By Andy Walter

WOODSIDE — Polytech High softball player Rachel Carey was voted the State News’ Athlete of the Week.

A junior, Carey batted 8-for-13 (.615 average) with one home run, four doubles, five RBI and five runs scored in three victories for the Panthers. Polytech finished the regular season with nine straight wins to raise their record to 13-5.

For the season, Carey is batting .571 (36-for-64) with nine doubles, one triple, and four home runs. She has 21 RBI and 16 runs scored and has struck out only one time.

Carey has a .636 batting average with runners in scoring position and seven two-out RBI.

“Rachel is a force at the plate who sparks the offense with her ability to make contact and hit for power,” said Polytech coach Kyle Taylor. “Rachel has a competitive spirit with a desire to win. She is a leader on the field and in the dugout, getting the most out of her teammates so we can work together to victory.”

The Athlete of the Week is nominated and chosen by our readers. The nominating period starts at 2 p.m. on Friday and ends at noon on Monday. A voting period follows from 5 p.m. Monday through 5 p.m. Wednesday.

This process is performed exclusively online. When nominating an athlete, please include name, school and sport as well as a photo and brief description of why he or she deserves that week’s honor.

Here is the link to nominate someone for next week’s award:

https://delawarestatenews.secondstreetapp.com/Athlete-of-the-Week-6-2-23/gallery/

All nominations must be high school varsity athletes and come from high schools within Kent or Sussex counties. The winner appears in print and online each Friday.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at awalter@iniusa.org. Follow on Twitter at DSNSports.