WINTHROP, Mass. – Simmons University's Marissa Santoro (Franklin, Mass.) was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Softball Player of the Week for the week of March 25-31, it was announced today by the league.
Santoro becomes the fourth straight Shark to be named the GNAC's top weekly player. Sophomore Ivy Vann (Bend, Ore.) was tabbed last week, while junior Lauren Del Vacchio (Murrieta, Calif.) was chosen for the week of March 11-17 and sophomore Christie Bott (Seaford, N.Y.) was selected for the week of March 4-10. Simmons becomes the first school in conference history to boast four different softball players of the week in a season as well as four consecutive players of the week.
The sophomore was 4-8 with a home run, four runs batted in and a run scored in two games, while owning an .875 slugging percentage as part of a 1.375 OPS. The second base registered multiple hits in both games and drove in two runs in both contests of a doubleheader with Emmanuel College (Mass.) on March 30. A graduate of Mount Saint Charles Academy (R.I.), Santoro went 2-4 with a pair of RBI singles to drive in the first two runs of a 7-3 victory over the Saints. The Nursing major matched her output in game two vs. Emmanuel with a pair of hits in four at-bats, including a two-run homer for her first long ball of the season.
Santoro has started all 19 games she's appeared in and currently ranks fourth on the team with a .311 (19-61) batting average. She ranks fifth among league leaders with 19 hits, ninth in home runs (one) and 15th in runs batted in (eight). Santoro's three doubles and one homer have contributed to 25 total bases for the eighth-highest mark in the conference. She has excelled in big spots for Simmons, hitting .350 (7-20) with runners in scoring position and places second on the team with seven multi-hit efforts for the season. Santoro enjoyed a four-game hitting streak from March 3-6, where she batted .462 (6-13) with two RBI, a walk and a run scored.
The two-year standout has started all 59 games she's seen action in for the Sharks, splitting time at shortstop and second base. The Bay State native owns a career .295 (49-166) batting average to go with 10 doubles, three triples, two homers, 26 RBI, 31 runs scored and three stolen bases.
Simmons is 4-16 on the season and will be in action again on Wednesday, April 3 when it hosts Eastern Nazarene College at Daly Field for a twinbill at 4:00 p.m.