North Carolina Central University

SOFTBALL

     HAMPTON, VA – For the third consecutive week, North Carolina Central University sophomore Sophia Blue (Hope Mills, N.C.) has been selected as the CIAA Softball Player of the Week, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association announced Wednesday (April 11).
     Three other Lady Eagles earned weekly conference honors, including sophomore Stacey Greene (Detroit, Mich.) as CIAA Pitcher of the Week, senior shortstop Asha Sutton (LaGrange, N.C.) as CIAA Offensive Player of the Week, and senior second baseman Lakeshia Sheppard (Snow Hill, N.C.) as CIAA Defensive Player of the Week. NCCU head coach Larry Keen was voted as the CIAA Coach of the Week.
     In four games last week (April 2-8), Blue exploded at the plate with a .625 batting average. She hit 10-for-16 with a double, two triples, two home runs, 10 runs scored and 14 runs batted in. Blue also recorded five putouts and three assists from her third base position. Her best performance came in game one of a doubleheader at Saint Augustine's on April 4, when she went 4-for-5 with two triples, a home run, four runs scored and six RBI.
     Blue, who currently tops the conference in batting average (.533), hits (65), runs scored (61), triples (14) and total bases (116), is the NCAA Division II leader in runs per game (1.9) and triples per game (0.47). Among the nation's statistical leaders, she also ranks third in batting average, fifth in slugging percentage (.974), seventh in toughest to strike out (0.017) and ninth in stolen bases per game (0.9).
     Greene was picked as the league's pitcher of the week for the third time this season after posting a 2-0 record with a 2.10 earned run average and holding opponents to a .237 batting average. She also collected 11 strikeouts in 10 innings of work with only one walk.
     Greene (13-5) currently leads the CIAA with 99 strikeout victims in 115.1 innings on the hill.
     Sutton, who has claimed weekly conference defensive honors twice this campaign, was named CIAA Offensive Player of the Week after amassing a .667 batting average by going 8-for-12 at the plate with a double, a home run, eight runs scored and 11 RBI in four games.
     Sheppard earned defensive recognition for tallying six putouts and four assists from second base, while also turning two double plays.
     Keen was named CIAA Softball Coach of the Week after the Lady Eagles swept CIAA doubleheaders at Virginia State and versus Fayetteville State to go 4-0 on the week.  NCCU remains undefeated in CIAA play and has won 27 straight against conference opponents, dating back to April 8, 2006.  The Lady Eagles are also riding a 14-game win streak and are ranked sixth in the NCAA Division II Mid-Atlantic Region. 
     As a team, NCCU leads the NCAA Division II statistical rankings in doubles per game (2.5) and triples per game (1.03).