College Softball News – Guilford’s Boteler Wins Weekly Honors

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Guilford College sophomore Ashley Boteler (Manassas, Va./Osbourn) earned her first Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Softball Hitter of the Week Monday. She also collected Guilford’s Student-Athlete of the Week Award, as presented by the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Boteler (BOLT-ler) hit a team-high .463 with two homers and 10 RBI in the Quakers’ 4-0 week, and also extended her hitting streak to six on the young season. She sported a 1.071 slugging percentage and scored five runs. The outfielder/pitcher went two-for-three with two homers and six RBI, both career highs, in the Quakers’ 9-5 win over Peace College Feb. 22. Boteler two hits in the nightcap, an 11-0 five-inning victory. She was three-for-five with three RBI in Guilford’s 10-5 win over Averett University Feb. 26. In the second game, she had two hits and an RBI.

Boteler also earned two pitching wins last week. She posted a 2.27 earned run average (ERA) in 12.1 innings and held opponents to a .244 batting average. She picked up the win in game one against Peace with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings. In the 9-2 Quakers’ nightcap win against Averett, Boteler tossed a complete-game seven-hitter and matched her career high with six strikeouts.

Through six games, Boteler ranks seventh in the ODAC and third on the team with a .524 batting average. Her two homers and 11 RBI lead the league and her 11 hits stand second. On the mound this year, she owns a 2-0 record with a 2.80 ERA and tops the ODAC with 10 strikeouts in 18.1 innings.

Coach Dennis Shores’ team (5-1) looks to extend its four-game winning streak when it entertains N.C. Wesleyan College Wednesday (2/29) in a doubleheader starting at 2:00 p.m.

The Student-Athlete of the Week Award is presented by Guilford’s SAAC, which is comprised of representatives from each of the school’s 20 varsity teams. The group meets regularly to discuss the state of Guilford Athletics and seeks to build community among Guilford’s student-athletes and non-student-athletes. Recent Guilford SAAC activities include a cancer-awareness promotion, canned-food drives, volunteer assistance with the North Carolina Special Olympics and tutoring at New Garden Friends School.