Senior third baseman Stephanie Tofft of Florida has been chosen as the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Player of the Week for games played over April 14-20.

The reigning Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, Tofft batted .700 (7-for-10) with six runs scored, a double, three HR’s and 10 RBIs as the Gators swept a three-game league road series at then-No. 21 Texas A&M. The Lincoln, Calif., native homered in each of UF’s three match-ups, while extending her hitting streak against league opponents to six games dating back to April 4.

She christened her weekend by going 2-for-3 with two tallies, a HR and a pair of RBIs in a 5-1 series-opening win. Tofft followed that up on Saturday by knocking in five runs while posting a 2-for-3 effort with a double and a HR during a 17-4 (5 inn.) rout of the Aggies.

She wrapped up her impressive performance by recording a 3-for-4 day at the plate with a HR and three RBIs in Sunday’s 8-0 (6 inn.) finale. For the season Tofft is batting .326 overall with 38 runs scored, 18 extra-base hits, including nine HR’s, and a team-leading 51 RBIs.

“It was a team effort,” Tofft said. “Having our pitchers at the top of their game allows me to relax at the plate. They did a great job to hold Texas A&M’s offense in check. Our coaches have worked with me a lot to improve my swing, and I’m seeing the ball very well. I think we’re playing really well as a team right now, and we want to maintain our momentum going into the postseason.”

“I want to thank the NFCA for recognizing Stephanie for her performance last week,” Florida head coach Tim Walton said. “Her play was pivotal in our three-game sweep on the road against Texas A&M. Stephanie has really played at a high level this season, and she is an important part of our offense.”

Tofft and the Gators return to action on Wed., April 23, when they host USF at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.

 

Selected Top Performances

Florida State’s Maddie O’Brien, the ACC Player of the Week, batted .857 (6-for-7) with three doubles, two HR’s and seven RBIs over five victories against Pitt and Syracuse while reaching safely in a remarkable 18 straight plate appearances…College of Charleston’s Kelsey Hodgson was tabbed as the Colonial Athletic Association’s Player of the Week after hitting .800 (8-for-10) with a double, four HR’s and seven RBIs…Harvard’s Laura Ricciardone earned Ivy League Pitcher of the Week honors after going 6-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 29.1 innings…Mississippi State’s Alexis Silkwood earned SEC Pitcher of the Week after going 2-0 with 23 K’s in 15.1 innings to go along with a shutout against No. 4 Tennessee…Conference USA Player of the Week, Kristin McGrath of UAB, batted .600 (9-for-15) with a double, two HR’s and 11 RBIs as the Blazers went 4-1…Notre Dame’s Micaela Arizmendi hit at an .818 clip with three doubles, a HR and eight RBIs over only 11 plate appearances against Virginia…UNLV’s Emily Haslinger powered her squad offensively by hitting .500 (6-for-12) with four HR’s, including three round trippers and seven RBIs to equal school single-game records during a 10-2 Friday win over New Mexico…USF’s Sara Nevins, the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week, led the Bulls to a sweep of then-conference-leading Houston by picking up three wins with a 0.93 ERA while also becoming USF’s all-time wins leader with 93 W’s…Tulsa’s Aimee Creger was named Conference USA Pitcher of the Week after recording two wins and a save and posting a 0.38 ERA with 29 strikeouts over 18.2 innings in a sweep at UTSA…The Summit League Player of the Week, Lizzie Noble of Omaha, drove in total 13 runs and also hit at a .615 (8-for-13) clip with 11 of those RBIs during a three-game sweep of South Dakota State…Stetson’s Meredith Owen was 2-0 with a 0.35 ERA and batted .455 with a HR and three RBIs to earn Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week…Baylor’s Jordan Strickland hit at a .556 pace (5-for-9) with four HR’s and 12 RBIs, including a pair of two-HR games, during a three-game series against Oklahoma State…Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, Wichita State’s Brittany Fortner, batted .571 (8-for-14) with a 1.357 slugging mark and nine RBIs…Hofstra’s Michaela Transue blasted two doubles, two HR’s (both against LSU), scored four runs and added seven RBIs on the way to reaping CAA Rookie of the Week accolades…Western Michigan’s Allyson Kus earned MAC West Pitcher of the Week after posting a 3-0 record with a 0.39 ERA and a pair of complete games…Nicole Pagano of Mount St. Mary’s registered a 3-0 mark with a 0.33 ERA, 19 strikeouts over 21 innings and managed a no-hitter in a win over LIU Brooklyn.

 

2014 Louisville Slugger Division I National Player of the Week
Feb. 11 – Griffin Joiner – Kentucky – Jr. – C – Hopkinsville, Ky.
Feb. 18 – Bryana Walker – Washington – Sr. – P – La Quinta, Calif.
Feb. 25 – Anna Miller (Co-) – USC Upstate – Sr. – P – Portland, Ore.
Ally Carda (Co-) – UCLA – Jr. – P/UT – Elk Grove, Calif.
March 4 – Lacey Waldrop – Florida State – Jr. – P – Chester, Va.
March 11 – Dallas Escobedo – Arizona State – Sr. – P – Glendale, Ariz.
March 18 – Sydney O’Hara – Syracuse – Fr. – P/OF/1B – Cicero, N.Y.
March 25 – Jaclyn Traina (Co-) – Alabama – Sr. – P/UT – Naples, Fla.
Sammy Marshall (Co-) – Western Illinois – Jr. – SS/OF – Naperville, Ill.
April 1 – Cheridan Hawkins – Oregon – So. – P – Anderson, Calif.
April 8 – Katiyana Mauga – Arizona – Fr. – 3B – San Diego, Calif.
April 15 – Michelle Mueller – Wisconsin – Sr. – IF – La Crosse, Wis.
April 22 – Stephanie Tofft – Florida – Sr. – 3B – Lincoln, Calif.