FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu March 21, 2016 Prince secures Player of the Week honor for MSUB softball MSUB Softball on Facebook | MSUB Softball on ISSUU MSUB GNAC Players of the Week | GNAC Release
MSUB softball’s Myrissa Prince earned her first GNAC Player of the Week nod.
After a stellar weekend at the plate, MSUB sophomore Myrissa Prince earns Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors. PORTLAND, Ore. – Sophomore second baseman Myrissa Prince earned Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors for the MSUB softball team the conference office announced Monday. Prince batted 7-for-14 in the four-game series against Saint Martin’s during the 2016 home-opener at Avitus Group Stadium. The native of Sparks, Nev., hit for the cycle with four singles, a double, a triple, and two home runs. Both home runs were in the final game against the Saints. With bases loaded in the fourth inning, Prince smashed her first home run of the season, a grand slam that pushed the Yellowjackets out to an 11-1 lead. In the bottom of the sixth inning on a 7run, 13-6 lead, Prince was up to bat first for the Yellowjackets. She connected for her second home run of the game and season, a high-arching ball over the center field fence for the walk-off win.
For the weekend, Prince batted .500 (7-for-14) with 5 runs, 8 RBI, and a slugging percentage of 1.143. She improved her batting average from .308-.348 and is top-5 for the Yellowjackets in several categories. She is fourth in batting average (.348), fourth in slugging percentage (.530), first in triples (2), second in total bases (35), fourth in walks (6), and leads the team in sacrifice flies with two. In the field, Prince leads the team in assists with 43. She is also fourth in fielding percentage (.978) and third in putouts (44). “Myrissa had a great weekend all-around for us,” MSUB head coach Rebekah Gasner said. “I am very excited to see her bat come alive this strong. This is a well-deserved honor for her performance this weekend. She really stepped up for us when we needed her in clutch situations, especially with runners on base, On Saturday she was hitting a lot of line drives that were being caught at the fence. I told her to keep doing what she was doing and that they would fall and she was able to do that on Sunday. She found the gaps the second day and was able to push a few over the fence. Also, at second base she has really stepped in as a leader for our infield. She does a great job of holding herself and her teammates accountable.” The Yellowjackets stay at home this weekend welcoming Western Washington (11-12, 6-7 GNAC) on Friday and Saturday to Avitus Group Stadium. MSU Billings (8-16, 1-7 GNAC) begins the four-game conference series with a 1 p.m. first-pitch on Friday, Mar. 25. “It was great to see our offensive production at the plate last weekend,” Gasner said. “I look for that confidence at the plate to continue as we go into our games against Western Washington. The Vikings are another competitive and wellrespected team in our league so we need to continue our same approach at the plate when we face them.” THE BUZZ: This is the first GNAC Player of the Week honor for MSUB softball this season and the first career accolade for Prince…last season Prince made appearances in 10 games and had five doubles in 36 at-bats for the Yellowjackets. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--