DANBURY, Conn. --- Moravian College senior first baseman Jenn Dalickas has been named the Corvias ECAC Division III South Player of the Week while freshman pitcher Josie Novak has been selected as the Corvias ECAC Division III South Rookie of the Week for their performances in Moravian's 8-0 week.
The Greyhounds went 4-0 in the team's final four Landmark Conference games of the season last week to finish the conference slate with an 11-1 record. On Monday, Dalickas was honored as the Landmark Athlete of the Week for the second time in three weeks while Novak garnered her second Landmark Pitcher of the Week accolade of the season.
Dalickas hit .636 at the plate last week as she collected 14 hits in 22 at-bats to go along with 12 runs, 10 walks, nine RBIs, three doubles and three home runs. In a doubleheader sweep of Ramapo College of New Jersey last Thursday, Dalickas hit on a home run in each game to tie and then break Moravian's career home run record, and she added another homer on Sunday to push the record to 31. She has set the school record with 33 walks this season, and Dalickas has moved into second in school history with 70 career walks.
Since the start of April, Dalickas is 24-for-35 with 29 walks at the plate, and she had a streak of 25 straight plate appearances of reaching first base (9-for-9 with 16 walks).
"We decided to move Jenn to the leadoff spot to get her on base early since team's were starting to walk her every time she came up to bat," explained Head Coach John Byrne. "I think she is one of the most feared hitters in the conference, and Jenn is swinging the bat extremely well right now. It was nice to see her break the home run record at home on Thursday, especially with former record holder Janelle Brey Greer at the doubleheader."
Novak posted a 4-0 week in the circle for the Greyhounds. Novak tossed four complete games and had a 1.62 ERA after giving up seven runs, six of them earned in 26 innings of action. She allowed just 16 hits and five walks during the week, and she recorded 33 strikeouts to increase her season total to 105, the 11th best season total in Moravian history. Novak had a career-high 11 strikeouts in the first game of the Greyhounds' sweep of Ramapo.
"Josie wasn't feeling great over the weekend but really gutted out some wins in conference action that we needed," Byrne said. "She has a good mix of pitches that is keeping hitters off balance, and Josie has been getting a number of strikeouts this year. I think her outing against Ramapo might have been her best of the spring."
To view all of the ECAC Softball Players of the Week, visit http://www.ecacsports.com/sports/sball/2015/Players_of_the_Week/4.21.15.
Moravian, 24-4 overall, is scheduled to return to action on Thursday, April 23 when the Greyhounds welcome Stevens Institute of Technology for a non-conference doubleheader starting at 3:00 p.m. at Blue & Grey Field in Bethlehem.
