Krystal Mejia named NEC Player of the Week

4/11/05 -- Junior Krystal Mejia (Sylmar, Calif.), the reigning Northeast Conference Softball Most Valuable Player and NEC Tournament MVP, added another award to her mantle today as she was named the league’s Player of the Week for the first time.

Mejia is coming off a stupendous week in which she batted .450 (9-for-20) with two doubles, three homers, seven runs and eight RBI over eight contests. She is batting .529 (9-for-17) during a seven-game hitting streak.

The 5-8 shortstop provided a monster shot in the second game of LIU’s doubleheader sweep Saturday against Monmouth. Mejia gave the Blackbirds a 7-0 lead by smashing a grand slam to right-center field en route to a 9-0 triumph.

Mejia continued her roll the next day in the opener of LIU’s doubleheader sweep at Sacred Heart. She belted a two-out solo homer in the second inning to open the scoring and added a three-run shot in the fourth for a 6-0 contest on the way to a 10-0 win.

The award comes in the midst of an incredible run for Mejia, who has a hit in 9-of-10 contests this month, during which she is batting .429 (12-for-28) with eight extra-base hits. She has bumped her batting average this season to .255 with 14 hits, three doubles, five home runs, 16 RBI and a .582 slugging percentage.

Her effort has helped the Blackbirds (11-22, 7-1 NEC) to victories in eight of their last 10 outings, including a four-game winning streak.

In winning two major awards last season, Mejia played a huge role in LIU capturing its second straight NEC crown and clinching its second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

It is the second straight week a Blackbird has been cited by the NEC as sophomore Randi Gillespie (San Jose, Calif.) was tabbed Player of the Week.

LIU returns to action Saturday with a doubleheader at Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Md. First pitch is at 1:00 pm.