Sylvester Tabbed FPN DIII Player of the Week

BOSTON – Awards continue to roll in for Suffolk softball's Payton Sylvester as the freshman has picked up Player of the Week accolades from Fast Pitch News, the organization announced Tuesday Morning. The honor comes on the heels of a .538/.588/1.615 week at the plate over four games. 

Sylvester receives her fifth weekly honor of the season with three GNAC Corvias Rookie of the Week nods and the conference's co-player of the week status to go along with her FPN recognition, which is the first by a Ram in program history. 

Over the 3-1 week for the Rams, Sylvester contributed seven hits including six extra-base hits (two doubles, four dingers), 13 RBI, eight runs and 15 total bases at the plate. 

The Worcester, Massachusetts, native opened the week with one RBI in game one versus Johnson & Wales before going the distance in the nightcap with her first collegiate home run ball. Her first-ever jack was good for two-RBI to help the Rams defeat JWU, 6-1, and split the series with the conference powerhouse. 

In the series against Anna Maria she truly shined and saved the best for last with her highlight performance of the week coming in game two. Sylvester notched personal-bests in nearly every hitting category as she did not miss at the plate, going 5-for-5 with three consecutive dingers and one double for nine RBI and 15 total bases. She contributed five runs to Suffolk's 23, the most in the Jaclyn Davis era and most since racking up 36 in a 36-1 victory over Southern Vermont, April 17, 2006.. As the Rams twirler, she allowed just two runs on two hits and one walk with three punch outs through 4.0 innings in the circle. 

Sylvester's standout performance saw the rookie become the 10th-ever player in NCAA Division III history to hit three homers in a row and first to accomplish the feat since Monmouth's Charlotte Park rocked four straight bombs April 17, 2014. Sylvester's 15 total bases, meanwhile, are not only the most under Davis, but mark the first time across DIII that a player had 15 or more total bases since Park of Monmouth April 17, 2014. Sylvester became the eighth-ever player in DIII to have 15 or more total bases in a single game. Her nine RBI, which are the most by an individual in DIII this season, and three homers, which ties the most by one student-athlete in 2018, also mark a best under Davis' guidance. 

Sylvester and the Rams are back in action this afternoon, Tuesday, April 3 as they entertain Brandeis in Suffolk's first home game of the season. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.