Carbondale Reporter

Jackie Lis and Emily Williams from Southern Illinois University's softball team have been recognized by the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) following their team's successful 5-0 week against Missouri State and Valparaiso. Lis received the MVC Player of the Week award for the second time this season, while Williams earned her second MVC Newcomer of the Week honor.

Lis, a junior shortstop, achieved a batting average of .583 over five games. She recorded 7 hits in 12 at-bats, including two home runs, six RBIs, nine runs scored, three doubles, and ten walks. Her on-base percentage was .773 with a slugging percentage of 1.333.

Williams, a sophomore, posted a batting average of .438 with four home runs and 14 RBIs across games against Missouri State and Valparaiso. She also scored six runs and had a slugging percentage of 1.250. Notably, in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader at Valparaiso, she tied the program's single-game record with eight RBIs during SIU's 18-3 victory over the Beacons.

Southern Illinois currently holds an overall record of 16-14 and remains undefeated in conference play with an 8-0 record. The team is tied for the second-longest winning streak nationally with eleven consecutive wins. Their next series will be against Belmont in Nashville, Tennessee, starting Friday, March 28.

The MVC also announced other weekly award winners: Maya Johnson from Belmont as Pitcher of the Week and Rylee Spindler from Belmont as Freshman of the Week.

Fans can follow Southern Illinois' softball updates on Twitter at @SIU_Softball or Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiSoftball. The "Salukis" Mobile App is available for download on both the App Store and Google Play Store.