General | 4/18/2022 12:32:28 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on April 18, 2022, for games played from April 11-April 17. It is the 31st Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2021-22 season. Sports featured include baseball, softball, men’s golf, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, men’s tennis and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field.
BASEBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ben Lavery, St. John Fisher, Jr., OF, Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa
Lavery batted .571 last week as the Cardinals won all four E8 games in resounding fashion. Lavery was 8-for-14 on the week with two doubles, four home runs, 13 RBI and nine runs scored. He. also drew two walks, was hit by two pitches and slugged 1.571 overall on the week. Against Utica, Lavery accounted for nine RBI, a double and two home runs before belting two more dingers and driving in four more runs in a sweep of Elmira on Friday.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Spencer Brown, Keuka, Jr., P, Feura Bush, NY/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk
Brown had a hand in both Keuka victories on the week, earning a win and a save. He went six innings, allowing just five hits and two earned runs while striking out five to earn the win at Russell Sage on Monday. On Friday, Brown pitched the final 1 1/3 innings without allowing a hit and striking out three to earn the save in the game one win over Utica on Friday. He also added a perfect inning of relief in game two against the Pioneers. It is Brown’s second weekly honor of the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Jimmy McCardle, St. John Fisher, Fr., OF, Hurley, NY/Kingston
McCardle batted .500 over the week in a 4-0 week for Fisher. McCardle was 7-for-14 on the week with two doubles, two triples, six RBI and six runs scored. The outfielder slugged .929 on the week and had a .588 on-base percentage. Against Utica, McCardle was 3-for-6 with a double and four RBI before closing out the week with four more hits including a double and a pair of triples in the Cardinals' sweep of Elmira on Friday.
SOFTBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Arianna Papas, Russell Sage, Sr., OF, Castleton, NY/Maple Hill
Papas slashed .556/.609/1.000 across six games last week. The outfielder, who recorded 10 hits, seven runs scored, six RBI, and five doubles, went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer in Friday's 2-1 E8 win at Utica. She also was 4-for-4 with four runs scored, three doubles and two RBI in an 11-1 victory over Union on Tuesday.
CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Ally Barr, Elmira, Gr., P, Pine City, NY/Elmira
In three games this week, Barr compiled 15.2 innings pitched over three games where she was allowed just a pair of earned runs for a weekly ERA of 0.92. Barr racked up seven strikeouts while allowing just one walk, while recording a 0.91 WHIP.
CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Kylie Murray, Utica, Fr., P, Eastchester, NY/Eastchester
Murray had three wins in four starts for the Pioneers last week. On Tuesday, she was the hurler for both games as Utica swept Elmira. She allowed just one run as the Pioneers defeated SUNY Poly on Wednesday and gave up just two runs against Sage in a 2-1 loss on Friday. Murray totaled 26 strikeouts in 31 innings on the week.
MEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jake Owens, Oswego, Fr., Greenwich, NY/Greenwich
Owens had the lowest score among all Empire 8 student-athletes by shooting a 155 during the spring portion of the 2021-22 Empire 8 Men’s Golf Championship, held at Hershey Country Club on April 15-16. Owens carded a 10-over-par round of 80 on Friday before shooting the lowest round of the weekend, a 75 on Saturday. He finished third over the four round championship and led Oswego to a runner-up finish.
MEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Nicholas Miller, St. John Fisher, Gr., A, Ithaca, NY/Ithaca
Miller helped the Cardinals offense explode for a combined 60 goals in two games this week, as he tallied 11 points on six goals and five assists. During Wednesday’s 31-3 victory over Keuka, Miller finished with four points and three ground balls, while he tallied seven points including five goals and two assists in Fisher’s 29-3 win over Utica on Saturday. It is Miller’s third E8 weekly honor of the season.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Eric Almquist, Nazareth, Sr., G, Wakefield, MA/Malden Catholic
Almquist played just under 42 minutes and exceled for the Golden Flyers in their win over E8 foe Alfred, stopping 12 shots for a .706 save percentage in the 22-8 victory on Wednesday. It is Almquist’s second E8 weekly honor of the season.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ashley Guerra, Utica, Gr., A, Ionia, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima
Guerra exploded for 15 points in two wins for Utica last week. On Wednesday, she had three goals and three assists as the Pioneers downed Russell Sage 19-6. She followed that up with a season-high nine points (six goals, three assists) in a 22-8 win against Alfred on Saturday.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Emma Prosak, Nazareth, Sr., G, Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt
Prosak earned a pair of wins during the week, as she made nine saves and allowed just seven goals in wins over Keuka and Hartwick. She played the first three quarters of each contest, stopping six shots versus Keuka and three saves against Hartwick.
MEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Nathan Allen, Nazareth, Jr., Macedon, NY/Penfield
Allen led Nazareth to a 9-0 win over Utica with a pair of victories on Saturday. He won at No. 1 doubles (8-2) and then posted a close win at No. 1 singles (6-2, 6-7 (7-9), 6-2). It is Allen’s second E8 weekly honor of the season.
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Joshua Washington, Utica, Jr., Sprints, Centereach, NY/Centereach
Washington ran the third-fastest 100-meter time in program history, and the fastest time of the season in the conference at Westfield State on Saturday. Washington recorded a time of 10.77 seconds for a convincing personal best and a third place finish. He was also sixth at 200-meter dash with a career-best time of 22.55 second and was on the winning 4x100 meter relay team that climbed into the top-50 nationally with a time of 42.01 seconds.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Hunter Logan, Utica, So., Throws, Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer
Logan recorded his best shot put throw of the outdoor season with a mark of 16.26 meters to win at the Jerry Gravel Classic hosted by Westfield State. That performance improves on his previous No. 2 mark in program history, and also puts Logan at the number five spot nationally. It is Logan’s second E8 weekly honor of the spring.
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Mackenzie Mix, Utica, Fr., Sprints, Camden, NY/Camden
Mix broke both of her recently set outdoor school records with a strong double in the 100- and 200-meter dash events at Westfield State on Saturday. A time of 12.18 seconds was good enough to win at 100-meters, while she bested her previous record by almost two tenths at 200-meters with a winning time of 25.26 seconds. Her latest 100-meter time is 22nd in the nation. Mix earned her second E8 weekly accolade of the spring.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Anna Ahlquist, Nazareth, Gr., Pole Vault, Henrietta, NY/Rush-Henrietta
Ahlquist broke the school record in the pole vault for the third consecutive weekend, as she cleared 3.53 meters (11' 7") at the Brockport Invitational after she hit 3.52 the week before at Rochester and 3.50 at Geneseo in early April. She is currently fifth in the Niagara Region. It is her second E8 weekly honor of the spring.
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.
EMPIRE 8 SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube –
Facebook –
Twitter –
Instagram