Baseball | 4/26/2021 2:04:51 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on April 26, 2021 for games played from April 19-April 25. It is the 13th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2020-21 season.
BASEBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Wayne Rode, Houghton, Sr., U, Thornton, CO/Holy Family
Rode led the Highlanders at the plate going 9-for-18 (.500 batting average) with a pair of doubles, three home runs, nine runs batted in and seven runs scored in a 3-2 week for the Highlanders. He homered in both ends of a doubleheader against St. John Fisher to start the week and followed that up with back-to-back three-hit efforts with a pair of RBI in a win over Elmira and a home, double and four RBIs in a victory over Keuka. It is Rode’s second E8 weekly honor of 2021.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – RJ Kuruts, St. John Fisher, Sr., P, Forest City, PA/Forest City
Kuruts threw two complete games last week for the Cardinals and earned two wins after defeating Houghton and shutting out Elmira. The right-hander yielded just eight total hits and struck out 28 batters over 14 innings last week Against Houghton, he went seven innings and fanned 12 before recording a career-high 16 strikeouts in a four-hit shutout win over Elmira on Saturday.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – James Ward. Jr., St. John Fisher, Fr., OF, Queensbury, NY/Queensbury
Ward Jr. helped lead the Cardinals to a perfect 6-0 record last week as Fisher extended its lead atop the Empire 8 standings with a sweep of Houghton and four straight wins over Elmira. Ward Jr. was 8-for-17 (.471 batting average) during the week with three home runs, a triple, 11 RBI and eight runs scored. The firs-year outfielder belted two home runs in a sweep of Elmira on Friday and had at least two RBI in four of Fisher's six games.
SOFTBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Emily Trotman, St. John Fisher, Sr., P/UTIL, East Amherst, NY/Mount St. Mary Academy
Trotman batted .560 last week as the No. 13 Cardinals went 8-0 in conference play. Trotman finished the week with 14 hits in 25 at-bats, including four doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI, 10 runs scored and slugged 1.080 overall. She also went 4-0 in the circle and pitched to a 0.43 earned run average over 21 innings. Trotman homered twice and drove in five runs in a doubleheader sweep of Houghton Friday. It is Trotman’s second Empire 8 weekly accolade of the 2021 season.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Jess Patterson, St. John Fisher, So., P, Rensselaer, NY/Columbia
Patterson went 4-0 in the circle for the No. 13 Cardinals as Fisher went 8-0 in Empire 8 play. Patterson threw 23.0 innings on the week and finished with a 0.39 ERA. She allowed just two runs (one earned) on the week and added 31 strikeouts including back-to-back games with 11 strikeouts versus Houghton and Alfred.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Bre Socker, St. John Fisher, Sr., F, Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Socker scored six of St. John Fisher’s seven goals during the week to earn 2021 Empire 8 Spring Field Hockey Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player honors, as the Cardinals won their second league title in program history. On Friday, Socker tied an Empire 8 single-game record and set St. John Fisher’s mark with a five-goal outburst in the E8 Semifinals versus Nazareth. Socker scored the lone goal in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Hartwick in the league championship for her third E8 weekly honor of 2021. Socker finished the year with 16 goals and 36 points in just six games played.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Katelyn Slomba, St. John Fisher, Sr., D, Chaffee, NY/Pioneer Central
Slomba played a key role in St. John Fisher winning the 2021 Empire 8 Spring Field Hockey Championship, as she led a defensive unit that posted back-to-back shutouts over the weekend in wins over Nazareth and Hartwick.
MEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Josh Kienz, Utica, Sr., Newburgh, NY/Valley Central
Kienz followed his opening round 73 with a second-round 78 to record a final two-round total of 151 and take medalist honors at the Empire 8 Championship over the weekend. He was seven-over par for the championship. He had to hold off a stern effort from Oswego's Ryan Fecco but ultimately prevailed by two shots. Kienz led the Pioneers to their first Empire 8 team title in program history.
MEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Tucker O’Donnell, St. John Fisher, Jr., M, Truxton, NY/Homer
O'Donnell finished with a game-high six points on Saturday as the No. 11 Cardinals earned a 20-9 win over Nazareth in Fisher's lone contest last week. O'Donnell finished with two goals and was credited with a game-high four assists. The junior midfielder also collected two ground balls and caused one turnover on the day.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Darin Eakins, St. John Fisher, Sr., GK, Hamburg, Germany/International School of Hamburg
Eakins earned his eighth win of the season between the pipes as the No. 11 Cardinals defeated Nazareth College, 20-9 on Saturday. Eakins allowed just nine goals over 58 minutes and made eight saves in the win. It is Eakins third E8 weekly accolade of 2021.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – GinaMarie Wilson, Hartwick, Sr., A/M, East Meadow, NY/East Meadow
Wilson had a banner day in Wednesday's 22-7 win at Sage, tying her career high with nine points on four goals and five assists (also a career-best). The second of those points, a free position tally in the eighth minute, was the 100th point of her career. In addition to those nine points, Wilson had nine shots, four draw controls, two ground balls, and two caused turnovers.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Katie Lawrence, Nazareth, Jr., GK, Tully, NY/Homer
Lawrence made eight saves, including four on free-position shots in an 8-7 loss to No. 11 St. John Fisher Saturday for her second straight E8 weekly honor.
MEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Levi Webb, Houghton, Fr., Houghton, NY/Fillmore Central
Webb enjoyed an undefeated week for the Highlanders, winning both of his singles and doubles matches against Utica and St. John Fisher. Against Utica, Webb won his second doubles match, 8-0 and fifth singles match, 6-0, 6-0. Against St. John Fisher, Webb picked up an 8-3 win at second doubles and rallied to earn a 4-6, 6-3, 10-3 win at fifth singles.
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Connor McCauslin, Nazareth, So., Sprints/Hurdles, Albany, NY/Colonie
McCauslin recorded a snappy time of 15.06 seconds to win the 110-meter hurdles at RIT Monday and then smashed the school record in the same race Friday at Fisher. McCauslin recorded a time of 14.85 seconds to win that event and record the 19th fastest time in Division III to date.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Kyle Rollins, St. John Fisher, Sr., Jumps, Groveland, NY/Geneseo
Rollins cemented his name amongst the nation's best jumpers last week as the senior set two new nation-leading marks in the high jump and the triple jump, breaking the program's record in each event along the way. Rollins broke the high jump record on Monday at the RIT Quad Meet, where he leapt 2.17 meters, breaking his own program record in the event by .05 meters and grabbing a .08 meter lead on the national leaderboard. He then went on to break the triple jump record at Friday's Cardinal Classic, where he recorded a distance of 15.45 meters, breaking his own program record of 14.73 meters, last set in 2018. His mark now leads the nation by over a foot and a half.
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Edena Sanchez, Houghton, Sr., Middle Distance, Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam
Sanchez finished fourth in the 400-meters at the Cardinal Classic in 58.71 seconds, which is the top mark in the Empire 8, and is 39th in the NCAA to date this season. She was also sixth in the 200-meters with a time of 27.32 seconds, which is the second best mark in the Empire 8 this year. It is Sanchez’s second straight E8 weekly accolade.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Kelsey Wands, Utica, So., Jumps, Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro
Wands picked up her first long jump win of the year, indoors or outdoors, with a 5.57 meter jump at the Cortland Classic. That narrowly missed her collegiate best from the 2019-20 indoor season, which qualified her for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Wands now occupies the top spot in the Empire 8 in that event, and her mark is tied for 15th in the nation to date this season.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alea Steigerwald, St. John Fisher, Jr., OH, Penfield, NY/Penfield
Steigerwald was named 2021 Empire 8 Spring Women’s Volleyball Tournament Championship Most Outstanding Player for the second straight year after helping lead the Cardinals to their second straight league championship. Steigerwald hit .333 with 14 kills and 12 digs in the four-set win over Alfred in the E8 Semifinals Thursday. She followed that up with a team-best 17 digs and eight kills in the championship match Sunday, which Fisher won in four sets over Nazareth.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Delayne Young, St. John Fisher, Fr., OH, Wrightwood, CA/Serrano
Young slammed 16 kills to go along with eight digs, one block and one service ace, as the Cardinals won their second consecutive Empire 8 Championship over the weekend. Young had eight kills in the E8 Semifinal win over Alfred and followed that up by hitting .240 with eight kills and seven digs in the E8 Championship match versus Nazareth Sunday.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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