Natalie Rodriguez and Cassandra Valdez Win Red River Awards This Week

WACO, TEXAS (March 5, 2024) – Natalie Rodriguez of Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) was awarded Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Softball Pitcher of the Week for Feb. 26-March 3, while OLLU's Cassandra Valdez continued to collect awards as the RRAC Pitcher of the Week for the same dates. This is the fifth set of weekly winners for the 2024 RRAC softball season.

Rodriguez batted .500 with a .778 slugging percentage as the Saints posted a 5-0 record at the Red Dirt Classic tournament in Oklahoma City. The graduate outfielder from Edinburg, Texas, drove in seven runs with a pair of doubles and a home run among her nine hits. Rodriguez also scored five runs. She is second in the conference in RBI with 21, and she is tied for third in home runs (3). Seventh-ranked OLLU improved to 17-1 on the season.

Valdez earned two more wins at the Red Dirt Classic with 12 strikeouts in both games. The graduate right-hander from Brownsville, Texas, allowed only two hits and one earned run in a 4-1 victory over ninth-ranked Oklahoma City University. Valdez also threw a four-hit shutout in a 3-0 win over Mid-America Christian University (Okla.). She leads the RRAC in strikeouts (83) and earned run average (0.63).