Baseball 4/22/2024 2:37:00 PM United East Athletes of the Week - April 22, 2024 LATHAM, N.Y. - The United East conference has announced its Athletes of the Week for April 22, 2024. This includes Athletes of the Week for both the Skye and Volt Divisions in Baseball and Softball as well as Women’s Lacrosse, and Men’s Lacrosse This week’s selections included contests from Monday, April 15 through Sunday, April 21. A total of 12 student-athletes were recognized for their performances. Women’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week Sage Lague / Jr / Wilson College / Fairplay, Md. / Goretti HS Sage Lague was one of the offensive leaders in Wilson's victory over Cedar Crest to secure the third seed in the upcoming United East championship tournament as Lague scored four goals and added an assist to help the Phoenix in the victory. Lague added three ground balls and caused two turnovers as well to help disrupt the Falcons' flow as they tried to set up their offense. Across the league, Lague currently is second averaging 4.17 Goals per Game, third with 50 Total Goals, and fourth with 5.08 Points per Game. This is the third Player of the Week nod for Lague, who previously won for the week of March 25, 2024, and March 18, 2024. Lague earned Second Team All-Conference in 2023 to go with a First Team honor in 2022. Defensive Player of the Week Jill Ahlgren / Sr / Wilson College / Mercersburg, Pa. / Mercersburg HS Ahlgren led a defense that pitched a clean sheet against Cedar Crest to secure the No. 3 seed in the United East championship tournament on Saturday afternoon. The Wilson back line allowed only six shots on the day, and a main reason for that was Ahlgren who caused seven turnovers, picked up nine ground balls, and won nine draw controls in the win. She added three goals and three assists offensively as well. Nationally, Ahlgren is currently #2 in the nation with 4.75 Caused Turnovers per Game and #6 with 5.83 Ground Balls per Game. This is the eleventh Player of the Week honor during Ahlgren’s career, fifth this season, as well as earning First Team All-Conference in the CSAC for the 2023 season. Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week Aidan McFalls / FY / Penn College / Gilbertsville, Pa. / Boyertown HS McFalls scored a season-high 11 points to lead the Wildcats to a 19-3 victory at Bryn Athyn on Saturday. McFalls recorded his sixth hat-trick of the season with four goals and dished out a season-high seven assists while firing off 13 shots with six on goal in the game. Defensively, McFalls also added a caused turnover to the stat sheet. This is the first Player of the Week award for McFalls, who is currently third in the United East with 36 Total Goals and averages 2.77 Goals per Game. Additionally, McFalls ranks second with 4.54 Points per Game and fourth with 1.77 Assists per Game. Defensive Player of the Week Ethan Little / Sr / St. Mary’s College of Maryland / Bel Air, Md. / C. Milton Wright HS Ethan Little began the week with two ground balls, and one caused turnover in an 18-5 loss to No. 1 Salisbury. He then had four ground balls and one caused turnover in the 29-4 win over Keystone while adding a goal as well. Little was the 2023 United East Defensive Player of the Year and Honorable Mention All-American. This is the fifth Player of the Week award over his career; April 15, 2024, March 4, 2024, March 7, 2023, and February 27, 2023. Softball Player of the Week - Skye Division Haley Brag / So / Clarks Summit University / Millville, N.J. / Millville Senior HS Haley Brag hit .500 (12-for-24) with an .833 slugging percentage and a .556 On-Base Percentage as the Defenders went 6-2 on a busy week. On the week, Brag had 13 runs scored, 9 RBI, 4 doubles, 3 triples, and 4 stolen bases including a 3-for-4 day with 3 RBI against Keystone. On Saturday, Brag was instrumental in the Defenders sweeping St. Elizabeth; their first win over the Eagles since the 2015 season. This is the first Player of the Week award for Brag. Pitcher of the Week - Skye Division Jessie Leatherwood / Gr / Notre Dame of Maryland University / Towson, Md. / Towson HS Leatherwood had an outstanding week, going 2-1 in the circle, earning victories over Clarks Summit University and Rosemont College. Leatherwood opened the week by blanking Clarks Summit University, holding the Defenders to only three hits while setting a new single-game school record with 16 strikeouts. Leatherwood was once again impressive in