Labrador Earns MAC West Softball Player of the Week

CLEVELAND, Ohio - - After helping guide the Ball State softball team to one of the best offensive weekends in program history, senior second baseman Maddy Labrador has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week.

The third different Cardinal to earn MAC West Division Player of the Week honors this season, Labrador led the Ball State offense with a .533 batting average, a 1.267 slugging percentage, three home runs, seven runs scored, eight hits and nine RBIs at last weekend's Belmont/Tennessee State Invitational.

"Maddy had a tremendous weekend at the plate," head coach Megan Ciolli Bartlett said. "She was completely dialed in and trusting her preparation. She's heating up at a great time. We're hopeful she'll continue gaining offensive momentum as the conference season begins."

In helping the Cardinals go 3-1 at the tournament, Labrador accounted for 13 of the team's 51 runs over the four games. She also drew a pair of walks and ranked second among the four-game starters with a .566 on base percentage.

Labrador's first RBI of the tournament came in the ninth inning at Belmont (March 16), when her sacrifice fly gave Ball State a 6-5 advantage in the contest.

She followed with a perfect effort at the plate in the 11-3 win over Rhode Island (March 16), going 3-for-3 with a walk. Her first hit was a three-run home run in the first inning to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. Following a third-inning single, she added an RBI single in the fourth to finish the game with four RBIs and two runs scored. She also drew a walk in the fifth.

In the Cardinals win at Tennessee State (March 17), Labrador doubled in the first inning, and after moving to third on a single, stole home as part of a double steal.

Her best effort of the weekend, however, came versus St. Bonaventure (March 17) as she went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double, four RBIs and four runs scored. She hit a solo home run in the second inning and added a two-run blast in the third. She also scored after singling in the first and blasting a RBI double off the top of the fence in the fourth to just miss her third home run of the game.

Labrador enters the week with a .322 batting average and ranked among the top 15 in the MAC in home runs (5), slugging percentage (.575), runs scored (19), RBIs (23), hits (28), total bases (50), doubles (5), triples (1) and stolen bases (3).

The Ball State softball team returns to action Wednesday when it travels to Butler for a 4 p.m. first pitch. It will be the Cardinals' first game in the state of Indiana this season.

For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB, @CoachCBartlett & @BallStateSports / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSB.

Labrador Earns MAC West Softball Player of the Week

Players Mentioned

Maddy Labrador

Related Videos