RIVERDALE, NY – Junior third baseman Victoria Ross (Bloomfield, NJ) and freshman pitcher Nicole Williams (Ansonia, CT) of the Manhattan College softball team were both recognized by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) on Tuesday. Ross was named MAAC Player of the Week, while Williams earned MAAC Pitcher of the Week honors.
Ross hit a combined .562 with six extra-base hits, including three home runs, in five games last week. She went deep twice and also had a three-run double in the first game of a doubleheader sweep at Mount St. Mary's on Friday. Ross tallied six RBIs in the contest, becoming the first Jasper with a six-RBI game since 2015. She then ripped another double and scored two runs in game two of the twinbill. On Saturday against Morgan State, she finished a double short of the cycle, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Ross tripled and homered in the same inning during the 13-0 victory. Over the five games, she posted a 1.375 slugging percentage and an on base percentage of .611.
Williams, meanwhile, went 2-1 with a 0.66 ERA over four appearances. She surrendered just one run and struck out 12 in 10.2 innings of work. Williams earned her first collegiate win against Mount St. Mary's on Friday night after giving up just one hit and one walk over three shutout innings in the Jaspers' come-from-behind 10-9 win. Williams also recorded five strikeouts in the contest. She then threw a one-hitter against Morgan State on Saturday. Williams faced one batter over the minimum in the five-inning victory, and the only hit she allowed was a one-out single in the fourth. She then tossed two innings of no-hit relief in Manhattan's 7-3 triumph over Cornell on Sunday.
This is the first career MAAC weekly honor for both Ross and Williams. They join Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, NY) and Christine Gebhardt (Middletown, NJ), who were chosen as Pitcher and Rookie of the Week, respectively, on March 14, as Manhattan's award winners this season.
The Jaspers (11-9), who have won four straight, return to action on Wednesday with a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Sacred Heart (7-12). It will be Manhattan's final twinbill before the start of MAAC play this weekend.
