WACO, TEXAS (Feb. 13, 2024) - Kayla Dreese of Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) earned the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Softball Player of the Week honor for Feb. 5-11, while OLLU's Cassandra Valdez was recognized as the RRAC Pitcher of the Week for the same dates. This is the second set of weekly winners for the 2024 RRAC softball season.

Dreese powered the Saints to a 6-1 week with two doubles, two triples and six RBIs. The graduate outfielder from San Antonio, went 10-for-18 hitting including 3-for-3 in a 10-0 win over Avila University and 4-for-9 in a three-game series with NCAA Division II opponent Central Washington University (CWU). Dreese scored nine runs and stole six bases. She is hitting .435 on the season with a .696 slugging percentage. OLLU is ranked seventh in the NAIA with a record of 8-1.

Valdez collected three wins in four appearances for the Saints last week. The graduate right-hander from Brownsville, Texas, earned a win over CWU while allowing one run with four strikeouts. She also threw 4.2 innings in the third game of that series, striking out seven and allowing just one hit. Valdez tossed a complete game against Avila with eight strikeouts and one run allowed before a complete game shutout of NCAA Division III Sul Ross State University. For the week, Valdez scattered eight hits over 19.2 innings with 30 strikeouts. She has a 1.06 ERA in six appearances this season. For good measure, Valdez also blasted three home runs and racked up 11 RBIs at the plate.