ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Emma Austin and Emily Williams have received weekly honors from the Missouri Valley Conference after Southern Illinois’ final series of the regular season.
Austin was awarded her second MVC Player of the Week, while Williams was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week for the fifth time this season.
At Evansville, Austin hit for a batting average of .583, going 7-for-12 against the Purple Aces. The senior outfielder scored six runs, had one triple, and went a perfect 4-for-4 on stolen bases.
On Friday, Austin broke the career stolen base record with her 64th steal as a Saluki.
The senior last received the accolade on March 11.
Williams had a batting average of .500 with one home run and four RBI. The sophomore also had an on-base percentage of .545 and slugging percentage of .800.
On Sunday, Williams hit her 16th home run of the season, which is tied for the second-most in a single-season in program history (Jackie Lis, 2024).
The Salukis enter this week’s MVC Tournament as the No. 1 seed after clinching their second consecutive MVC regular season championship. Southern’s first game will be against either No. 8 Drake or No. 9 Murray State on Thursday, May 8, at 10 a.m.
Missouri Valley Conference Weekly Award Winners
Player of the Week – Emma Austin, Southern Illinois
Pitcher of the Week – Maya Johnson, Belmont
Freshman of the Week – Brailey Mills, Indiana State
Newcomer of the Week – Emily Williams, Southern Illinois
