LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Four members of the Plymouth State University softball team were recognized by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) as weekly top performers following standout showings at THE Spring Games last week.
 
Graduate student Emily Antrim (Limerick, Maine), seniors Kenzie Bessette (Cranston, R.I.) and Abbey Nezuch (Marlborough, Mass.), and junior Avery Couch (Fort Worth, Texas) all earned the honors for their impressive performances on the diamond.
 
Antrim posted a 2.45 earned run average across four appearances, including three complete games. She struck out 17 batters in 25.2 innings and tossed a five-hitter in a 1-0 setback to Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Thursday.
 
Bessette swung a scorching bat to earn Little East Conference Player of the Week honors. She hit .609 with two doubles and a home run among 14 total hits, while scoring 11 runs and swiping eight bases.
 
Nezuch made two appearances in the circle, totaling 10.1 innings with 10 strikeouts and a minuscule 0.68 ERA. In a 10-inning, one-run loss to SUNY Geneseo on Thursday, she logged a career-high nine-plus innings with a personal-best eight strikeouts and just one earned run allowed.
 
Couch finished the week with a .355 batting average, adding two doubles, a home run and a team-high nine RBIs.
 
Plymouth State went 4-8 during the week, with three of the losses coming by just a single run. The Panthers head to Albertus Magnus on Wednesday (Mar. 25) for a non-conference doubleheader.