WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Freshman, Anna Moore, and junior, Moriah Polar, have garnered national recognition being named to Softball America's April/Mid-Season position player rankings after stellar performances just over halfway through the season.
The Indianapolis native, Moore, was named the No. 8 second baseman in the country following her back-to-backs weeks of Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. Moore is just one of two freshmen to make the second base position rankings, and she is the highest ranked of the two. Moore also holds the second-highest batting average of all freshmen in the Big Ten.
Moore is hitting .391 with 36 hits, including seven doubles and a team-leading seven home runs. In the field, she is known for her defensive gems, earning 46 putouts with 31 assists.
Polar has stunned the nation with her numbers all season, currently leading the Big Ten in both hits and batting average, while also earning the nation's top spot with 69 hits, and coming in second in batting average. She was named the No. 7 outfielder in the country along with six other Big Ten honorees.
Polar has already surpassed her numbers from a season ago in hits (69), runs scored (44), doubles (9), home runs (3), and RBI (36), setting career-highs in all of the aforementioned categories, with still 17 games to go in the regular season.
She is hitting .595 through 35 games, the highest batting average of all outfielders in the nation. In the Big Ten, Polar has 17 more hits than the next closest player who has 52.
Moore and Polar together are responsible for 35% of all Purdue's hits and 33% of the team's RBI production. The two have led Purdue to a record-breaking season, being the catalysts during the Boilers 14-game school record win streak.
During the 14 games, Moore and Polar combined for 55 of the team's 149 hits (37%) and 49 of the team's 111 RBI (44%), while batting .535 and .681 respectively.
The Boilers are currently 25-10 on the season and 5-4 in the Big Ten with five series left in conference play.
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