WINTHROP, Mass./DANBURY, Conn. – Simmons College's Molly Hennessey (Charlton, Mass.) was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference and Great Northeast Athletic Conference Softball Rookie of the Week for the week of March 6-12, it was announced by each league.
The first year batted .458 (11-24) with a .519 on-base percentage to go with two runs batted in, five runs scored, three walks and an outfield assist in eight games. The rookie also struck out just three times in 27 plate appearances from the number two slot in the order. Hennessey hit safely in six of eight games, including three multi-hit outings. She began the week by going 3-7 with two runs scored and a walk in a doubleheader vs. Emerson College on March 6. Hennessey collected three more hits on March 8, going 3-3 with a walk, a run batted in and a run scored in the Sharks' 4-3 win over College of Staten Island. The center fielder continued her success at the plate with a pair of 1-3 efforts vs. Meredith College and #15 Coe College each. Hennessey capped the week by going 3-3 with a walk, a run scored and a run batted in vs. Thiel College on March 10 to extend her team-high four-game hitting streak and also scored a run vs. #2 Saint John Fisher College.
For the season, Hennessey currently leads the team and ranks fifth among conference leaders with a .419 (13-31) batting mark to go with a .471 on-base percentage, which is good for 11th in the GNAC. A Nursing major, Hennessey has started all 10 games that she's appeared in and has knocked in two runs, while scoring the second-most runs on the team and 15-highest total in the league with five. The rookie already has four multi-hit outings and has shown excellent plate discipline, striking out just three times in 34 plate appearances. Hennessey has shown a tendency to rise to the occasion, hitting .500 (4-8) with runners in scoring position and owning a .571 (4-7) mark with two outs.
Simmons is currently 3-7 on the season, including a 4-3 victory over #2 St. John Fisher in its last game and will take the diamond again on Saturday, March 18 when it heads to Cambridge, Mass. to meet #23 Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a 12:00 p.m. doubleheader.