We continue our summer series of the 2025 Line Drive Softball National Club Player of the Week series by honoring those travel ball athletes who shine on the field

Today, marks top performances for Week 4 and for each Wednesday over the next several week we’ll recognize deserving players who can be nominated by e-mailing info & photos (1-3 as available) to Brentt.Eads@LineDriveMedia.com

To see what info to send, scroll down to the bottom of this page…

*** IMPORTANT!!! Submissions must be sent no later than each Tuesday at 8 pm EST/5 pm PST to be considered.

Today we recognize the outstanding play within the window of Monday, July 7 through Sunday, July 13, 2025 games.

Previous 2025 Line Drive Softball National Club Players of the Week

• June 25: Madi Doty (P, Texas Glory 18U – Shelton)
• July 2: Macie Bryant (P, Impact Gold 16U – Jackson)
• July 9: Emily Yoon (P/1B, BSC Bengals 14U – Briggs)

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This Week’s Line Drive Softball’s National Club Player of the Week (July 16, 2025)

*** Alexandra “Alex” Akins, a 2028 pitcher/middle infielder for the Texas Blaze National DSTX 16U – Corona team, played seven games in the Triple Crown Sports Southwest Summer Nationals and helped the Blaze to a runner-up finish in the Gold Division (note that the championships were shortened due to rain).

At the plate, Alex had 18 at-bats and hit .588 with a .632 on-base percentage, a 1.690 OPS and a 1.058 slugging percentage as she had 10 hits including two home runs, two doubles and drove in nine runs while scoring eight herself.

She also impressed in the circle as she went 2-1 with 13 innings pitched, an ERA of 0.525 (just one earned run allowed), 11 strikeouts and a batting average against of .2014. The loss was a tough one, falling a run short in ITB.

For the summer Alex is hitting .511 with a .566 on-base percentage and an OPS of 1.433. She has 23 hits including four home runs with 18 RBIs and just three K’s in 45 at-bats. She’s also gone 4-for-4 in steals.

She’s compiled a 6-2 record including a nine-strikeout no-hitter on June 14 and had had 40 K’s in 38 innings pitched with a 1.11 ERA. Both of her losses ironically were by one run in ITB.

Prior to club play this summer, Alex competed in high school ball at Hyde Park (Texas) and led the team to its first-ever TAPPS Div II State championship.

Another noteworthy accomplishment for the underclassman was being selected to the USA Softball All American 14U team and she will be competing at the Devon Park-USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City August 3-6.

Finally, Alex was selected to play in the All-American All Star Game after an outstanding Showcase game at the TCS Colorado Sparkler where she went 1-for-2 with an RBI ground rule double and was perfect in the field.

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Runner-Up Line Drive Softball National Club Players of the Week

*** Hannah Evans, a Class of 2026 outfielder, was a star at the Boulder IDT event recently as she went 10-for-14 for a .714 batting average and an on-base percentage of .818.

She had a home run and two doubles along with six walks and her being twice hit by pitch. She also had seven steals.

For the summer, the incoming senior at Elizabeth Forward High in Elizabeth, Pa., is hitting .433 with a .548 on-base percentage.

She has a 3.6 GPA and has been timed at 2.7 seconds home to first and with a 74.2 mph overhand velo.

It’s certainly great to see the upperclassman doing so well after she suffered a brutal golf cart accident on October 7, 2023, had her hospitalized. You can read more about the scary ordeal in our article titled Off the Field: A Celebration Gone Horribly Wrong… The Story of Hannah Evans’ Golf Cart Accident (& Amazing Recovery).

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*** Grace VanDyke, a 2028 pitcher/first baseman for the Fury Platinum team coached by Tony DiBlasi and Ed Bianco, was another young two-way player who shined last week.

At the Space Coast Power tournament, Grace hit .500 in 13 plate appearances with a .538 on-base percentage and drove in three runs.

In the circle, she pitched 22.2 innings and in four starts won them all, giving up just one earned run and three walks as she struck out 33 opposing hitters and compiled a 0.31 ERA.

For the summer travel ball season, Grace is hitting .333 with a .473 OBP thanks to 11 walks. She’s driving in nine in 55 plate appearances (42 at-bats).

Pitching-wise, the incoming sophomore has a 11-3 record in 15 games started with a 0.92 ERA and has 102 strikeouts in 76 innings pitched.

Grace won the Florida High School 7A State Championship this spring for Wellington (Fla.) High. She was selected 2^nd Team All- County by the Sun Sentinel and Palm Beach Post after she had 51 K’s in 39.1 innings pitched and a stellar 0.37 ERA.

And there’s no questing her strength as she’s also on the Wellington High weightlifting team!

*** Makayla “KK” Encinas, a Class of 2028 centerfielder from Chino Hills Calif., plays for the strong Athletics Mercado – Tidd/Iwai team, continues to emerge as a top player in her class.

In Colorado recently competing in the Patriot Games and Colorado Sparkler, she helped the Athletics win championships in both events—a feat rarely achieved—as she batted .475 with 19 hits and scored six runs while also stealing 11 bases.

KK also didn’t strikeout in either tourney and also compiled a 0975 fielding percentage.

It wasn’t all work, however, as the incoming sophomore and her team were able to attend the TCS fireworks show too.

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball

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Nomination Process

Honoree(s) are typically announced every Wednesday and the cutoff for submitting the nominations is each Tuesday at 8 pm EST/5 pm PST.

We’re looking for standouts who excelled in the circle, at the plate or in the field so be sure to nominate your favorite performance(s) by submitting the following:

• Player Name
• Grad Year (example: Class of 2025 or Senior)
• Position(s)
• Club Team & Head Coach
• Stats for the week (be as detailed as possible!)
• Up-to-date season stats if possible
• Recruiting information (if applicable)
• Any interesting background on the player
• Action and/or head shots
• If possible, contact info if we’d like more info or quotes