McKayla Taylor named ACC Player of the Week

Thanks to an excellent week at the plate and in the field, junior Pitt shortstop McKayla Taylor became the ACC’s Softball Player of the Week Tuesday afternoon. The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the honor Tuesday afternoon.

The Florida State Seminoles swept the Panthers in Tallahassee the weekend of April 2, dropping the team’s record in conference play to 1-11. Since then, Pitt has rattled off four straight wins, in large part due to Taylor’s play.

The junior administration of justice major from Huntington Beach, California hit one home run in all four of last week’s games, scored six runs and drove in seven Pitt baserunners. With seven RBIs, Taylor now has driven in the fourth-most runs in Pitt softball history with 116 to her name.

Over the course of the last week’s action, in which the Panthers played St. Francis Tuesday, April 5, and Virginia Tech April 8-9, Taylor got a hit in six of her 15 at bats for a .400 batting average.

Taylor completed the week with an on-base percentage of .438 and a slugging percentage of 1.200.

Her best day at the plate came in Saturday’s series opener against the Hokies, during which she went 3-4 with a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored.

Taylor played flawless defense at short last week, making eight putouts and 12 assists with no errors.

Taylor and the Panthers play their next game on Friday, April 14, as they open a three-game in-conference series at home against the Syracuse Orange.