NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich softball team picked up two weekly awards from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) for the first time this season on Monday night.

Senior catcher Marley Balasco (Barrington, R.I.) was honored as the Player of the Week and freshman utility player Briana Day was named the Rookie of the Week after their dominating offensive efforts at the plate for the Cadets last week.

Balasco has been the catalyst for the NU offense all season and she helped lead Norwich to a 4-2 week. The senior went 17-for-25 for a .680 batting average with five homeruns, 17 RBIs, 14 runs scored, four walks, and one stolen base.  

She hit two home runs to help NU rally from an early 2-0 hole and defeat Mount Ida 10-4 on Thursday. She also hit a two-run homerun against Emmanuel to break a 1-1 tie and lead the Cadets to a 9-1 victory.  Overall she had a .724 on-base percentage and a 1.280 slugging percentage for the week.

Day's bat exploded last week, especially in a doubleheader against Albertus Magnus on Monday night where she had two home runs and 15 RBIs in the two game-set to help lead the Cadets to big victories in both contests.

Day (Yelm, Wash.) also added a three-run homerun to cap off a 9-1 win over Emmanuel on Friday afternoon.  Overall, Day went 13-for-22 at the plate for a .591 batting average with three home runs, 18 RBIs, nine runs scored, four walks, three doubles, and seven singles. She also had a 1.136 slugging percentage and a .654 on-base percentage.

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