NEW HAVEN, Conn. - - The Wilmington University softball and women's lacrosse teams are red hot going into the final week of March, depicted by three Wildcats being named Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Players of the Week, as announced by the conference office on Monday.
On the softball diamond, Sara Miller (Clayton, Del.) was named the CACC Co-Player of the Week while teammate Delani Sheehan (New Castle, Del.) earned the CACC Pitcher of the Week award after the duo led the Wildcats to an 8-0 week. On the turf, Ella Royer (Sherwood Park, Alberta) led the Wildcats to a pair of CACC wins, earning CACC Player of the Week.
Sara Miller has caught fire at the plate, going 11-for-22 with three doubles, a triple, and four homers to help lead the Wildcats to a perfect 8-0 week. She collected 20 RBI in the eight games, scoring 10 runs as well. She hit for a .500 average, reached bases at a .552 clip, and slugged 1.273 for the week, culminating in a 1.825 OPS.
The week started with Miller batting 5-for-7 with three homers, a double, 11 RBI, and 6 runs scored in a sweep at St. Thomas Aquinas. She then went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI in game one at Chestnut Hill, and then came home to bat 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in a sweep of Felician. The week closed on Sunday by going 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, and four RBI in a sweep of Adelphi. She knocked in both runs in a 2-0 victory in game one.
Delani Sheehan appeared in five games in the circle, going 5-0 with two complete game shutouts. She pitched game two at St. Thomas Aquinas, throwing four innings and striking out three in the 12-4 win. She started the opening game at Chestnut Hill, going the first four innings while allowing a run on three hits in the 10-1 win. Sheehan then came in on relief in game two against the Griffins, pitching the final 3.2 innings of a 7-2 win, striking out five to earn the win. She then tossed a five-inning complete game shutout against Felician, striking out four while allowing three hits. She finished off a sweep of Adelphi on Sunday, throwing a seven-inning complete game shutout, striking out four more.
Ella Royer led the Wildcats to a 2-0 week, scoring 12 goals while adding two assists. She also led the team with seven ground balls and five caused turnovers in the two victories. She scored five goals while adding an assist for six points at Chestnut Hill, adding five draws, four ground balls, and three caused turnovers. She then scored seven goals and an assist against Bridgeport, adding seven draws, three ground balls, and two caused turnovers. Royer leads the CACC and is third in all of NCAA DII with 52 goals on the season.
The softball team squares off against Pace and West Chester this week while the women's lacrosse team is off until Wednesday, April 3, when they host Jefferson at the WU Athletics Complex.