2005 Softball Players of the Week

May 9, 2005
Clara Hard, Williams
(Junior, Pitcher - Seattle, Wash.)
Clara Hard went 3-0 as Williams captured the 2005 NESCAC Softball Championship. On the weekend, Hard pitched 18 innings allowing five hits and only one earned run with 15 strike-outs. In 12 innings against Tufts, the junior hurler yielded just one hit and zero runs which included a five-inning no hitter to defeat the host Jumbos 9-0 in the championship tilt.

May 2, 2005
Beth Gostanian, Trinity
(First Year, Outfielder - Windham, N.H.)
Gostanian went 7-for-16 in a 4-2 week for the Bantams with seven runs, five RBI, two doubles, and two home runs. She drove in the game-tying and game-winning runs with a two-run homer in a comeback win at Bates that vaulted Trinity into its first NESCAC Tournament, and went 4-for-5 with four runs, three RBI, a double and homer in a second win at Bates.

Julia Brenta, Tufts
(Junior, Pitcher - San Anslemo, Calif.)
Brenta pitched 13 innings allowing no earned runs in two wins over Williams and Colby this week. She allowed just six hits and struck out 13 in the two outings. At Williams on Tuesday, the Jumbos beat the Ephs for the first time since 2003 behind Brenta's six innings allowing four hits and striking out six. In the win over Colby, she allowed only two hits and struck out seven in seven innings as Tufts clinched sole possession of first place in the NESCAC East.

April 25, 2005
Kristin Masino, Bates
(Sophomore, Pitcher - North Arlington, N.J.)
Kristin Masino pitched Bates to a 1-0 victory over Colby, throwing seven innings and giving up two hits. She faced the minimum amount of batters in the last four innings, and no Colby runner ever advanced past first base. She struck out four in the complete-game win.

April 18, 2005
Lauren Guza, Middlebury
(Senior, First Base - La Canada, Calif.)
Lauren Guza hit .667 in a 5-1 week for Middlebury, which included four NESCAC wins over Hamilton and Wesleyan. In the weekend road sweep, Guza hit .643 with five runs scored, five RBI and a pair of doubles.

April 11, 2005
Emily Nelson, Bowdoin
(Sophomore, Pitcher - Pasadena, Calif.)
Bowdoin’s Emily Nelson continued to dominate on the mound earning three victories and a save as the Polar Bears went 4-1 last week. Against Trinity she picked up a win with 14 strike outs, allowing only three hits in a 2-1 victory. In a doubleheader against Wesleyan, the sophomore earned both wins including a nine-inning shutout in which she struck out six and allowed two hits. In 23 innings, Nelson struck out 34 batters.

April 4. 2005
Paige Blumer, Trinity
(Senior, Outfielder - Washington, D.C.)
Paige Blumer did not record an out in eight trips to the plate, going 6-for-6 in two games with a pair of walks. In a 14-0 win against St. Joseph (Conn.), Blumer was 3-for-3 with two doubles, three runs, and two RBI with one walk. In a nine-inning, 5-4 loss at Smith, Blumer went 3-for-3 with a double, a home run, three RBI, and a walk. Dating back to Trinity's Florida trip, Blumer has reached base safely in her last 10 times at the plate.

March 28, 2005
Emily Nelson, Bowdoin
(Sophomore, Pitcher - Pasadena, Calif.)
Bowdoin sophomore pitcher Emily Nelson did not allow a run in four starts last week, tossing four complete-game shutout victories, including a one-hit, 12-strikeout performance against Mt. St. Mary's and a two-hit, seven-strikeout win against Middlebury. The Pasadena, California native blanked four opponents in all: Union (1-0), Mt. St. Mary's (14-0), Albright (6-0), and Middlebury (1-0) as Bowdoin concluded their spring trip with an impressive 11-3 mark, the best start in school history.