CHICAGO – The No. 23 ranked Saint Xavier University softball team (4-2/0-0 CCAC) swept the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Player of the Week awards as senior outfielder Fiona Crane (Evergreen Park, Ill./Northern Illinois/Mother McAuley) was named the CCAC Player of the Week and junior pitcher Lily Strand (Evergreen Park, Ill./Saint Louis/Evergreen Park) earned CCAC Pitcher of the Week when the awards were announced Tuesday morning. Crane batted .571 (12-for-21) with 16 stolen bases, including a team-record seven vs. Clarke University (Iowa) on Sunday, with eight runs, three walks and two RBI. Strand went 2-1 in the circle in 18.0 innings with 18 strikeouts, seven runs (six earned) and six walks. She threw two complete games, including a two-hitter in a 4-1 upset of No. 11 Midland University (Neb.) on Saturday. It is the fourth CCAC Player of the Week win for Crane, while Strand claims her third CCAC Pitcher of the Week award.

• Crane started the week with two hits in seven at-bats with an RBI and a stolen base as the Cougars lost a pair of games to No. 14 Madonna University (Mich.) last Thursday. She was 3-for-4 with five steals, two runs, a walk and an RBI in a 16-3 win over Missouri Valley College, followed by another 3-for-4 effort with two runs scored and a stolen base in a 7-0 triumph over Clarke on Saturday. She capped the week by going 1-for-3 with two steals, a walk and a run vs. Midland, and Crane went 3-for-3 with seven stolen bases, three runs scored and a walk in a 9-1 win over the Pride.
• Strand took the loss in the season opener against the Crusaders, going 4.0 inning with 10 hits allowed, six earned runs and two strikeouts. She tossed a three-hit shutout with a career-best 11 strikeouts to just one walk against CU on Saturday. Strand threw another complete game, walking five and striking out five with an unearned run in the defeat of the Warriors.

No. 23 Saint Xavier (4-2/0-0 CCAC) returns to Iowa, however they travel to the Northwest corner of the Hawkeye State to take part in the two-day American State Bank (ASB) Sports Complex Softball Classic hosted by Dordt University (Iowa) starting on Friday, February 20. The Cougars play Doane University (Neb.) at 12:00 pm and No. 17 Northwestern College (Iowa) at 2:00 pm.