ST. LOUIS – Illinois state softball senior first baseman/outfielder Laura Canopy is the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the week, as announced by the league office Monday morning. It is the first weekly MVC honor of the season for ISU, and second of Canopy’s career.
After struggling to regain her All-MVC First Team form from a season ago, Canopy busted out of her season-opening slump in ISU’s five games at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic last weekend, four of which came against top 25 teams. She hit .438 (7-for-16) with a home run, five RBI, a double, three runs scored, two walks and a hit by pitch, raising her average from .235 entering the weekend to a team-best .300.
Against No. 25 Auburn, Canopy went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and double, as the Redbirds lost a seventh inning lead in a 3-2 defeat to the Tigers. Canopy notched one hit and one RBI apiece in a 4-2 loss to No. 23 Notre Dame and 11-10 walkoff defeat at the hands of No. 17/18 Missouri, before going 3-for-4 with a game-winning single in the seventh inning of ISU’s 3-2 victory over Omaha.
Over the course of her three-plus seasons, Canopy has posted career marks of .311/.445/.499 with 18 home runs, 95 RBI and 102 runs scored. The .445 on-base percentage ranks fourth in program-history, while the other numbers all rank in the top-20. She is also the program’s all-time leader with 39 hit by pitches.
