ALTHAM, Mass. — Brandeis University rookie catcher/designated player Stacy Berg of Owings Mills, Md., has been selected as the University Athletic Association Hitter of the Week for the week ending April 18.
Berg had a monster week as the Judges went 4-0. In 13 plate appearances, she reached base 11 times, batting .800 (8-for-10) with three walks. Six of her hits were for extra bases (three doubles, three home runs), giving her 20 total bases and a 2.000 slugging percentage. Berg drove in 10 runs and scored eight.
In a 9-1 and 11-4 sweep of Wheaton (Mass.) College on April 14, Berg went 5-for-5 with three walks, two doubles, two home runs and five runs scored as the Judges reached 20 wins in just 26 games, the fastest in program history. She recorded her second two-home run and five-RBI game of the season in the second contest. The Judges then took two from Wesleyan (Conn.) University on April 17, 8-0 and 17-4, as Berg went 3-for-5 with four RBI, three runs scored, a double and a home run.
Berg now leads the team and the UAA with nine homers, while her 39 RBI are second in the circuit. Berg also leads the UAA with an .807 slugging percentage. In the most recent NCAA Division III statistical rankings, Berg is ninth in home runs per game (0.33), 10th in overall home runs, 11th in RBI per game (1.44) and 42nd in slugging percentage. She is the third Brandeis player to earn UAA Player of the Week honors this season, along with sophomore OF Brittany Grimm of Perkiomenville, Pa., and senior SS Chelsea Korp of Worcester, Mass.
As a team, Brandeis is off to the best start in school history at 22-5-1 in hed coach Jessica Johnson's fourth season. The Judges earned their first-ever national ranking and were ranked 14th in Division III according the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll released on April 21, matching their highest mark of the season, set in Week 2 of the poll. They are the top-ranked team in New England according to the NFCA and New England Intercollegiate Softball Coaches Association (NEISCA) and are second behind Eastern Connecticut State University in the first NCAA regional poll, behind Eastern Connecticut State University. The Judges will face the Warriors, who are ranked 19th nationally by the NFCA tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. on Marcus Field in the first-ever showdown between nationally-ranked squads in that venue.
Berg is a 2009 graduate of McDonough High School. She is the daughter of Howard and Barbara Berg, Owings Mills, Md.
For more information on Brandeis softball, please visit our web site at http://www.brandeisjudges.com/sports/spring/soft.
Image courtesy Sportspix