ELMHURST, Ill. - After earning CCIW Hitter of the Week honors earlier this week, Elmhurst senior Zack Hofer has been tabbed as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's (NCBWA) NCAA Division III Hitter of the Week.

Hofer earned the honor for accounting for 25 runs in the Bluejays' four games last weekend. Hofer batted .588 (10-for-17) with 10 runs scored, 15 RBI, two home runs, five doubles and a 1.353 slugging percentage as Elmhurst posted a 3-1 record. In a doubleheader sweep of Capital, he finished a combined 5-for-8 at the plate with five runs scored and seven RBI. He added two doubles, a triple and three stolen bases against the Crusaders.

In Sunday's doubleheader split with Hanover, Hofer finished game one with a 3-for-4 day at the plate with a double and two home runs, including a grand slam. He scored three times while driving in five. In the Bluejays' 16-6 win in game two, he roped a pair of doubles, scored two runs and drove in three.

No. 6 Indianapolis Greyhounds earned the 8-0 (5 inn.), 8-4 doubleheader sweep over the visiting Flyers in their inaugural doubleheader at Baumgartner Field on Saturday (March 17) afternoon.

UIndy junior pitcher Jennifer DeMotte (14-1) earned both wins for the Greyhounds, including a perfect-game in game one. In the opener, DeMotte retired all 15 batters she faced, including three strikeouts, eight fly outs and four ground outs. She was not as effective in the nightcap, as she allowed four runs on 10 hits, while striking out four batters.

Game two saw the Flyers rally from a three-run deficit, but ended on a walk-off grand slam by UIndy freshman Samantha Krcelich to give the Greyhounds the win.

"Indianapolis is a great team who is certainly deserving of their national ranking," Lewis head softball coach George DiMatteo said. "They're tremendously talented."

The sweep extends UIndy's winning streak to 16 games and improves their record to 20-1 overall and 8-0 in GLVC action. Lewis is now 10-13 on the season and 4-6 in conference play.

The Flyers forced Lindenwood into a timeout in set one after Lewis took a 12-6 lead. The Lions then cut Lewis’ lead to 17-14. That is the closest Lindenwood would get as the Flyers won the set 25-19. Freshman Geoff Powell (Claremont, Calif./Claremont) notched a set-high six kills.

The Flyers again were able to jump out to a lead in the second set as they took a 10-4 advantage. A Kill by freshman James Hofmann (Cincinnati, Ohio/Archbishop McNicholas) on match point gave the Flyers the win. Lewis led the entire set.

Lewis dominated the third set, outhitting Lindenwood .417 to .080. Freshman Eric Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) came off the bench to record six kills on nine attempts in the frame.

The Flyers were led by Powell with 10 kills, followed by Fitterer with six. Sophomore setter BJ Boldog (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) added 23 assists in two sets of action. Nine Flyers recorded a kill during the contest.

JOLIET, Ill. --- After managing just two singles in Game 1 of its doubleheader with Siena Heights University (Mich.), University of St. Francis laced 11 hits in the nightcap to gain a split, winning the second game, 6-2, after falling 5-0 in the opener at the Inwood Softball Complex on Saturday.

Siena Heights pitcher Katie O'Hotzke stymied the Saint bats in the opener allowing only sophomore outfielder Lexi Southall (Wilmington H.S./Wilmington, IL) and senior second baseman Jenny Festin (Lockport H.S./Lockport, IL) to record hits.

O'Hotzke was also aided by her teammates scoring three runs (all unearned) off Saint starter Jackie Frey (Plainfield South H.S./Plainfield, IL) (3-2) before O'Hotzke even stepped to the mound in the bottom half of the inning.

CLAYTON, Mo. - The Benedictine University baseball team kicked off the 2012 season in suburban St. Louis, posting a 2-1 mark in three weekend games against Millikin and host Fontbonne on Saturday and Sunday.

GAME ONE: BENU 13, MILLIKIN 5
Five runs in the fifth inning put some distance between Benedictine and Millikin as the Eagles soared to a season opening win.

