NEWTOWN, Pa. (Conference News) – The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) has announced its conference weekly award recipients for the week ending March 17, 2024. A total of 18 student-athletes were recognized for performances from March 11, 2024 to March 17, 2024.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL (#MACvb)
MAC Offensive Player of the Week
Jared Piontkowski (Misericordia / Jr., OH / Nanticoke, Pa.) hit .500 with 30 kills and five aces in a pair of sweeps over King's and Wilkes.  Hit .360 with 14 kills and three aces in a sweep at King's.  Hit .652 with 16 kills and two aces in a sweep of Wilkes.

MAC Defensive Player of the Week
Aidan O’Brien (Stevenson / Sr., MB / Doylestown, Pa.) had five blocks across three matches this week, including four in the win over King’s.

MEN’S LACROSSE (#MAClax)
MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week
Mike McKnelly (Messiah / So., A / Baltimore, Md.) had a dominant week leading the Falcon's offense with 16 points in the wins over Southern Virginia and Guilford. In the 21-9 win over Southern Virginia on Wednesday, McKnelly led the Falcons with eight goals on 10 shots on the afternoon. McKnelly continued to post impressive stats, with five more goals and three assists in the 19-9 win over Guilford College on Saturday morning. 

MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Week
Justin Scorese (Stevenson / Gr., GK / Bridgewater, N.J.) made 12 stops on Saturday to help the Mustangs take down No. 8 Washington and Lee in the 2024 Mustang Classic. He made three saves in the first and third quarters and two in the second to help the Mustangs build up their lead. Scorese went on to make four saves in the fourth quarter to stop the Generals from making a comeback. The win was Scorese’s third of the season and second over a ranked opponent.

MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Week
Matthew Pergola (Stevens / So., A / Nutley, N.J.) scored six goals across two games as nationally-ranked Stevens defeated Haverford and Rhodes to win the inaugural Leanos Cup. He had four goals against the Fords and two versus the Lynx, while also picking up two ground balls.

MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week
Kevin Holtby (Stevens / Gr., GK / Readington, N.J.) totaled 31 saves across two games to help nationally-ranked Stevens defeat Haverford and Rhodes on the program's way to capturing the inaugural Leanos Cup. Against Haverford, Holtby stopped a season-high 19 shots and then made 12 saves against Rhodes. He also picked up three ground balls.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE (#MAClax)
MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week
Mackenzie Demaio (Hood / Sr., M / Urbana, Md.) totaled six goals and nine assists on the week for the Blazers. She scored four goals and assisted on four goals while scooping up four ground balls in the win against Western Connecticut. Then in the win on Saturday on the road against Arcadia, Demaio racked up five assists and two goals.

MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Week
Olivia Pickett (Hood / Fy., M / Catonsville, Md.) had seven ground balls, three caused turnovers, 10 draw controls, and scored a goal total during back-to-back wins against Western Connecticut and Arcadia.

MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Week
Sarah Morris (Arcadia / Sr., M / New Milford, Conn.) tallied 12 goals, 4 assists, 12 draw controls and 4 ground balls on the Knights 1-2 week. In Arcadia's 20-6 win over Gwynedd Mercy, she put up 6 goals, 1 assist, had 3 ground balls and grabbed 9 draw controls. In the 2-goal loss to Hood, Morris scored 2 more goals and had two assists, totaling 4 points on the game. Out of her 15 shot attempts this week, 100% of them were on goal and over 53% of them were goals. 

MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week
Emily Griffith (Arcadia / Sr., GK / Easton, Md.) made 19 saves and grabbed 6 ground balls in the Knights 1-1 week. In Arcadia's 20-6 win over Gwynedd Mercy, she had a 56% save percentage with 5 saves on 9 shots on goal. Against Hood, Griffith saved 11 shots to see another 56% save percentage. 

BASEBALL (#MACbaseball)
MAC Commonwealth Pitcher of the Week
Joe Alexander (Hood / Gr. / Leesburg, Va.) broke a program record with 12 strikeouts on the day pitching eight innings while allowing only one earned run and one walk on five hits and earned the win against MAC Commonwealth foe Stevenson. 

