March 6, 2018
by Tony Jones
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame softball junior outfielder Ali Wester rode an electric performance at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic last weekend to a share of Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Week honors, the conference office announced on Tuesday. Wester and Virginia’s Allison Davis were named league co-players of the week following standout showings for their teams in nonconference play.
The ACC citation for Wester was the first weekly award earned by a Notre Dame player in 2018. It also marked the first time that Wester, who has been named all-ACC in each of her two full seasons with the Irish, was tabbed as the league’s top weekly player. Notre Dame has now claimed nine ACC Player of the Week honors in softball since joining the conference in 2014.
Wester was the leading offensive player for Notre Dame during a 5-0 weekend away from home at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Florida. The Irish slap hitter batted a team-high .588 with 10 hits, four RBI, three stolen bases and seven runs scored despite three games ending by run-rule after five innings.
Wester logged a pair of key RBI and scored the winning run in Friday’s first game to complete an 11-9 comeback victory against UMass. The Huntington Beach, California, native then went a perfect 2-for-2 with a pair of steals and two runs scored in the five-inning nightcap (8-0) against Fordham. She kept the weekend rolling with a 2-for-3 performance, two RBI, a steal and two runs scored in a 10-2, eight-run, five-inning triumph against UC Santa Barbara, chipping in an additional two hits later Saturday night in a 4-1 win over FIU. Wester closed the tournament with a 2-for-3 outing and a pair of runs scored against Robert Morris during a 10-0 jaunt on Sunday.
Batting in only 13 games thus far this season since returning from offseason surgery, Wester leads all Notre Dame hitters with a .421 batting average and is tied for the team lead with six stolen bases. Her 11 runs scored are tied for third on the Irish squad.
For the latest news and updates on all things Notre Dame softball, visit www.und.com/softball, follow the Irish @NDsoftball and @NDcoachGumpf on Twitter and at Instagram.com/notredamesoftball, and Like the team at Facebook.com/NDSoftball.
2018 Notre Dame Softball Weekly Honorees
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Week
Ali Wester — March 6 (Co)
–ND–
Tony Jones, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2012 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame softball, men’s soccer and swimming and diving programs. A native of Jamestown, New York, Jones is a 2011 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, and prior to arriving at Notre Dame held positions at the University of Louisiana Monroe and with the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills.