March 28 Softball Players of the Week

Mandi Nichols

Both the C-USA Hitter of the Week and Pitcher of the Week honors are split for the week ending March 27. Sharing the hitting honors are East Carolina DP Mandi Nichols and USF rightfielder Tiffany Stewart, who each lead their respective teams to C-USA series sweeps. Nichols belted a pair of game-winning home runs in a three-game sweep of Houston, while Stewart batted .700 as the Bulls picked up a road-sweep at Southern Miss. In the circle, Saint Louis freshman Lorena Floccari led the Billikens to their first C-USA series win in two seasons over Charlotte as she tossed a pair of complete-game victories. Floccari shares the pitching honor with Louisville senior Aja Sherman, who notched the fifth no-hitter of her career in a 1-0 victory over Western Kentucky. Sherman fanned a school-record 15 Hilltoppers in the eight-inning affair and allowed just two earned runs to No. 1 Michigan in 8.2 innings of work against the Wolverines.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Co-Hitters of the Week
Mandi Nichols, ECU
Sr, DP, Greenville, N.C.
Nichols delivered a pair of game-winning home runs in the Pirates’ three-game sweep of Houston. The senior finished the week 7-for-12 (.583) with four extra-base hits and six RBI. She belted her league-leading second grand slam of the season in a 5-3 game-two victory over Houston. In mid-week action, Nichols went 4-for-4 with two doubles in a twinbill sweep of UNC-Wilmington.

Tiffany Stewart, USF
Jr, OF, Odessa, Fla.
Stewart batted .700 (7-for-10) in the Bulls’ series sweep of Southern Miss including a 4-for-4, 5 RBI effort in game one. The junior also scored two runs in each contest and added a pair of doubles and a home run. She leads C-USA with a .529 batting average in conference play.

C0-Pitchers of the Week
Lorena Floccari, SLU
Fr., RHP, Tallmadge, Ohio
Floccari led the Billikens to their first C-USA series win in two years with a pair of complete-game victories over Charlotte. The freshman tossed a complete-game shutout in a 2-0 game-one victory, then wrapped up the series with a 4-1 game-three victory. For the week, she posted a 0.44 ERA in three appearances, while striking out 10 49ers.

Aja Sherman, LOU
Sr., RHP, Las Vegas, Nev.
Sherman logged the fifth no-hitter of her career, which is the second most in C-USA history, in the Cardinals’ 1-0, eight-inning victory over Western Kentucky. She fanned a school-record 15 Hilltoppers in the victory, while walking only one. Sherman fanned 21 batters on the week including six in 8.2 innings of work in two appearances against No. 1 Michigan.