MAC Commonwealth Player of the Week
Chris Betler (York / Jr., LF / Ellicott City, Md.) powered the Spartans to four wins for the week including a heart-stopping 9-8 come from behind win over #17 Misericordia and a three-game sweep of Albright. Betler hit .800 (12-for-15) with eight runs scored, one double, five home runs, and 17 RBI in the four wins. He began the week with a 2-for-4 performance against Misericordia. He had two runs scored and a career high six RBI as he blasted a pair of home runs. He came up huge with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Spartans trailed the Cougars 8-3 and had the bases loaded. Betler was down in the count 1-2 and blasted a grand slam to right to draw the Spartans to within one heading to the ninth as York would win in walk off fashion. Betler posted a career-high four hits as he was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and another four RBI in the series opening win over Albright. He was perfect in the doubleheader sweep of the Lions on Saturday. Betler was a combined 6-for-6 with four runs and seven RBI. In the opener, he was 3-for-3 with three runs, four RBI, a double and a home run. In the nightcap, Betler was 3-for-3 with a run scored and three RBI as he blasted another home run. Betler has now homered in four straight games. For the year, Betler is hitting .579 (22-for-38) with 16 runs scored, two doubles, five home runs and 22 RBI. He owns a 1.631 OPS, a 1.026 slugging percentage and a .605 on-base percentage.

MAC Freedom Pitcher of the Week
Jared Drake (DeSales / Sr. / Fairport, N.Y.) earned the win in DSU's 4-1 win over Delaware Valley on Saturday pitching a complete-game allowing just five hits and one run over seven innings. Drake struck out 10 and did not walk a batter in the win.

MAC Freedom Player of the Week
Joe Comins (Misericordia / Gr., OF / Warmers, N.Y.) hit .625 (10-16) with three doubles, one triple and one homer in a 2-2 week.  Scored nine runs and had nine RBI.  Was 2-4 with two extra-base hits and three RBI in a last-inning loss at York.  Was 2-4 with one RBI a one-run loss at Arcadia.   Was 4-4 with a homer and two RBI in a win over Arcadia and 2-4 with two doubles and three RBI to complete a doubleheader sweep over Arcadia.

SOFTBALL (#MACsb)
MAC Commonwealth Pitcher of the Week
Danika Barthol (Eastern / Fy. / Emmaus, Pa.) struck out 25 hitters while not allowing a run in three wins. The first year pitcher allowed only five singles in 18 innings of work. She struck out a career-high 13 hitters in Eastern's conference-opening win over Widener. Midweek, she threw four scoreless innings with six strikeouts in a win over Cabrini. She struck out six more while going the distance in a 1-0 shutout win over Neumann University. Barthol has allowed only one earned run in 34 innings this spring. 

MAC Commonwealth Player of the Week
Emma Wade (York / Jr., DP / Hagerstown, Md.) led the Spartans to a 3-1 week including a MAC Commonwealth sweep of Albright. Wade finished the week hitting .455 (5-for-11) with five runs scored, two home runs, 10 RBI while she also had a walk. She had a .462 on-base percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage. Wade had a huge doubleheader in the sweep of Albright. In game one, Wade was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a career high seven RBI. Wade blasted a two-run homer in the top of the third that gave York a 3-1 lead. In the fifth, she had a sacrifice fly to put the Spartans up 4-1. She capped her big day in the sixth as she ripped a grand slam to close out the game one scoring. She was responsible for seven of York's nine runs. In game two, Wade was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI. She had an RBI single in the four run fourth for the Spartans. She followed with a two-run single up the middle in the seventh for York. For the season, Wade is hitting .462 with 13 runs scored, five doubles, four home runs and a team-leading 24 RBI. She has drawn three walks and just struck out one. She owns a .897 slugging percentage with 35 total bases and a .488 on-base percentage. Wade is currently second in the Commonwealth in batting average, first in home runs, first in RBI and third in runs scored. 

MAC Freedom Pitcher of the Week
Alanna Hartzell (DeSales / Sr. / Bath, Pa.) had a terrific week helping DeSales post a 4-2 record in six games. She posted a 1-0 record with one save in three appearances. For the week she totaled 12 innings allowing just 10 hits and one earned run, striking out five. Hartzell earned her win over Delaware Valley University pitching a complete-game allowing just one run over seven innings, striking out two. She also earned a save with two scoreless innings in a win over Lehman College.

MAC Freedom Player of the Week
Kacie Centineo (FDU / Sr., OF / Waldwick, N.J.) totaled 14 hits on 26 at bats this week for FDU-Florham at the Fast Pitch Dreams Classic down in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where the Devils went 5-3 from Monday to Friday. She recorded a hit in all eight games while also collecting a total of eight RBI, two triples, five runs scored and two stolen bases. The highlight of her week came during a 6-4 win against Notre Dame (Md.) where she went 3-for-4 and recorded her 100th career hit in the win.