TOWSON, Md. --- Moravian College junior left fielder Julie Siragusa and sophomore pitcher Josie Novak have been named the Landmark Conference Softball Athlete and Pitcher of the Week for their performances last week.
The duo helped No. 19 Moravian, now 29-3 overall, to a 4-0 record as the Greyhounds ran their winning streak to 18 games with a pair of doubleheader sweeps. The Blue and Grey finished their Landmark Conference season with an 11-1 mark and will host the conference tournament at Blue & Grey Field on May 6-7.
Siragusa, who earned her second Athlete of the Week honor this month, hit .700 last week, going 7-for-10 from the plate to go with four doubles, which raised her school record total to 20 for the season, and a triple for a 1.300 slugging percentage. She also scored four times and added three RBIs to go with a .727 on-base percentage. Siragusa added three putouts from her left field position.
"Julie is really hitting the ball well right now," commented Head Coach John Byrne. "She has a nice level swing through the zone that allows here to get the ball into the gaps on a line which is why she has so many doubles this spring. We're hoping she continues to swing the bat this well as we head into the postseason."
Novak, who earned her third Pitcher of the Week honor for the season, had a 3-0 mark in the circle last week to go with a 0.81 ERA and one shutout. She allowed just eight hits and no walks to go with 30 strikeouts in 17.1 innings pitched, and Novak finished the week with a one-hit shutout of Juniata College. In her first game of the week, Novak struck out a career-high and school record 16 batters including 11 of the first 12 outs during a 5-1 victory over Eastern University. She now has 303 career strikeouts, the sixth player in school history to reach 300 career strikeouts.
"Josie did an outstanding job in the circle last week, and had very good control of the strike zone," stated Byrne. "Being able to not allow a walk while striking out 30 during the week is a great effort, and she was really on point last Tuesday with her school record 16 strikeouts against Eastern."
Moravian is slated to return to action on Tuesday, April 26 in a non-conference doubleheader versus Stevens Institute of Technology beginning at 3:00 p.m. at Blue & Grey Field.
