Malcolm, Messina and Debrosse Sweep NEC Honors

Three members of the Central Connecticut softball team swept this week's NEC weekly honors, the league announced Monday. Junior Kat Malcolm was named NEC Player of the Week, junior Laura Messina was named NEC Pitcher of the week and freshman Alexis Debrosse was tabbed NEC Rookie of the Week in her first collegiate outing.

Malcolm, the 2013 NEC Player of the Year, batted an impressive .412 while slugging .706 in the Blue Devils' opening weekend at the USF Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater, FL. Malcolm posted a total of seven hits, including two doubles and one home run. She also tallied three RBI, two stolen bases, two runs and a .412 on base percentage over the weekend.

In Central's first match-up against Campbell, Malcolm started the season strong with a 3-for-3 showing at the plate, one RBI, one run and a stolen base. In CCSU's 5-0 shutout of #15 Stanford, Malcolm led the Blue Devil offense with two hits, including a double and a two-run homer. Malcolm also finished the weekend with a perfect fielding percentage.

Messina kicked off the 2014 season with a .86 earned run average. The 2013 NEC First-Team honoree posted an opening weekend performance that included two shutouts, highlighted by a 5-0 shutout of #15 Stanford. The junior tossed 26 strikeouts at the USF Under Armour Invitational.

In three games, Messina walked just four batters while allowing only four runs, only two of which were earned. Messina led the CCSU defense in their highest margin victory (5-0) over Stanford on Saturday. She capped off the Blue Devils' opening weekend with a 2-1 record.

Messina now posts 21 career shutouts and 479 strikeouts, holding the CCSU career program record in both categories. The junior is just 21 strikeouts from reaching 500.

Debrosse opened her collegiate career hitting .333 and slugging .667 this past weekend. Debrosse also posted a .467 on base percentage. Her best game came against #15 Stanford in which she went 2-for-4 at the plate, blasting her first collegiate home run and earning two RBI on the play. The starting third-baseman tallied four hits, two runs, two RBI, one double, one home run and one stolen base in her opening weekend.

The Blue Devils are scheduled to return to the field on Thursday, March 6 at Coppin State. The first pitch of the doubleheader is currently set for 4 p.m.