MaxPreps/NFCA Players of the Week for March 30, 2015

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sarah Siclari of Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), Kaitlyn Velazquez of DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.), Annie Willis of Westminster Christian (Huntsville, Ala.), Brittany Finney of Bishop Carroll (Wichita, Kan.) and Shea Smith of Verrado (Buckeye, Ariz.) were named the MaxPreps/NFCA National High School Players of the Week, respectively, announced on Monday for games played March 30-April 5.

East
Siclari, a junior, batted .625 (5-for-8) with a double, triple, five RBI and eight runs scored helping Immaculate Heart to wins in its first two games of the season. She opened the season 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and run scored against Paramus Catholic. Siclari then went 3-for-5 with a triple, four RBI and two runs scored in a 15-6 triumph over DePaul.

North
Velazquez paced a high-powered Ram offense to a pair of 20-run outputs last week. The junior shortstop batted .889 (8-for-9) with four doubles, seven RBI and seven runs scored. She also tripled and homered, which accounted for a whopping 1.889 slugging percentage. Velazquez was a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, four RBI and three runs in a win over Clemente. She followed that by going 4-for-5 with two more doubles, a triple, three RBI, four runs scored and five stolen bases in a 24-14 slugfest win over Chicago International Charter-Northtown Academy.

South
Willis put forth a dominant performance in the circle and chipped in offensively to help the Wildcats to a 4-0 week. The sophomore righty went 3-0 with three shutouts and did not allow a run in four appearances. She struck out 34 without walking a batter in 21 innings of work and held her opposition to .123 batting average. Willis tossed a three-hit shutout with a week-high 13 strikeouts in a 2-0 win over North Jackson. The next day she struck out 11 and allowed just four hits in another complete game shutout against Kate Duncan Smith DAR. At the plate, she batted .333 with a home run, five RBI and four runs scored which included a 2-for-3 (HR, 3 RBI, 2R) showing against Pope John Paul II.

South Central
Finney batted .727 (8-for-11) with two home runs, a double, triple, 10 RBI and 11 runs scored in four games last week. She also did not allow a run and struck out 16 in 10 innings. The senior tripled, homered and knocked in four in the Golden Eagles' season opener against West and closed out the week going 2-for-3 with a long ball, three RBI and three runs scored versus Maize (G2). In the circle, she twirled a three-hit complete-game shutout with seven strikeouts in game one against Maize (W, 6-0). In the opener against West, Finney recorded all nine of her outs via strikeout. For the week, she slugged 1.545, recorded a .800 on base percentage and held her opponents to a .118 batting average.

West
In two games, Smith was perfect 9-for-9 at the plate with eight extra base hits, 12 RBI and a astronomical 2.444 slugging percentage. The senior was 5-for-5 with three doubles, seven RBI and was homer shy of the cycle against Independence in her first game of the week. Not to out do herself, she hit for the cycle against Youngker with two triples, five RBI and three runs scored.

MaxPreps, 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 that week.

The MaxPreps/NFCA High School Players of the Week are announced on NFCA 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 is 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 and college coaches across the country.

To obtain a coach's login, please contact kwagner@maxpreps.com or call 1-800-329-7324 x5153.

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