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Melissa Pace

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo softball team swept the Mid-American Conference's weekly awards this week, with senior Melissa Pace (Long Beach, CA/Millikan) being named MAC East Division Player of the Week and senior Stacey Evans (Collinsville, IL/Triad) being named MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week, as announced this afternoon by the league office.

Pace hit three-run home runs in each game of a doubleheader sweep of Ohio on Saturday to help the Bulls clinch their first-ever MAC Tournament appearance. She was a combined 3-for-5 with three runs scored and six RBIs in the two games. In four games on the week, Pace hit .300 with a team-high six RBIs and a 1.000 slugging percentage. She was also perfect in the field in 26 chances at first base. The MAC East Player of the Week honor is the first of her career.

Stacey Evans

Evans was 3-0 in three appearances on the week, including a complete-game 5-3 win at Niagara on Tuesday, a 9-1 five-inning win over Ohio in game two on Saturday and a complete-game 2-1 win over the Bobcats on Sunday in the regular season finale. Evans had a 1.47 earned run average in 19.0 innings pitched during the week to lower her season ERA to 2.39. She tied her career high with 12 strikeouts at Niagara on Tuesday to go over the 100 strikeouts mark for the fourth year in a row. Evans has now been named MAC East Pitcher of the Week seven times in her four-year career.

Pace and Evans join sophomore Sophie Barstad (Canby, OR/Canby) as the three UB players to earn MAC weekly honors this season. Barstad was named MAC East Pitcher of the Week on April 25.

The Bulls (21-26 overall, 11-8 MAC) will be making a postseason appearance for the first time in their six-year Division I history when they participate in the 2005 MAC Tournament at Firestone Stadium in Akron, OH. The Bulls are the tournament's fifth seed, and they will take on fourth-seeded Western Michigan in their opening game on Wednesday at 5 pm.