BENNINGTON, Vt. — Southern Vermont College freshman Lizzy Bench (Saint Petersburg, Fla.) has been selected as the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Softball Rookie of the Week for the period ending April 10, 2016 as announced by the league on Monday.

Bench had a weekend to remember for SVC, helping the Mountaineers go 3-1 in NECC action with their first wins of the season. She batted .667 (10-15) in Southern Vermont's four games, raking a double, three triples and her first collegiate home run to turn in a 1.333 slugging percentage. She also had four walks for a .750 on-base percentage while striking out only once in 20 plate appearances.

The rookie went 2-for-4 with three runs and an RBI in Saturday's thrilling walk-off win over Wheelock College, and she then went 8-for-8 with 11 runs batted in and seven runs scored during SVC's Sunday doubleheader sweep at Daniel Webster College. In the Mountaineers' day-cap victory over the Eagles, Bench batted for the cycle to finish off her stellar weekend.

Monday's honor is the first NECC award for the Southern Vermont freshman. She was joined in collecting Conference accolades by sophomore Nicole Matthews (Pittstown, N.Y.) who was tabbed as the league's Player of the Week.

Bench and the Mountaineers look to keep their momentum going with four NECC doubleheaders this week, the first being a 3 p.m. pair at Regis College on Tuesday.