STARKVILLE, Miss. – Seniors Natalie Ortiz of Parkland High School in El Paso, Texas., Nicole Taylor of Calistoga High School in Calistoga, Calif., junior Dana Blydenburg of Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge, Conn., and sophomores Stephanie Adkins of Timber Creek High School in Orlando, Fla., and Brittany Dimas of Curie High School in Chicago, Ill. have all been named as the High School Players of the Week for their respective regions by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association for games played through April 11, 2011.
 

From the South Central Region, Ortiz went 11 for 12 at the plate with 8 runs scored and a 2.083 slugging percentage. Six of her 13 RBI on the week came in a win over Canutillo, where the senior went 4 for 4 with a double and two home runs. On the season Ortiz is hitting .698 with 17 doubles, six triples, 14 home runs and 59 RBI, helping her team to a 21-10 overall and 7-1 league record.

West Region honoree, Taylor, went 2-1 in the circle this week as she struck out 32 of 67 batters faced. At the plate the senior went 2 for 6 with a double and 2 RBI. So far this season she owns a 6-2 overall record with a .61 ERA, holding opposing hitters to a .167 batting average. The wins this week helped her team off to a 2-0 start in league play.

Representing the East Region Blydenburg went 7 for 10 at the plate with three doubles, a home run, 6 RBI and 4 runs scored. In a 16-0 win over West Haven, the junior came in and pitched a no hit inning in relief. Her efforts helped get her team off to a 2-1 start in league play.

In the South Region, Adkins pitched the Wolves to three district wins this week. She yielded six hits and gave up only one run while striking out 29 in 20 innings pitched. The sophomore's ERA for the week was 0.35. With the wins she improved her season record to 13-4.

In the North Region, Dimas went 8 for 11 at the plate with 3 triples, a home run, 4 RBI, and 8 runs scored. The sophomore was also a threat on the basepaths with 4 stolen bases on the week. Defensively, she threw out 3 of 7 would be base stealers and picked one runner off third base. Her efforts helped the Condors to a 2-0 conference start.

MaxPreps.com, the official high school statistical provider of the NFCA, provides all statistics for the NFCA High School Player of the Week award.

To nominate a player for the award, the coach must enter his or her athlete's game stats into MaxPreps.com by Sunday evening to be eligible for that week’s award. The NFCA High School Players of the Week, one for each high school region, will be announced by the Association on www.nfca.infocus-llc.com every Monday during the spring season.

MaxPreps is a free stat tool that is available to high school coaches across the country and is one of the most recognized and respected high school athletics web sites on the internet. Coaches that enter their team’s stats on Max Preps will not only be nominating their players for this award, but they will be getting their team’s information out to thousands of high school sports fans, as well as college coaches across the country.

To obtain a coach’s login, please contact: coachsupport@maxpreps.com or call (800) 329-7324 x1. To enter a team’s stats on the MaxPreps website, please click here.

For any questions regarding the award and the nominating process or for more information, please contact Michelle LaBella at (662) 320-2155 or michelle@nfca.org.