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Bay City, Mich. -- Ashland University senior first-baseman Shannon Gray (Nova, Ohio/Crestview) and Wayne State University junior pitcher Casey Hanes (Richmond, Va.) have been named GLIAC Softball "Player" and "Pitcher" of the Week, respectively it was announced by the league office.

GLIAC Softball "Player of the Week":
Shannon Gray - Ashland
(Sr, 1B, R/R, Nova, Ohio/Crestview)

Senior first-baseman Shannon Gray was AU's leading hitter as the Eagles recorded a 6-0 record last week. She had a slugging percentage of 1.100 and an on-base percentage of .571. Shannon hit at a .550 clip for the week, including two doubles, one walk, and three home runs. In Sunday's doubleheader sweep at Lake Erie, she went for 5-for-7 with two RBI. For the year, she's hitting .370 and is tied for the conference lead with four home runs, is third in slugging percentage (.696), and is tied for ninth in total bases (32).

Weekly Honor Roll: Amanda Kern - UF, Nicole Woityra - GV, Jordan Kellie - HC, Lacey Knoop - LS, Alyssa Eppler - NU, Marsha Beaubien - SV Rebecca Stanley - WS.

2009 "Players of the Week": (3/18) M. Beaubien - SV; (3/23) S. Gray - AU.

GLIAC Softball "Pitcher of the Week":
Casey Hanes - Wayne State
(Jr, LHP, Richmond, Va.)

Junior pitcher Casey Hanes recorded a season-high 11 strikeouts in a win over Minnesota-Duluth en-route to posting a 4-1 record this week, including a 0.00 ERA. Her only loss came to Central Missouri, which was a 1-0 decision, with the only run being unearned. Casey had shutouts in three consecutive starts prior to the loss to UCM. Hanes recorded four shutouts on the week, going the distance in all five starts while pitching 35.2 innings, giving up one run and recording 41 strikeouts. She has a 10-2 record for the season with two saves. Her ERA stands at 0.16 for the season in 90 innings with 102 strikeouts compared to just 11 walks.

Weekly Honor Roll: Emlyn Knerem - AU, Alyssa Schultz - UF, Lori Andjelich - GV, Laura Homan - HC, Sheena Smith - NU Jade Fulton - SV.

2009 "Pitchers of the Week": (3/18) L. Andjelich - GV; (3/23) C. Hanes - WS.

-- GLIAC Softball Weekly Notes --

Ashland - The Eagles begin this week with a six-game winning streak. AU has won 11 of its last 12 games…in five of the last seven games, AU has allowed one run or less. Last Saturday at Tiffin, the Eagles pitched a pair of shutouts. In 14 innings, AU limited the Dragons to six hits. Ashland pitchers Emlyn Knerem (Brunswick, OH) and Logan Hursey (Zanesville, OH/John Glenn) combined to walk three batters and strike out 23. For the six games last week, AU pitchers had a 1.30 ERA and had 60 strikeouts and 10 walks in 41.2 innings. Knerem was 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA with 35 strikeouts and six walks and junior Sam Hendrix (Rogersville, AL/Madison Academy) was 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA…senior first baseman Shannon Gray (Nova, OH/Crestview) belted three homers last week. In six games she hit .550 with a 1.100 slugging percentage. Gray and Hursey share the team lead with four homers each. The two share the starting first base spot. Through 18 games, that duo has produced eight homers, seven doubles and 19 RBI. Gray is hitting .370 and Hursey is at .333…at the beginning of the season, AU head coach Sheilah Gulas was concerned about how her infield defense would come together because she had four new starters. So far, that hasn’t been a problem. After 18 games, AU has a .975 fielding percentage…this week begins with a trip to Northern Kentucky. Ashland has one win against NKU already this year, beating the Norse in Florida, 5-0. The Eagles will also play at home for the first time this season, hosting Hillsdale and Findlay. AU has seven doubleheaders at home this season and five those come from Mar. 28 to Apr. 8.

Ferris State - The Bulldogs were idle last week. They continue play Thursday (2/26) at Cornerstone (Mich.), and open conference play Sunday (3/29) when they host Grand Valley State in a GLIAC doubleheader.

Findlay - The University of Findlay softball team lost the first game of a doubleheader to Defiance College on Wednesday, March 18 at Anderson Field in Findlay, Ohio. The Oilers lost the first game 9-1 and then had their game called in the bottom of the fifth with the score 10-10 due to rainy conditions...The Oilers then swept Lake Erie College in a twin bill on Friday, March 20 in Painesville, Ohio. The Oilers won the first game 5-4 and then defeated the Storm 11-3 in the second to run their record to 9-2 on the year...In the first game, Amanda Kern drove in Brittany Dauterman in the top of the eighth inning with a single and then Alyssa Shultz worked the final 0.2 innings for the save...Kern, Jaccie Tufts and Brigitte Webb each had two hits and a run batted in to pace the Oilers offense while Katie Yarnell picked up the win on the mound...Yarnell allowed four runs on four hits in 3.1 innings of work. Dauterman started the game for Findlay and pitched four scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out three...In the second game, the Oilers offense pounded out 15 hits while Shultz allowed only three runs on five hits in five innings of work for the win...Shultz also struck out eight and walked two...The Oilers will be back in action again on March 23 when they host Ursuline College at 3:30 p.m. on Anderson Field.

