Vincent Novicki, Associate Director of Athletics Communications – Seton Hall University (Photo Courtesy of Seton Hall Athletics)
NEW YORK – Seton Hall University senior third baseman Meredith Henze (Elkton, Md.) picked up the first BIG EAST Softball Player of the Week accolades of the season Monday it was announced by the league office.
Henze posted monstrous offensive numbers on opening weekend as she led the Pirates in nearly every offensive category. In four games at the Campbell University Hampton Inn Stampede Tournament Henze hit .556 with a .636 on-base percentage and 1.667 slugging percentage off four extra-base hits, including three home runs and a double.
She also tallied a team-high six RBI and scored five runs. Her .556 batting average was tied for the highest among BIG EAST players in the opening weekend of play with a minimum of six plate appearances.
Entering the season Henze had homered five times over her first three collegiate seasons and she has already tied her career-best three-home run performance from her freshman campaign. It is the first time in her career she earns BIG EAST Player of the Week honors; she was previously named to the conference Weekly Honor Roll on March 21, 2011.
In the season opener against IPFW on Friday afternoon Henze went 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and run scored, and that night she helped Seton Hall post its first win of the season, a 13-1 triumph over UMass Lowell, as she belted a three-run homer to center field in the top of the first inning.
Henze further bolstered her weekend power numbers by hitting solo home runs against Valparaiso and weekend tournament host Campbell in the Pirates’ Saturday and Sunday contests respectively.
Seton Hall will head back down to North Carolina next weekend to compete in the UNC Charlotte First Pitch Classic on Friday-Sunday, Feb. 14-16. The Pirates face tournament host Charlotte on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.
