Mackenzie Pawlak earned player of the week honors after hitting .667 on the week with a pair of extra inning game-winning hits to help the Pats win the Williamsburg Bracket of the NAIA Opening Round. Pawlak went 8-12 with three RBI, three runs scored, and a double. The junior opened the week going 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored against USCB. Pawlak hit a one-out single in the second inning and came around to score three batters later to give the Patriots a 1-0 lead. She added a single in the sixth and in the bottom of the eighth, Pawlak drilled an RBI singled to center field, which scored Mackenzie Keatts before Emily Bryant came around with the winning run for the 3-2 victory. The Georgetown, KY native followed that up by going 2-3 with a runs scored against Madonna. In the second inning, Pawlak notched a two-out single and stole second. After advancing on a wild pitch, she came around to score on a Paxton Hoop two-run single to put UC in front. She added a single in the fifth inning as well as UC won 4-2 to advance to the championship game. Pawlak capped off the week going 3-5 with two RBI and a run scored. The junior singled in both the second and sixth innings, however, couldn’t come around to score. In the top of the tenth, Pawlak hit a two-out double down the left field line that scored both Bryant and Bailey Turnbow to give UC a 3-1 lead. Pawlak also came around to score on a Hailey Wood single as Cumberlands defeated Madonna 4-1 to advance to the World Series.
