LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Norton's (Mass.) Kelly Nelson, Culver Academies' (Ind.) Emily Lipsett, Dickson County's (Tenn.), MaKray Odom, Sweetwater's (Texas) Abby Garcia and Calvary Christian Academy's (Calif.) Noemi Farfan have been named MaxPreps/NFCA National High School Players of the Week for contests played April 11-17.
East Region – Kelly Nelson (Norton (Mass.) HS)Keyed her squad to a 4-0 opening week. In the circle, Norton was 4-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 19 innings of work. She twirled three complete-game shutouts and struck out a season-high 15 in a complete-game 2-1 victory over Ashland. In the season opener, the sophomore hurler fanned 12 and allowed just one hit and did not walk a batter in a 7-0 triumph versus Medfield. She followed that with a five-inning one-hitter in which she struck out 13 Dover-Sherborn batters. In her other shutout, Nelson also struck out 13 and surrendered just three hits in a 3-0 win against Hopkinton. For the week, she walked just one batter and held her opposition to an .078 batting average, while chipping in at the plate with four hits, two doubles and four RBI.
North Region – Emily Lipsett (Culver (Ind.) Academies)Lipsett was flawless at the plate in her first four games of the season. The sophomore was a perfect 16-for-16 and reached base safely in all 18 plate appearances. She registered four hits in each contest, scored 11 runs, knocked in five, doubled four times and added a triple and home run. Lipsett scored a week-high four runs against Culver Community and also crossed the dish three times versus South Bend Washington and South Bend Career Academy. She capped off her sensational week with two doubles, a homer and four RBI in a 16-0 defeat of South Bend Career Academy.
South Region – MaKray Odom (Dickson County HS – Dickson, Tenn.) Odom hit .733 (11-for-15) with four doubles, four triples, a home run, 11 RBI and nine runs scored. She slugged 1.733 and registered an .733 on-base percentage. The senior captain hit for cycle- 4-for-4 with four RBI and three runs- in a 12-0 win over Summit. She knocked in three runs versus South Fulton and Stewart County. In the latter contest, Odom doubled twice and also tripled.
South Central Region – Abby Garcia (Sweetwater (Texas) HS)Garcia went 9-for-10 (.900) with three home runs, nine RBI and six runs scored in wins over Levelland and Lamesa last week. The senior centerfielder slugged a whopping 1.900 and recorded a .900 on-base percentage. She went 4-for-5 with a long ball, four RBI and two runs scored in a 20-4 win over Levelland. Against Lamesa, Garcia clubbed two home runs, her first multi-homer game of the season, and recorded season highs with five RBI and four runs scored.
West Region – Noemi Farfan (Calvary Christian Academy – Chula Vista, Calif.) Over a four-day, three-game stretch, Farfan was red hot, hitting .909 (10-for-11) with 20 RBI and an astronomical 2.636 slugging percentage. She raked in two doubles, four triples and three home run, while also walking twice to post a .923 on-base percentage. In her first game of the week, Farfan double, tripled, homered and registered eight RBI in a 17-1 victory over Escondido Adventist Academy. She continued her torrid run, going 4-for-4 with a double, two triples and six RBI against Foothills Christian. The sophomore utility closed out with two home runs and six RBI versus Southwest SD. Farfan also scored three runs in each contest.
MaxPreps.com, the official high school statistical provider of the NFCA, provides all statistics for the NFCA High School Player of the Week award. ?To nominate a player for the award, the coach must enter his or her athlete's game stats into MaxPreps.com by Sunday evening to be eligible for that week's award.
The MaxPreps/NFCA High School Players of the Week are announced on NFCA.org every Monday during the spring season, with one representative chosen from each of five separate high school regions. During the fall campaign, just a single player will be selected representing all participating regions.
MaxPreps is a free stat tool that is available to high school coaches across the country and is one of the most recognized and respected high school athletics websites on the internet. Coaches who enter their team's stats on Max Preps will not only be nominating their players for this award, but they will be getting their team's information out to thousands of high school sports fans, as well as college coaches across the country.
To obtain a coach's login, please contact: coachsupport@maxpreps.com or call (800) 329-7324 x1. To enter a team's stats on the MaxPreps website, please click here.