NDMU's match up with Wilson College, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out eight. Leatherwood closed out the week, by earning a victory over Rosemont College, holding the Ravens to two runs on six hits while fanning seven. Leatherwood was a First Team All-Conference pitcher in 2023, Second Team in 2022 and 2021, as well as Player of the Week for the week of March 18, 2024, and March 27, 2023. Player of the Week - Volt Division Phoebe Clemens / Sr / Lancaster Bible College / Honey Brook, Pa. / Homeschool Clemens helped lead the Chargers to a 3-3 week including two wins at Albright on Tuesday and stealing a game from Penn St. Harrisburg at home. She went 13 of 19 (.667) from the box, totaling seven RBIs and six runs with a double and triple. She notched 12 stolen bases including a career high five versus Penn State Berks She also grabbed 12 total putouts at a .976 fielding percentage including a double-play and the Chargers first triple play in program history. Clemens was named First Team All-Conference in 2023 and Second Team for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. This is the fourth Player of the Week nod for Clemens, who previously won for the weeks of March 25, 2024, March 27, 2023, and March 13, 2023. Pitcher of the Week - Volt Division Gretchen Yanss / Jr / Penn State Abington / Odenton, Md. / Arundel HS It was a historic week for junior Gretchen Yanss as she surpassed 300 career strikeouts and became the program's all-time leader in Ks with 308. She started both games of a doubleheader against Gallaudet University on Saturday. In game one she tied her season-high with nine strikeouts to reach 300. In game two, Yanss fanned another five batters to reach 308 setting a new standard in the Abington record book. The previous record of 307 was held by former standout and current assistant coach, Becca Dougherty. Yanss finished the week 3-1 with 26 strikeouts in 20.1 innings of work. She allowed only two earned runs the entire week. This is the second Player of the Week nod for Yanss, who previously won for the week of March 18, 2024. Yanss was a First Team All-Conference honoree in 2023 and a Second Team member in 2022. Baseball Player of the Week - Skye Division Jacob Yager / Jr / Keystone College / Grahamsville, N.Y. / Tri-Valley HS Yager batted .500 with a slugging percentage of 1.500 and an on base percentage of .643 as Keystone picked up four wins on the week. The junior infielder had a big performance in Friday's contest with St. Elizabeth as he went 3-for-3 with five RBI which was highlighted by two home runs. Yager currently leads the United East in OPS (On Base + Slugging) with a 1.203 average and is second in Slugging Percentage (.703). This is the third Player of the Week award for Yager who recently won this award on April 1, 2024, and March 4, 2024. Pitcher of the Week - Skye Division Harrison Green / 5th Yr. / Cairn University / Jackson, Ms. / Park Place Christian Academy Green made two appearances this week, the first against Ramapo on Monday where he allowed only a single earned run in relief. On Saturday, the fifth year got the start on the mound, throwing a complete game and giving up just one unearned run and scattering six hits as the Highlanders picked up a 12-1 victory over Clarks Summit. This is the first Pitcher of the Week award for Green. Player of the Week - Volt Division Brendan Henn / Jr / Penn State Harrisburg / Matamoras, Pa. / Delaware Valley HS Brendan Henn had another monster week to help Penn State Harrisburg go 4-0. The junior slashed .533/.611/.933 with a 1.544 OPS. He had eight hits, including a home run, a triple, and a double, to go along with eight runs scored, six RBI, Henn was the 2023 United East Championship Tournament MVP as well as Second Team All-Conference and Second Team All-Region last year. This is the third Player of the Week honor for Henn who previously won for the weeks of April 8, 2024, and February 26, 2024. Pitcher of the Week - Volt Division Erik Thomas / Jr / St. Mary’s College of Maryland / Frederick, Md. / Governor Thomas Johnson HS Erik Thomas threw a complete game shutout in the nightcap to help the Seahawks take the series from Penn College. Thomas struck out a career-best seven batters and scattered five hits over the full 9 innings to pick up his first win of the season while throwing only 99 pitches. This is the first Pitcher of the Week award for Thomas. 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