ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Senior outfielder Caitlyn McCarron (Dallas, Ore./Dallas) has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week according to an announcement by the league office Monday afternoon.
 
McCarron hit .462 with a double, triple, two home runs, eight RBI and three runs scored, while boasting a 1.154 slugging percentage in four games last week.   She helped Bradley take two of three games at Evansville, hitting .500 (5-for-10) with seven RBI, one double, one triple and one homer in the weekend series. 
 
In a mid-week setback at Illinois, she provided all of Bradley's scoring with a solo home run as she homered in back-to-back games.  After an 0-for-2 effort in the series opener at Evansville, she had five hits in her final eight at bats against the Aces.  McCarron was 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and one run to highlight a 7-4 victory Saturday.  In the series finale, she was 3-for-4 with a run, three RBI, a double and a triple as she finished a home run short of the cycle. 
 
With the score tied at 7-7 in the seventh inning of the rubber game of the Evansville series, McCarron led off the inning with a triple and later scored the go-ahead run in an 8-7 Bradley victory.  She has a league-high 12 doubles this season and now leads the MVC with 34 RBI.
 
The MVC Player of the Week selection is the first for McCarron and the second of the year for the Braves after junior Maria Schroeder (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) earned the distinction in late February.  Bradley has had two individuals earn Valley Player of the Week honors in the same season for the first time since 1995. 
 
McCarron is currently seventh in the nation with a .484 average this spring and her 12 doubles are tied for third most in the country.  She is 20th in the country in total hits, while she is 18th in RBI per game and her league-best .839 slugging percentage is 24th nationally. 
 
McCarron and the Bradley Softball team will play their home opener this weekend, hosting Missouri State Saturday (noon) and Sunday (11 a.m.) for a three-game series at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex's Petersen Hotels Field.