Senior shortstop Lilli Piper was named the Big Ten Player of the Week after leading the Ohio State softball team to a 4-0 week.
Piper hit .700 with seven walks and seven hits, including three home runs. The Cuyahoga Falls (Ohio) Walsh Jesuit product also scored seven runs and drove in five, while posting an absurd 1.700 slugging percentage.
The All-American shortstop’s big week began against Ohio, where she drew a career-high three walks, stole a base and scored a run in a 4-3 Buckeye victory over the Bobcats on April 16.
Piper finally saw some pitches she liked against Michigan State in a weekend series between conference foes April 19-21. The Norton, Ohio, native propelled the Buckeye offense to a series sweep of the Spartans for the second-straight season.
In the three-game series, Piper posted a .778 batting average, 1.889 slugging clip, .846 on-base percentage and 1.000 fielding rate. She brought her power to the plate, launching a home run in each game. Overall, the Scarlet and Gray outscored the Green and White, 29-9, and out-hit them, 39-14.
In the series-opening 15-6 run-rule victory, Piper walked three times once again, and scored four runs, both tying her career highs. She hit 1 for 2 with one homer and two RBI.
In the second game, the former Akron transfer put together a two-hit, two-run, one-RBI performance with one intentional walk. She started off the scoring for Ohio State with a solo homer in the first inning, which would end up being the difference maker in a 3-2 win.
In the series finale, the Buckeyes run-ruled the Spartans again, winning 11-1 in just five innings. It was enough time for Piper to make her impact, batting 4 for 4 with two runs and two RBI. Despite only playing five innings, Piper posted her second four-hit outing of the season and third of her career.
Piper leads Ohio State with 16 multi-hit games, including eight outings with at least three hits.
The Ohio State standout leads the Big Ten with a .556 batting average, .647 on-base percentage and 30 hits through 17 games. Piper also ranks in the conference’s top 10 in slugging percentage (.889), runs scored (21), RBI (17), home runs (five), total bases (48) and walks (14).
The award represented Piper’s fifth Player of the Week honor of her career, tying her for the third-most awards in Big Ten history and Sam Marder (class of 2010) for the most ever by an Ohio State softball player.
