BENNINGTON, Vt. — Southern Vermont College softball sophomore Nicole Matthews (Pittstown, N.Y.) and freshman Lizzy Bench (Saint Petersburg, Fla.) have been named the Corvias Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, for the period ending April 10, 2016 as announced by the organization on Wednesday.

The honors, which are the first-ever ECAC accolades for the SVC program, come two days after the pair were awarded with the same laurels by the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC).

Matthews had an amazing weekend for Southern Vermont, going 13-for-14 at the plate to turn in a .929 batting average across the team's four games. The sophomore captain recorded three doubles, three triples and a home run in that stretch for a 1.786 slugging percentage with her homer being a walk-off jack in the bottom of the seventh in Saturday's second game against Wheelock College.

Matthews totaled 10 RBIs and eight runs scored, and she worked five walks for a .947 on-base percentage. The Mountaineer also had two starts in the circle, picking up her first two collegiate wins as a pitcher while striking out eight batters through the weekend.

Going into this week, Matthews ranked first in NCAA DIII with a .651 on-base percentage this year while being second in the nation in slugging percentage (1.054) and fourth in batting average (.595).

Bench was also electric over the weekend for SVC, helping her team go 3-1 in NECC play. She was 10-for-15 from the batter's box for a .667 average, cranking a double, three triples and her first collegiate home run for a 1.333 slugging percentage. The rookie's homer came on Sunday as she capped a cycle performance to finish up her stellar weekend.

The freshman also worked four walks to register a .750 on-base percentage, and she struck out only once in 20 total plate appearances. Bench racked up 12 RBIs and 12 runs scored in the four games, 11 of those runs batted in coming during Sunday's doubleheader at Daniel Webster College. She went 8-for-8 at DWC, crossing the plate seven times to help SVC sweep the Eagles.

Following Sunday's games, Bench ranked second in slugging percentage (.707) in the NECC behind Matthews and was sixth in the league in batting average (.439). She was also eighth in the Conference in RBIs per game (0.93) after the Daniel Webster series.

Wednesday's news of the ECAC honors came while Matthews, Bench and the Mountaineers were at Bay Path University in an NECC twin bill.