Date: Wednesday, April 25, 2001

MACKEY NAMED NESCAC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK

MEDFORD – For the third consecutive week, a member of the Tufts University softball team was named a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Player of the Week. This time it's junior SS Jen Mackey (Swampscott, MA/Bishop Fenwick), who followed junior P Jodie Moreau (Clarksburg, MA/) and junior 1B Tiffany Trahan (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford) as Jumbo award winners. Mackey shared her Player of the Week status with Williams sophomore P Katherine Baldwin.

In a busy nine-game week, during which Tufts posted an 8-1 record, Mackey posted a .609 batting average with 14 hits in 23 at-bats. She also scored 14 runs, had six runs batted in, hit two doubles, walked six times, stole two bases and had two sacrifice bunts. She did not strike out in 32 plate appearances during the week.

Mackey started the week by going 2 for 3 with two runs scored in the first game of a double-header at Trinity on April 16. She topped that with a 3 for 3 with three runs scored in the nightcap against the Bantams. During the Tufts Invitational April 21-22, Mackey went 3 for 4 and scored three runs in one game against Emerson, then went 2 for 3 with three RBIs in another game against the Lions.

Her superb week lifted Mackey's batting average to .405 (34/84), seventh-best in the NESCAC. She's started 29 of 30 games for the Jumbos and has scored 22 runs, has 12 RBIs and seven doubles.

Tufts has won 13 out of 14 games and is 21-8-1 overall. They are 6-0 in the NESCAC East Division, which has already earned them one of the four spots in the conference tournament starting May 4. Head Coach Kris Talon's team is aiming for its fifth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Mackey was named to the All-Tournament team at the NCAA New England Regional last spring where Tufts won the title and advanced to the College World Series for the first time.

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