Benedictine opened the scoring in the second inning. John Cervantes led off with a double and scored on an RBI groundout from Steve Cocat. Millikin came back to tie the game in the top of the fourth, scoring a run off starter Mark Belcastro on a Peter Bonner RBI single.

Several Benedictine University football players recently received their fourth degree for patriotism from the Knights of Columbus. The fourth degree is the highest offered by the order.

Charity work has been the first principle of the Knights of Columbus since being founded in 1882. Last year alone, in addition to raising and donating more than $154 million to charitable needs and projects, Knights volunteered more than 70 million hours of their time to charitable causes.

Cumulative figures show that during the past decade, the Knights of Columbus has donated $1.406 billion to charity, and provided more than 653 million hours of volunteer service in support of charitable initiatives.

The Benedictine University football team has reached the NCAA Playoffs each of the past two seasons as the representative from the Northern Athletics Conference. The 2012 season kicks off at Wheaton College on August 30 at 7:00 p.m.

University of St. Francis rallied from a 6-2 deficit with a four-run sixth inning, but Indiana Institute of Technology answered right back with four of its own in the bottom half of the inning to snap USF's season-high five-game winning streak with an 11-6 victory Friday afternoon.

Indiana Tech catcher Ignatius Mackenzie delivered the big blow with his bases-clearing double off St. Francis reliever Connor Hudson (Guerin Prep H.S./Forest Park, IL) (0-1) as part of a perfect 4-for-4 day for him. Mackenzie also coaxed a walk in his other at bat enabling him to reach base in each of his five plate appearances on the afternoon.

USF designated hitter Steve Cservenyak (St. Joseph's College/Shorewood, IL) provided the Saints with an initial 1-0 lead in the first inning with the first of his three hits on the day driving in senior third baseman Jesse Gregurich (Coal City H.S./Mazon, IL), who tripled one batter earlier.

University of St. Francis ran away with a 15-0 win in the first game and battled back to pull out a 2-1 victory in the nightcap as the Fighting Saints completed their 12-game Spring Break trip to Florida with a doubleheader sweep over Spring Arbor University (MI) on Saturday.

Senior pitcher Jackie Frey (Plainfield South H.S./Plainfield, IL) tossed a five-inning, three-hit shutout in the opener and the Saints gave her plenty of offensive support with 15 runs on 18 hits. Freshman shortstop Tori Johnson (Joliet Catholic Academy/Joliet, IL) provided the big blow offensively, keying an eight-run second inning with a three-run home run, the first long ball of her collegiate career. Johnson also added a triple in the first game and finished with two runs and four RBI.

All nine Saints' hitters got base hits in the opener, with senior second baseman Jenny Festin (Lockport H.S./Lockport, IL) leading the attack with her second 4-for-4 effort of the week. Junior left fielder Kalli Tobias (Lincoln-Way Central H.S./Manhattan, IL) went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI and sophomore center fielder Lexi Southall (Wilmington H.S./Wilmington, IL) also added three hits. Junior catcher Kaitlin Nolan (Wilmington H.S./Wilmington, IL) went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.

Behind a 10-run performance in game one and a shutout from freshman pitcher Kelly Bowler (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) in game two the Lewis softball team swept a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader from William Jewell on Sunday (March 11) morning at the Lewis Softball Field. The Flyers took the opener 10-2 (5 innings) and the second contest 2-0.

The Flyers opened up game one thanks to a four-run third inning that broke a 1-1 tie. The big hit in the frame came off the bat of junior Lauren Hanford (Morris, Ill./Morris). Her one out bases loaded single drove in two runs. Senior Mary Giancarlo (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South) and junior Alexis Munaco (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park) also had an RBI in the frame.

“Lauren’s hit was huge,” Lewis softball coach George DiMatteo said. “When she got that hit I think it relaxed the entire team. Hitting is contagious and Lauren’s hit really got it going.”

The Flyers added four more runs in the fourth inning. Sophomore Alyssa Moseley (Crown Point, Ind./Andrean) had a two RBI single in the inning. Thanks to also knocking in a run in the first, she finished the game with three RBI.