CHICAGO – For the second week in a row the No. 23 ranked Saint Xavier University softball team (7-3/0-0 CCAC) swept the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Player of the Week awards. Junior catcher Natalie Johnson (Bourbonnais, Ill./Grand Valley State/Bradley-Bourbonnais) was named the CCAC Player of the Week and sophomore pitcher Payton Antkiewicz (Dyer, Ind./Hanover Central) earned CCAC Pitcher of the Week when the awards were announced by the league office Tuesday morning. Johnson batted .500 (6-for-12) with a slugging percentage of .917 and an on-base percentage of .538 to help the Cougars go 3-1 at the American State Bank (ASB) Sports Complex Softball Classic hosted by Dordt University (Iowa) this weekend. Antkiewicz combined to throw a no-hitter in an 8-0 victory over Doane University (Iowa) on Friday, followed by a 5.0 inning, six-hit win against Morningside University (Iowa) on Saturday. Johnson claims her first career CCAC Player of the Week award, while Antkiewicz came away with her second CCAC Pitcher of the Week honor, winning last season on April 8.

• Johnson had a hit in three at-bats in the win over Doane. She was 1-for-3 with a double in a 3-1 loss to No. 17 Northwestern College (Iowa) in the second game on Friday. Johnson was at triple shy of the cycle with a walk, belting her second Grand Slam of the season in the 8-2 triumph over Morningside. She added a base hit in three trips to the plate as SXU bested Dordt, 1-0, to cap the tournament.
• Antkiewicz worked 5.0 innings of no-hit ball, walking five while striking out eight batters. She was relieved by junior pitcher Haley Wesner (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest), who worked a 1-2-3 top of the 6^th before Saint Xavier ended the game in the bottom half of the frame via the eight-run rule. Antkiewicz pitched 5.0 innings, allowing two runs with two walks and a strikeout, moving her record to 3-1 in the circle, and claiming the win over the Mustangs.
• In 10 games to start the 2026 campaign, Johnson is hitting .407 (11-for-27), slugging .741, and she has an on-base percentage of .452. Johnson leads the team with 10 RBI, along with five walks, three doubles and two home runs.
• Antkiewicz carries a 3-1 record in four starts with an earned run average of 4.20. She has pitched 20.0 innings with 15 strikeouts to 13 walks, while limiting opponents to a .260 batting average.

No. 23 Saint Xavier (7-3/0-0 CCAC) is set to play No. 5 Marian University (Ind.) in a doubleheader on Friday, February 27 in Indianapolis, Ind. Game one is slated for a 12:00 pm central start.