TEMPE ? Arizona State University senior second baseman Nikki Girard has been named the Pac-12 Softball Player of the Week, an announced by the conference on Tuesday morning.
In earned the honor, Girard became the first Sun Devil to be named Pac-12 Player of the Week since Cheyenne Coyle in April 2013. ASU has had pitchers earn Pitcher of the Week five times in that span but no field player has been honored. It is the first career weekly honor for Girard and first for the Sun Devils this season.
Girard had arguably the best weekend of her career this past weekend as she helped ASU to a 4-1 effort at the Diamond Devil Invitational and a 15-2 record overall.
The senior bat 10-for-12 over five games (.833) with a team-leading nine RBI and four doubles and added two walks to post a .857 OBP over the course of the weekend. She finished with a slugging percentage of 1.417 and was a perfect 18-for-18 fielding at second base.
When you bat .833 and slug 1.414, you get named @pac12 Player of the Week of course! Congrats @nikki_girard! https://t.co/kjqIGh3wEI
? Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) March 1, 2016
Girard bat 6-for-7 on the weekend with runners in scoring position (.857) and led the team with four two-out RBI. Girard is now 12-of-18 on the season with runners in scoring position (.667) ? notable as she has 18 total hits on the year. Her 17 RBI are currently second on the squad. She successfully advanced runners on 7-of-8 chances over the course of the weekend as well.
Girard was the only Sun Devil to have a hit in each game this past weekend, including the team’s lone blemish in what amounted to just a four-hit effort against No. 21 Minnesota. She knocked in a career single game high of five RBI with a home run in the team’s first game against St. Francis and all five runs were important in a 12-9 victory.
With six doubles on the season, Girard now has 35 career doubles and has moved up to 13th in ASU career history in the category.
The Sun Devils return to action this weekend at the always-competitive Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif., leaving the confines of Farrington Stadium for the first time this year. The Devils will open the event on Thursday, March 3 against Long Beach State at 10 a.m. PT.