Dillard, Wiley capture Week 9 HBCUAC Softball Awards

NEW ORLEANS - Dillard University third baseman Jessica Battiste wins Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference Softball Player and Newcomer of the Week. Wiley University pitcher Jazmine Rodriguez usurps Pitcher and Freshman of the Week. They were recognized for their performance between March 23-29, the conference announced on Monday.

Battiste recorded 11 RBI, while hitting 6-for-13 to lead the Lady Bleu Devils to a series victory over Voorhees University. In Saturday's opener, she hit three doubles which drove in seven runs and scored two in a 12-2 victory. Battiste went 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs in a 14-8 Game 2 victory. 

Rodriguez picked up two victories. She threw 6 1/3 innings in relief in the series opener on Saturday. She held Rust scoreless in the last four innings, which helped the Lady Wildcats rally from a seven-run deficit. She struck out a career-high seven batters. At the plate, Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBI. She hit a two-RBI single to spark the seventh inning rally. In Game 2, Rodriguez threw her fourth complete game and only allowed an earned run on nine hits and struck out three. In the finale she had an RBI base hit.

Additional softball weekly nominees: Ka'Nijha Arrington (Oakwood), Dextiny Combs (Voorhees), Karli Crocker (Stillman), Alex Erwin (Stillman), Alexis Gaona (Huston-Tillotson), T'era Garrett (Wiley), Jordan Howard (Oakwood), Mary-Elizabeth Landry (Dillard), Emma Newby (Oakwood), Addison Nuspl (Stillman), Imani Pierce (Voorhees), Arianna Sanchez (Dillard), Ta'Keviya Sims (Voorhees)

2026 HBCUAC Softball Players of the Week

About the HBCU Athletic Conference
The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) is the only HBCU conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The HBCUAC membership includes Dillard University (LA), Fisk University (TN), Huston-Tillotson University (TX), Oakwood University (AL), Paul Quinn College (TX), Philander Smith University (AR), Rust College (MS), Southern University at New Orleans (LA), Stillman College (AL), Talladega College (AL), Tougaloo College (MS), University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), Voorhees University (SC), Wilberforce University (OH), and Wiley University (TX). HBCUAC sponsors championships in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's track and field, women's volleyball, softball, and baseball. In 2022, the HBCUAC secured the largest media rights deal in conference and NAIA history, signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Urban Edge Network. On July 1, 2024, the conference rebranded from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) to the HBCU Athletic Conference, marking a new era for the conference that embodies the makeup of its membership. For more information, visit hbcuac.org.