DeKALB — For the second time in three weeks, an NIU softball player has received weekly honors from the Mid-American Conference.
After putting together a strong performance behind and at the plate, senior catcher Rylie Hartman was named the MAC Softball Player of the Week, as announced by the league office Tuesday.
Hartman helped lead the Huskies to a 6-0 week in MAC play as they swept back-to-back series against Ball State and Kent State — NIU’s first time achieving that feat since 2017. The right-handed hitter batted .625 (10-for-16), with her 10 knocks tying Danielle “Dee Dee” Stewart for the team lead. She drove in seven runs and scored six more while also anchoring the defense behind the plate. Hartman started all six games at catcher and had 24 putouts with four assists.
This marks Hartman’s first MAC weekly honor and makes her the second NIU player to earn an award this season, joining Madison Carlson, who was named MAC Pitcher of the Week on March 31. Entering Tuesday’s doubleheader split with Bradley, Hartman ranked sixth in the league with a .407 batting average for the season.
Hartman and the Huskies (19-12, 12-5 MAC) will return to action at 2 p.m. CT Friday as they begin a three-game series against Bowling Green (17-22, 5-13 MAC) at Meserve Field in Bowling Green, Ohio. The first two games of the series will be broadcast on ESPN+, and live statistics for all three games will be available on SIDEARM Sports.
