Matos & Novak Earn Landmark Conference Weekly Softball Honors
TOWSON, Md. --- Moravian College juniors catcher Janae Matos and pitcher Josie Novak have been selected as the Landmark Conference Softball Athlete and Pitcher of the Week for their performances last week.
TOWSON, Md. --- Moravian College juniors catcher Janae Matos and pitcher Josie Novak have been selected as the Landmark Conference Softball Athlete and Pitcher of the Week for their performances last week.
The duo helped the No. 15 ranked Greyhounds to a 4-0 record last week as Moravian hit the midpoint of the schedule at 18-2 overall and 4-0 in Landmark Conference action.
Matos, who earns her second Landmark Conference Athlete of the Week honor of 2017, hit .727 as she had eight hits in 11 at-bats. Matos added four runs, five RBIs, five doubles and three walks for a .786 on-base percentage and a 1.182 slugging percentage at the plate to go with 22 putouts and three assists in 25 chances in the field. Matos now has 15 doubles on the season, which is tied for second in a single season in Moravian's record books.
"Janae has seen the ball very well all season and has made very good contact at the plate," stated Head Coach John Byrne. "While she's been one of our leaders hitting the ball, Janae is a valuable asset behind the plate handling our pitching staff. She is in her third year as our starting catcher and works very well with our pitchers."
Novak, who was selected as the Landmark Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second time this spring, had a 2-0 week with a 0.00 ERA. She allowed an unearned run on two hits and two walks while striking out 13 batters. She became the third player in school history to reach 400 career strikeouts with eight strikeouts in a 2-1 win over Wilkes, and Novak tossed her fifth one-hit shutout of the year in a 5-0 victory over Juniata College on Sunday. Novak also had a putout and an assist in the field during the two games she pitched.
"Josie had another outstanding week in the circle with very good control of her pitchers," Byrne said. "She has the ability to really focus in on the spot Janae wants the ball and put it there on a consistent basis."
Moravian is slated to return to action on Tuesday, April 4 in a non-conference doubleheader at DeSales University beginning at 3:30 p.m.
