Ohio State’s Vanderink Named Big Ten Player of the Week – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 1, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After a weekend in which she upped her batting average in league games to a Big Ten-best .481, Ohio State sophomore Brittany Vanderink was named the conference’s softball Player of the Week Monday. Vanderink went 9-for-15 overall in OSU’s four games last week, including a 6-for-8 performance in two Big Ten road games.
Vanderink (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood H.S.) extended her career-best hitting streak to eight games last week and helped lead the Buckeyes (35-18, 11-5 Big Ten) to three wins in four games. During her current hitting streak, Vanderink is hitting .567 (17-for-30) and has vaulted to the top spot in batting average in Big Ten games only and to No. 10 overall average at .336.
Vanderink, the 2004 Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year, went 3-for-7 in a doubleheader vs. Wright State Wednesday before going 4-for-4 at Iowa Friday and 2-for-4 at Wisconsin Sunday. The second games of both series were rained out. Vanderink, whose four hits against the Hawkeyes were a career best, added three runs scored, a RBI and two stolen bases last week and played errorless defense in right field.
The player of the week honor is the first for Vanderink, who joins teammates Stacy Hibma (Sr., Buena Park, Calif./Valley Christian) Feb. 14 and Megan Schwab (Jr., Glendale, Ariz./Sunrise Mountain) April 10 as Buckeyes to earn conference weekly honors this year.
In its final week of the regular season, Ohio State hosts Oakland at 5 p.m. Wednesday before traveling to Penn State for single games at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
### GO BUCKS! ###
