NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Three members of the top-ranked Christopher Newport University softball team have been selected to the Top 50 list of prospective Pitcher and Player of the Year candidates from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Senior outfielder Sarah Proctor, senior first baseman Kaitlyn Hasty, and freshman pitcher Kate Alger are all on the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Player and Pitcher of the Year awards list. 

The Captains are 25-1 so far this season, and opened the season with a 23-game winning streak. Proctor, from Mineral, Va., is batting .429 this year with seven home runs and 25 runs batted in. She was selected the National Player of the Week on March 8. Hasty, a two-time All-American from Chesapeake, leads the nation in home runs with 14, runs batted in with 45, total bases with 82, and slugging percentage with 1.123. Hasty was the National Player of the Week on March 15. Alger, from Staunton, Va., was voted the National Pitcher of the Week on March 8, and has opened her CNU career with ten straight victories. In addition to her 10-0 mark, Alger has struck out 86 batters in 61 innings and has an earned run average of just 0.69.

The Player of the Year award was established in 2016 to honor the season's top performer in NCAA Division III, and was expanded in 2019 to include both a Player and Pitcher of the Year honoree. The list is compiled and the award is voted on by the elected members of the NFCA Division III All-American Committee with one head coach representing each of the 10 NCAA regions. To be eligible, a student-athlete's head coach must be a member. Headlining the list are 26 returning NFCA All-Americans. In all, the group consists of two graduate students, eight seniors, 14 juniors, 15 sophomores, and 11 freshmen representing 35 programs from 23 different conferences. Five schools — Christopher Newport, East Texas Baptist, Eastern Connecticut State, Salisbury and Texas Lutheran — have three student-athletes on the list, while five other schools placed two.

The Top 25 finalists for the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Player and Pitcher of the Year awards will be announced on May 10. A student-athlete does not have to be on the Top 50 list to be considered for the Top 25. The winner of each award will be announced on June 3, following the conclusion of the 2022 season.

Christopher Newport is ranked first in the country this week for the third straight week. The Captains play again at home this Sunday, hosting Meredith College for a doubleheader at Captains Park. It will be Senior Day for CNU, and the pre-game activities will begin at approximately 1:00 p.m. with the opening game set to start at 1:30 p.m.