It was a memorable first weekend of college softball for freshman Sydney Backstrom of the Longwood University softball team as she was named Big South Freshman of the Week on Monday afternoon by the conference office.

Backstrom went 3-1 in the circle with a 0.43 ERA, giving up just one run in 16.1 innings. The rookie allowed opponents to hit just .143 against her, as she racked up 13 strikeouts.

The Huntersville, North Carolina, native’s best start of the weekend came in the team’s finale Sunday — an 8-0 run-rule win over Iona. In that game, Backstrom was perfect after four innings, before combining with freshman classmate Arleigh Wood for the one-hitter. The 5-foot-10- inch rookie struck out three in the game, throwing a total of 47 pitches, 30 for strikes.

Backstrom picked up her first collegiate win in her first career start Friday against Northern Illinois, giving up four hits and a pair of walks in 6.2 shutout innings. She added four strikeouts in that game while throwing 102 pitches, 61 for strikes.

The rookie rounded out the weekend by picking up a pair of wins Sunday afternoon, collecting her first victory of the day in Longwood’s 7-2 win over Northern Illinois.