.
 
Nogay continued her stellar play in conference play by slashing .375/.444/.375. An outfielder from New Castle, Pa., she was instrumental to the Rams' sweep of UMass, going 2-for-3 in all three games with three runs scored, an RBI, a walk, and a stolen base. She remains Fordham's top hitter in league action, slashing.491/.526/.528 over 17 consecutive starts.