Northeast Credit Union Athletes of the Week - McEachern & Ruppert

Despite the lingering winter air in the Northeast, the Dartmouth softball and baseball teams are managing to get some playing time with successful results. Junior Katie McEachern and Nick Ruppert are hitting lights out in the past week. McEachern is hitting .684 in 19 at-bats with 13 hits, while Ruppert hit .412 (7-for-17) last week.

Their efforts are rewarded by being named the Northeast Credit Union Athletes of the Week.

Each week, DartmouthSports.com will spotlight two outstanding student-athletes - one male, one female - as the Northeast Credit Union Athletes of the Week. Student-athletes may be chosen based upon their efforts both on and off the field of competition.

Nick Ruppert, Jr., La Mesa, Calif., OF, Baseball

Junior center fielder Nick Ruppert helped the baseball team right the ship in the past week after playing the fourth-most difficult non-conference schedule in the country, batting .412 (7-for-17) with four doubles — one in each of the last four games — and four RBIs. The native of La Mesa, California, provided some of the biggest hits in the five games last week, stroking a two-out, two-run single to break up a scoreless game in the sixth at Cal Poly in an eventual 7-1 victory, and swatting an RBI double off the left-field wall in the ninth at Penn to provide the winning run in a 4-3 triumph. For the season, Ruppert is second on the team with a .323 average and has the best on-base percentage at .389.

Katie McEachern, Jr., San Diego, Calif., SS, Softball

McEachern has found a new niche as the club's leadoff hitter with a .684 average in 19 at-bats with 13 hits. The shortstop had eight doubles, seven walks, two home runs and 17 runs scored. McEachern recorded a hit in each of the seven contests. McEachern is currently on a 13-game hitting streak and has reached base successfully in 14 games.

On the season, McEachern is 30th in the NCAA in batting average (.458), 22nd in doubles per game (0.39), fifth in on-base percentage (0.628) and slugging percentage (1.000). She also leads the team in all major categories — hits (27), runs batted in (16), doubles (9) and home runs (7).

Former Athletes of the Week

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