IRVINE, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University outfielder Noel Saunders has been selected as the PacWest Conference Softball Freshman of the Week for her outstanding play last week.
 
Saunders, a freshman from Pearl City, Hawai'i/Pearl City, led the Sharks in a doubleheader sweep of cross-town rival Chaminade to open PacWest Conference play. Saunders hit .833 against the Silverswords, going 5-for-6, scoring three runs with two RBIs. She was also 2-for-2 on stolen bases, had a sacrifice fly and was hit by a pitch as the Sharks won 12-0 (5 innings) and 11-3.
 
Saunders has a .347 batting average and leads the PacWest with 17 hits on the season and 11 runs scored, and ranks fifth in the league in stolen bases with four.
 
Joining Saunders with weekly awards are Azusa Pacific's Cayla Broussard as PacWest Player of the Week and Concordia Irvine's Callie Nunes as PacWest Pitcher of the Week.
 
The Sharks (8-8, 2-0) host a pair of PacWest doubleheaders on Wednesday and Thursday against Notre Dame de Namur. The twinbills are scheduled for 1 p.m. both days at Howard Okita Field on the HPU windward campus in Kaneohe.
 
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