NEW HAVEN, Conn. - - The spring season is in full bloom and the Wilmington University student-athletes continue to shine, as four Wildcats have earned Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Players of the Week, as announced by the conference office on Monday.
The softball team had Kylee Gunkel and Sydney Hatch earn weekly nods while men's lacrosse's Toby Templeton and women's lacrosse's Ella Royer picked up Weekly Honors as well.
Kylee Gunkel (Highland, Md.) helped the Wildcats go 5-1 last week by going 3-0 in the circle with three complete games in four appearances. She tossed 23 innings with 16 strikeouts while only allowing four runs for a 1.22 ERA for the week. She threw a complete game at Georgian Court in a 6-1 win, striking out two while only allowing a run on five hits. She tossed a complete game at Adelphi in a 6-1 game one victory, striking out three. She then came on for the final two innings of game two, striking out three more in a 7-2 victory. Her week ended with a complete game in a 3-2 win against Caldwell, striking out 8 while allowing two runs on four hits. Gunkel is now 10-5 on the season with a 3.12 ERA.
Sydney Hatch (Magnolia, Del.) was second on the team with a .467 batting average last week, going 7-for-15 with two doubles, five RBI, and five runs scored to earn CACC Rookie of the Week. She collected a hit in every game she started, adding a squeeze RBI off the bench. She went 2-for-3 with a run in game one at Georgian Court and ended the week by going 3-for-5 with two doubles, three RBI, and three runs scored in a sweep of Caldwell. It is the second time this season that Hatch has been named the CACC Rookie of the Week.
Toby Templeton (Melbourne, Australia) earns his first CACC Rookie of the Week honor as well, tying for the team lead with seven goals in two victories last week. He scored six goals against Holy Family, needing only nine shots. He also added two ground balls against the Tigers. He then scored a goal and added two ground balls in a win against Post. The freshman now has 16 goals and five assists for 21 assists on the year.
Ella Royer (Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada) is no stranger to the CACC Weekly Awards, earning three Player of the Week nods so far this year, but is still setting career firsts. For the first time in her career, the junior midfielder was named the CACC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, leading the Wildcats to a 3-0 record. She recorded six caused turnovers, 10 ground balls, and 21 draws for the Wildcats, adding 18 goals and three assists for 21 points. The midfielder had four caused turnovers, five ground balls and six draws in a win over Chestnut Hill. She added one caused turnover, three ground balls and seven draws at St. Thomas Aquinas and one caused turnover, two ground balls, and eight draws at Caldwell as well.
Softball's Bella Barnes hit .474 with three homers to earn a spot on the Weekly Honor Rolls while baseball's Tyler Pirrung went 6-for-9 with two doubles and four runs in a doubleheader at Post to earn a spot on the Weekly Honor Roll as well.
Men's Lacrosse's Carter Earl scored seven goals and four assists for 11 points in two games to earn consideration while goalkeeper Daniel Flynn made 19 saves with a .514 save percentage to make the Honor Roll list as well. Women's lacrosse's Alea Javorowsky had eight goals and 13 assists for a team high 21 points in a 3-0 week, rounding out the Wildcats on the Weekly Honor Roll.