O’Hara Lauded As National Player Of The Week
3/18/2014 1:24:00 PM | Softball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Stringing together an exceptional week of pitching and hitting performances, freshman Sydney O'Hara was selected as the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Player of the Week on Tuesday, March 18.
O'Hara, who was announced as the Atlantic Coast Conference's Player of the Week on Monday, is the first student-athlete in school history to be recognized by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association as the National Player of the Week.
"It's a big honor to be named National Player of the Week," said O'Hara "Softball is not an individual sport though, it's more of a team effort. We had some tough losses the week before and we knew we had to step up, which we did at Virginia. The whole pitching staff was really well and all of our bats began to wake up and everyone was giving their best effort.
"I go out there and pitch my best every single game. In the games I just focused on hitting spots, changing speeds and trusting my defense. I was glad my bat started waking up because I was getting a little discouraged about my hitting, but I made adjustments at the plate and once I got that first home run I knew my hitting would start picking up."
O'Hara led Syracuse to a 5-1 overall record, including 3-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference following a weekend sweep at Virginia.
In five starts and six appearances, O'Hara posted a 1.22 earned run average with 33 strikeouts and just seven walks in 23 innings on the rubber while opponents only mustered a .171 batting average against the righty. The Syracuse-area native tossed two complete game shutouts, with the second going for a one-hitter in Syracuse's first ever ACC win.
In addition to an impressive pitching week, O'Hara was equally outstanding in the batter's box. The rookie batted .500 (10-20) with team highs of three home runs, 11 runs batted in, 10 runs scored, three doubles and a slugging percentage of 1.100 all while raising her season average by .091 points. O'Hara homered on three straight days to end the week and is currently riding a six-game hitting streak, good for second longest on the team this season.
"I'm so proud of the way Sydney is leading our team right now," said head coach Leigh Ross. "Syd did a great job this past week. She was in the zone both pitching and hitting and that's what we've been asking her to do. Her stats from this week show a lot about her determination as an all-around player to help her team win."
The week began with O'Hara throwing a six-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts at Elon in a 5-0 win, and in the process, becoming one of four pitchers in school history to pitch three shutouts while hitting double-digit strikeouts in a game in a single season. The following day at Campbell, O'Hara earned the victory in relief, retiring 12 of the 15 batters she faced and striking out half of them.
In SU's final non-conference game of the week, O'Hara's bat began to warm up, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, all coming on her first career home run.
O'Hara started in the circle all three games in the series at Virginia, pitching a one-hitter in the opener for Syracuse's first ever ACC win. It was her fourth shutout of the season, tying her for ninth all-time in school history in both single-season and career shutouts, with just 10 starts under her belt. She also went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer and an RBI double.
In game two of the double-header, O'Hara gave up one run on three hits in four innings for the triumph while driving in three more at the plate. O'Hara had her third multi-hit game of the week in the finale, with a 2-for-5 performance, including a 2-run blast.
O'Hara, who was announced as the Atlantic Coast Conference's Player of the Week on Monday, is the first student-athlete in school history to be recognized by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association as the National Player of the Week.
"It's a big honor to be named National Player of the Week," said O'Hara "Softball is not an individual sport though, it's more of a team effort. We had some tough losses the week before and we knew we had to step up, which we did at Virginia. The whole pitching staff was really well and all of our bats began to wake up and everyone was giving their best effort.
"I go out there and pitch my best every single game. In the games I just focused on hitting spots, changing speeds and trusting my defense. I was glad my bat started waking up because I was getting a little discouraged about my hitting, but I made adjustments at the plate and once I got that first home run I knew my hitting would start picking up."
O'Hara led Syracuse to a 5-1 overall record, including 3-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference following a weekend sweep at Virginia.
In five starts and six appearances, O'Hara posted a 1.22 earned run average with 33 strikeouts and just seven walks in 23 innings on the rubber while opponents only mustered a .171 batting average against the righty. The Syracuse-area native tossed two complete game shutouts, with the second going for a one-hitter in Syracuse's first ever ACC win.
In addition to an impressive pitching week, O'Hara was equally outstanding in the batter's box. The rookie batted .500 (10-20) with team highs of three home runs, 11 runs batted in, 10 runs scored, three doubles and a slugging percentage of 1.100 all while raising her season average by .091 points. O'Hara homered on three straight days to end the week and is currently riding a six-game hitting streak, good for second longest on the team this season.
"I'm so proud of the way Sydney is leading our team right now," said head coach Leigh Ross. "Syd did a great job this past week. She was in the zone both pitching and hitting and that's what we've been asking her to do. Her stats from this week show a lot about her determination as an all-around player to help her team win."
The week began with O'Hara throwing a six-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts at Elon in a 5-0 win, and in the process, becoming one of four pitchers in school history to pitch three shutouts while hitting double-digit strikeouts in a game in a single season. The following day at Campbell, O'Hara earned the victory in relief, retiring 12 of the 15 batters she faced and striking out half of them.
In SU's final non-conference game of the week, O'Hara's bat began to warm up, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, all coming on her first career home run.
O'Hara started in the circle all three games in the series at Virginia, pitching a one-hitter in the opener for Syracuse's first ever ACC win. It was her fourth shutout of the season, tying her for ninth all-time in school history in both single-season and career shutouts, with just 10 starts under her belt. She also went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer and an RBI double.
In game two of the double-header, O'Hara gave up one run on three hits in four innings for the triumph while driving in three more at the plate. O'Hara had her third multi-hit game of the week in the finale, with a 2-for-5 performance, including a 2-run blast.
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