Moon Township, Pa. – Graduate student
Natalie Higgins of the RMU softball team was named the
Nike Horizon League Softball Player of the Week Wednesday. It marks the first #HLSB honor in program history for the Colonials.
In a four-game set against Howard at Nationals Youth Academy in Washington, D.C., last weekend that concluded the 2021 non-conference slate for the Colonials, Higgins paced the offense, hitting .714 (10-for-14) at the dish. She also finished with five runs, eight RBI, a pair of doubles, a triple and a home run in the pair of doubleheaders.
In the opening game of the series against the Bison, a 12-2 victory for the Colonials, Higgins went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs and a pair of RBI. The next afternoon in the series finale, Higgins again collected three hits, scoring twice and driving in four. She connected for a grand slam in the fourth inning, which gave RMU an 8-6 advantage.
Higgins has hit safely in each of RMU's eight games this, leading the Colonials with a slash line of .484/.515/.742 while also owning team highs in runs (7), hits (15), doubles (3) and RBI (12). One of just three student-athletes to start each of RMU's first eight games of the season and owning a team-high five multi-hit efforts, Higgins has also driven in at least one run in seven consecutive games.
Also early in the 2021 campaign, Higgins is 2-for-2 with the bases loaded, 4-for-4 with a runner on third and less than two outs and is hitting .538 (7-for-13) with runners in scoring position.
Higgins enters RMU's Horizon League debut this weekend against Detroit Mercy at the North Athletic Complex with a career batting average of .327 (167-for-511). She is three doubles shy of the school record of 41 and is just two RBI short of becoming the third student-athlete in program history to accumulate 100 RBI.
Led by third-year head coach
Jexx Varner, the Colonials welcome the Titans for doubleheaders Friday, March 12, and Saturday, March 13. First pitch for Friday is slated for 2:00 p.m., and the games can be seen live on ESPN+.
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