For the second time this season, Valparaiso freshman Brittany Duncan (Fairborn, Ohio/Fairborn) has been named the Horizon League Player of the Week.  Duncan bookends the regular season with league weekly honors, as she was previously named Player of the Week after the first week of play.

Duncan went 9-for-14 (.643) at the plate for the Crusaders last week with nine RBIs, helping guide Valpo to a 5-0 record, including a three-game Horizon League sweep at Cleveland State.  The freshman also drew five walks, good for a .737 on-base percentage, and slugged 1.071 thanks to a pair of home runs.  Her first round-tripper was a game-winning two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth in the opener of a doubleheader against Western Michigan, breaking a scoreless tie.

After going 2-for-2 with two walks in the nightcap victory over the Broncos, Duncan helped Valpo secure the outright regular season title in the series-opening win at Cleveland State, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs.  The freshman then went 4-for-5 with four RBIs, a home run and three walks in Saturday’s doubleheader sweep of the Vikings.

Duncan’s performance against the Vikings helped her close the regular season as the Horizon League leader in league-only play in both batting average (.471) and RBIs (31).  Duncan and the rest of the Crusaders will host the 2012 Horizon League Championship at the Valparaiso University Softball Field this week, beginning with a pair of games on Wednesday.  Valpo’s first game will take place Thursday morning at 11 a.m.