LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Lone Star Conference softball added to an impressive opening weekend with a sweep of the 2025 season's first Division II Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player and Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week honors.
 
Keying their programs to a perfect opening weekend, Angelo State shortstop Laylonna Applin and UT Tyler right-hander Primrose Aholelei claimed the national player and pitcher of the week awards, respectively following their performances at the D2 First Pitch Invitational (Jan. 31-Feb. 2).
 
A sophomore, Applin powered 11th-ranked Angelo State to a 5-0 start to the season. She batted .667 (10-for-15) with three doubles, two triples, three home runs and a Division II-best 14 RBI. Applin slugged 1.733 and finished the weekend with a 2.421 OPS. She went 2-for-3 with three RBI against Regis and No. 21 Colorado Mesa before registering two doubles, a homer and six RBI against Southeastern Oklahoma State.
 
Aholelei twirled three shutouts and did not allow a run as she went 3-0 with a save for the defending national champion and No. 1-ranked UT Tyler who posted a 5-0 opening weekend. In her debut weekend for the Patriots, the graduate student scattered 11 hits, walked two and held her opponents to a .143 batting average. Aholelei blanked Southeastern Oklahoma, Colorado Mesa and Missouri Western and picked up her save against No. 21 Colorado School of Mines. Against the Mavericks, she allowed two first-inning singles before tossing six perfect innings in a 3-0 win.
 
Both earned Lone Star Conference weekly honors for the season-opening weekend, Applin the Player of the Week and Aholelei the Pitcher of the Week. Applin and her Angelo State teammates compete in the ASU George and Ola McCorkle Challenge Friday and Saturday (Feb. 7-8) while Aholelei and UT Tyler heads to Bentonville, Ark., for the Alvy Early Memorial Classic.
 
The weekly awards are voted on by the NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll Committee, which features two member coaches from each of the NCAA’s eight regions.
 
NFCA Release