SPOKANE (Mar. 15) -- Central Washington University junior infielder Kelsey Haupert (Olympia/Black Hills HS) has been selected as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Hitter of the Week for softball, the conference office announced Monday.

Haupert, a transfer from Purdue University who plays both first and third base, had three home runs and 10 runs batted in during the Wildcats' four-game sweep of rival Western Washington in a pivotal GNAC series at Bellingham. She homered in three separate games, belting a grand slam in the series opener, a two-run home run in Saturday's second game, and then a three-run blast in the series finale on Sunday.

For the season, Haupert is tied for the conference lead in home runs with five and has a significant lead in the GNAC in runs batted in with 25. She is on pace to shatter the school's single-season RBI record of 44, which was set last spring by former Wildcat Holly Rossman.

Haupert's selection as GNAC Hitter of the Week is the second conference player of the week honor for the Wildcats this season. Junior pitcher Lauren Hadenfeld (Vancouver/Evergreen HS), who currently owns a 6-1 record and leads the conference in strikeouts, was the GNAC Pitcher of the Week for the week of Mar. 1-7.

Through three weeks of conference play, Central Washington (10-4, 10-2 GNAC) has opened up a two-game lead in the GNAC standings over Montana State Billings. The Wildcats will host the second-place Yellowjackets(10-7, 8-4 GNAC) this weekend for yet another crucial four-game conference series. Saturday's doubleheader starts at noon, with an 11 a.m. twinbill scheduled for Sunday at Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field on the CWU campus.