Utica, NY (4/24/13)- Junior Chelsea Monroe of the Utica College softball team was named the College’s Female Athlete of the Week for her impressive play on the diamond last week.
Monroe, who was recently named the Empire 8 Player of the Week for the second week in a row, batted .474 (9-of-19) last week to help the Pioneers go 5-1, including sweeps over Ithaca and Stevens. With the wins Utica clinched its first ever Empire 8 Conference regular season title and will host the conference tournament for the first time in program history. She hit three home runs, including two grand slams and racked up 11 RBI over the six games. On Saturday, she had grand slams in back-to-back wins over then E8 leader Ithaca College. Monroe followed that up with a three-run shot in Utica's 10-2 win over Stevens on Sunday. On the week, she scored six runs and drew five walks for an on-base percentage of .583 and a slugging percentage of 1.000.
On the season, she is tied for the Empire 8 lead with nine home runs and ranks first in the league with an incredible 1.019 slugging percentage. She sits in fourth in the conference with a .434 average, fifth in stolen bases (seven), and sixth in RBI (26).
The Pioneers return to action Wednesday as they host RPI in non-conference action. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The Empire 8 Conference Tournament kicks off Friday, May 3 as UC opens up play against Alfred University at 12 p.m. at Utica's Greenman Field.
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