NEW YORK – The first BIG EAST Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week awards for 2019 have been claimed by Seton Hall’s Hailey Arteaga and DePaul’s Natalie Halvorson, respectively. The Pirates won two games versus Southern Utah and North Dakota, while DePaul is still undefeated after winning all five games over the weekend.
BIG EAST Player of the Week
Hailey Arteaga, Seton Hall, Jr., OF (Upland, Calif.)
Arteaga helped the Pirates to a pair of wins at the Marucci Desert Classic in Las Vegas. Throughout the first weekend of play, Arteaga led the league in batting average at .571, slugging percentage (1.000) and runs scored (6). She was tied at the top of the BIG EAST in on-base percentage, and was second in most hits (8) and RBI (5). Arteaga also hit a solo home run in the Pirates’ 2-1 win over Southern Utah.
BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week
Natalie Halvorson, DePaul, So., P (Ely, Iowa)
Guiding the Blue Demons to a 5-0 start in the Total Control Invitational in Rosemont, Ill., Halvorson went 2-0 with 15 total strikeouts and collected a league-best 1.02 ERA in four appearances. In her starts against Evansville and Green Bay, Halvorson allowed a total of only eight hits and two runs, while striking out eight. She fanned another six batters in 5.2 innings of relief work, allowing just three hits and no runs.
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Alyssa Graves, Butler, So., P (East Peoria, Ill.)
Graves started for the Bulldogs in their two victories over IUPUI and Evansville in the Total Control Sports Invitational in Rosemont, Ill. She gave up only four runs and 12 hits in 12 total innings of service, finishing the weekend with a 2.33 ERA.
Kate Polucha, DePaul, So., OF (Laguna Niguel, Calif.)
Polucha tallied seven hits on 17 at-bats in DePaul’s five wins in the Total Control Invitational as she batted .412. She scored three runs, added four RBI and hit a triple.
Savannah Jones, Georgetown, So., INF (San Rafael, Calif.)
Jones connected on a league-best three triples in the Hoyas’ win over George Washington. Overall, she scored three runs, along with six hits and four RBI with a batting average of .462 in Georgetown’s four-game weekend at the Gardner-Webb University Tournament.
Daniela Alvarez, Providence, Fr., P (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Alvarez went 2-0 and worked 10.2 total innings over the weekend, helping the Friars go 3-2 with wins over UMass-Lowell and Georgia Tech. She held her opponents to just eight hits and five runs with a 2.62 ERA.
Marissa Rizzi, St. John’s, Jr., INF (Manorville, N.Y.)
Rizzi had the second-best slugging percentage in the league last week at .769 throughout the Red Storm’s 2-3 weekend at the FAU First Pitch Classic in Boca Raton, Fla. She went 2-for-3 against No. 6 Georgia with a solo home run. For the tournament, Rizzi collected a total of three runs and two RBI on six hits with a .462 average.