It was perhaps her best week yet. So it was little surprise that Erica Harper won what is becoming a weekly honor for her - the Jayhawk Conference Player of the Week award.

Harper won for the third straight week and fourth in the last six weeks. There have been a total of nine Player of the Week awards giving this year and Harper with her four has nearly half of them.

“Erica loves hitting so it’s no surprise she’s doing well,” Barton assistant coach Anna Voss said. “If a team had nine Erica Harpers in their lineup, they would be a force field as far as offense goes.”

In earning her Player of the Week honors, Harper hit a pair of grand slams in a sweep of Colby. She hit three homers during the week and drove in 12 runs. The Topeka Seaman sophomore hit 12-for-20 during the week. She helped the Cougars go 5-1 during  the week with her 1.150 slugging percentage.

The Barton outfielder is currently tied for the NJCAA lead with 17 homers and is in the top five in RBI. While most of her accolades have come thanks to her long-ball abilities, Harper has other goals in mind as well.

“Her goal is to hit .500 this year,” Voss said. “When Bailey (Hensley) had a higher average than Erica, it would have been easy for Erica to give up, but she decided to work harder. She would come in early and stay late for extra cuts.

“That’s what makes Erica different than any other hitter - her dedication to the offensive aspect of the game.”

Currently Harper sits at .433 batting. She is one of two Cougars over .400 with Hensley second at .406.

“She can wait for her pitch, drive balls to right-center and sit back on a change if she has to,” Voss said. “As far as home runs, when Erica sends one over you know it’s going before she even reaches first base. We couldn’t be more proud of Erica Harper.”

Along with Harper’s four weekly honors, Brianna Ward won earlier this year as well giving the Cougars five of the nine awards for the Player of the Week. Barton’s Holly Posegate won Pitcher of the Week once as well.