Merceydes Therrien Named WCSA Week 1 Player of the Week

Week #3 of the 2025 WCSA season at Joe Gallagher Softball Diamond on Sep 14 2025. Featured: Merceydes Therrien (6) Photo Credit: Rick Elvin

The Western Canadian Softball Association’s first Player of the Week honour of the season goes to University of Regina leadoff hitter Merceydes Therrien, who was nearly unstoppable at the plate as her team opened the year with a trio of games against SAIT and the University of Saskatchewan.

Batting out of the leadoff spot, the left-handed Therrien did everything a coach could ask of a table-setter, and then some. She hit for average, hit for power, worked counts, and gave opposing defenses no easy way to get her out, whether they were playing her to slap, bunt, or drive the ball into the gap.

By the Numbers

Therrien’s opening weekend line was among the best in the league:

.714 batting average
5-for-7 hitting, with 12 plate appearances
.750 on-base percentage
.714 slugging percentage
.500 batting average with runners in scoring position
1.464 OPS
9 quality at-bats (she saw 45 pitches this weekend)
4 walks against 2 RBI (modest run production that comes with the territory when you’re setting the table rather than driving in runs)
100% contact rate
2 stolen bases
1 sacrifice fly

Her batting average was the highest in the league on the weekend*, and her plate discipline was just as notable as her contact. Four walks in three games show a leadoff hitter who understands her role — get on base.

How She Did It

Vs. SAIT (Game 1 — Regina wins 11-4): Therrien set the tone in the opener, drawing three walks and setting the table for a Regina lineup that piled up seven walks as a team. Her ability to get on base at the top of the order kept the pressure on SAIT all game long.

Vs. SAIT (Game 2 — Regina wins 4-3): With the game tied in the top of the fifth, Therrien delivered a go-ahead single down the left field line, scoring a run and helping push Regina to a 4-2 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. It was a clutch, situational at-bat from the leadoff spot — exactly the kind of contribution that doesn’t always show up in a box score but changes a game.

Vs. University of Saskatchewan (Regina loses 10-6): Even in a loss, Therrien was the offensive bright spot, going a perfect 2-for-2 from the leadoff position. Regina’s bats battled back from an early 4-0 deficit to tie the game before ultimately falling behind for good — but Therrien’s presence at the top of the order gave the offense its best chance all game.

A Solid Opening Weekend

Across three games to open the season, Therrien reached base at a .750 clip, provided pop from the top of the order, and gave Regina’s offense a dangerous mix of speed, discipline, and contact skill. For a leadoff hitter, RBI totals will always be a secondary measure, but everything else Therrien did this weekend, from working walks to delivering go-ahead hits to swiping bags, earned her the WCSA’s Week 1 Player of the Week honour.

*Highest in the league among hitters with 8+ plate appearances.

Four More Performances of Note from Week One

Willa Bonsall — UBC Okanagan
Bonsall recorded six hits in eight official at-bats, including a double, two triples, three RBI, and two stolen bases. Her signature performance was a 4-for-4 game in UBCO’s 13–8 win over Lethbridge, finishing a home run short of the cycle.

Mia Pielak and Madison Belden — University of Calgary
Calgary’s pitching staff was the story of the weekend in Regina. Belden worked five innings without allowing an earned run in a tight 4–3 loss to Saskatchewan, and Pielak followed with a complete-game gem — three hits and one unearned run over seven innings — in Calgary’s 5–1 win over Saskatchewan. Between the two of them, the Dinos’ rotation held a 0.00 ERA on the weekend.

Kassidy Ralfs — University of Victoria
Ralfs did it all for UVic, contributing both in the circle and at the plate. She hit a solid .571 on the weekend, with a game-tying home run and drove in two runs in Sunday’s loss to Mount Royal, then took the ball again in the circle for the 4–4 tie against Lethbridge…a true two-way effort all weekend.

Molly Conrad — University of Lethbridge
Conrad tied for the league lead with six RBI while batting .462 with six hits, three doubles, a home run, and a 1.385 OPS. She added five hits and five RBI on Sunday alone, including a seventh-inning homer that earned Lethbridge a 4–4 tie with Victoria.