Sports
Madison Claytor Hauls in Mid-American Conference East Player of the Week
By: Justin Cudahy
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For the second consecutive week, an Ohio softball player is the Mid-American Conference East Player of the Week. Senior catcher/right-fielder Madison Claytor earned the award following a dominant week.
Her play has allowed the Bobcats (8-1, 1-0) to go on a seven-game winning streak.
Claytor was an offensive powerhouse during the past week. Her stats totaled eight RBI’s, four runs, and a 1.273 slugging percent. She had a.364 percentage and went 4/13 in plate appearances. Three of the four hits were home runs, one of them being a grand slam and another being a game-tying two-run homer late in the game.
Claytor’s stellar play in the Ohio Softball tournament allowed the Bobcats to go 4-0.
Claytor’s best performance came in the first game on Friday afternoon when the team took on Rutgers. Down two in the bottom of the second inning, Claytor hit a two-run home run to quickly even things up. But that wasn’t all for the senior. In her next at-bat, one inning later, the catcher would hit a grand slam over the left field wall to give the Bobcats an 8-3 lead. This gave Ohio their first victory of the tournament, topping the Scarlet Knights 8-5.
That game was followed by a conference matchup against MAC West Division foe Northern Illinois. Down by two going into the bottom of the seventh inning, Claytor once again came through, producing clutch homers that forced extra innings. This allowed Morgan Geno to knock in the winning run off an RBI single, miraculously defeating NIU, 4-3.
Claytor finished her strong performance this weekend on Sunday against Rutgers, hitting a double in the fourth inning along with an RBI. The Bobcats defeated the Scarlet Knights again, 9-3, sweeping the weekend.
Ohio has a week to rest before they travel to Knoxville, Tennessee to take on Southeastern Louisiana and Tennessee in the Tennessee Invitational on March 2.