GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) - Duke senior outfielder Caroline Jacobsen has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Softball Player of the Week, while Virginia Tech’s senior pitcher Keely Rochard has been voted the ACC Pitcher of the Week in the first weekly honors of the 2022 season.
The ACC softball weekly awards are voted on by a panel from both the teams and the conference office.
Jacobsen helped the 12th-ranked Blue Devils open the season with a 4-1 record against a stout field at the prestigious Kajikawa Classic. She was 6-for-13 (.462) at the plate with three home runs, four RBI, five runs scored, three walks, a double and a stolen base. Jacobsen started all five games for Duke and homered in three straight games against No. 5 Oklahoma State, Utah and No. 21 Arizona State, good for the longest stretch of her career. She sparked the scoring for the Blue Devils with a solo homer off Oklahoma State All-American pitcher Miranda Elish to lead Duke to a 4-0 upset of the fifth-ranked Cowgirls.
Rochard, the 2021 ACC Pitcher of the Year, picked up where she left off last season for No. 8 Virginia Tech with a stellar opening weekend, posting a 3-0 record with wins over Northwestern (a team receiving votes for the top 25), No. 11 Mizzou and No. 19 Kentucky. The senior posted 34 strikeouts in 20.1 innings, ending her weekend with a .181 batting average against a 1.38 ERA. In her first start of the season, Rochard struck out 15, limiting Northwestern to just three hits and one earned run. She also logged double digit strikeouts against Mizzou with 11 and held Kentucky to one run on four hits. The Williamsburg, Virginia, native also earned a save against Wisconsin.
ACC softball action returns Tuesday evening, as Georgia Tech hosts Mercer at 5 p.m. on ACC Network Extra. No. 5 Florida State hosts South Alabama on Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the first softball game of the year on ACC Network.
ACC Softball Player of the Week
Feb. 15 - Caroline Jacobsen, Duke, Sr., OF
ACC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Feb. 15 - Keely Rochard, Virginia Tech, Sr., P