Grand Valley State - GVSU pushed its winning streak to 12 straight games after a 6-0 week with doubleheader sweeps over Saint Joseph’s, Olivet, and Lake Superior State. The Lakers have not lost since a Mar. 7 defeat to West Virginia Wesleyan…Grand Valley State hit .359 for the week and outscored its opponents, 40-12, in the six games. Eight GVSU players hit .316 or better during the week…senior shortstop Nichole Woityra (Lake Orion, Mich.) paced the Laker offense with a .474 batting average, two homers, seven RBI, eight runs, and 17 total bases. She recorded four consecutive multi-hit games, added an RBI five of the six contests, and scored a run in all six games. Woityra leads the team with a .403 batting average and is second with a .542 slugging percentage…freshman catcher/first baseman Carli Raisutis led GVSU with a .571 batting average, recording eight hits in 14 at-bats and scoring five runs. Raisutis has started 21 games and is one of four Lakers with at least 10 runs scored…the GVSU pitching staff went 6-0 with a 2.05 team earned run average for the week. Senior Lori Andjelich (Munster, Ind.) went 3-0 with a save, while junior Lauren Rohan (Naperville, Ill.) was 2-0 with a 1.58 ERA, allowing just three earned runs in 13.1 innings pitched…Grand Valley State committed just four errors in the six games and own a .967 fielding percentage for the season, while making just 21 errors in 23 games.

Hillsdale - The Hillsdale College softball team haqd its last two games in Florida canceled due to bad weather…The Chargers were supposed to play Palm Beach Atlantic…Hillsdale did end up splitting a doubleheader with the University of Tampa, with the team’s 2-1 victory going down as one of its most impressive in recent years…At 6-6, the Chargers are almost halfway towards their win total from 2008 (13)…The team split its first 12 games of the season after losing 10 in a row in Florida one year ago…Sophomore Jordan Kellie drove in the game-winning run with a double in the sixth inning, and freshman Laura Homan picked up the win on the mound…Five different players have accounted for the team’s five home runs this season, with Homan and fellow freshman Jessica Guertin each hitting one…The Chargers will play at Findlay and Ashland this week before making its home debut Sunday vs. Tiffin.

Lake Superior State - The Lakers lost a doubleheader to Grand Valley State, 4-2, 6-3 in a non-conference doubleheader…Junior shortstop Lacey Knoop (Reed City, Mich.) went 5-for-9 against GVSU…Junior catcher Nichole Dunford (Chesterfield, Mich.) had two RBIs in the doubleheader…Lake State out-hit GVSU in the second game, 11 to 7…Junior outfielder Lacey Knoop (Reed City, Mich.) had four hits in the second game, while senior outfielder Helena Zandarski (Coloma, Mich.) and freshman first baseman Samantha Klinkner (Belmont, Mich.) both had two hits in the second game.

Northwood - The Northwood University softball team opened the home portion of their schedule with a doubleheader split against UM-Dearborn Saturday afternoon (March 21). The Timberwolves won game one 5-1 before dropping a 5-0 contest…NU is now 7-8 overall…game one was scoreless in the bottom of the fourth inning before the Timberwolves offense broke through…NU plated three runs on five hits in the inning - Alyssa Eppler (Monroe, Mich./Jefferson), Ashley Slusser (Euclid, Ohio/Villa Angela St. Joseph) and Angie Comer (Brownsburg, Ind.) all had RBI’s in the fourth for Northwood…NU then put the game away in the sixth with two more runs, both of which were driven in by Eppler…Sheena Smith (Freeland, Mich./Hemlock) earned the win in the circle, allowing one hit in five innings of work…the Wolves took control of game two early, plating a pair of runs in the first inning - Dearborn would go on to score two in the fourth and one more in the sixth to earn the win…Jamie Swick (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) had a pair of hits for the Timberwolves…the Timberwolves will face Grand Valley State, Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State this week in conference action.

Saginaw Valley State - Saginaw Valley State University extended their winning streak to eight games and moved their season record to 13-5 with two victories over U of M-Dearborn on Sunday (Mar. 22). The Cardinals took game 9-1 in six innings and game two 11-3 in six innings. SVSU continues to be a dangerous team in the early innings, outscoring their opponents by a score of 35-8 in the first two innings and are 12-1 overall when scoring at least two runs. The Cardinals are batting .304 as a team, while holding opponents to a .196 average. Saginaw Valley pitchers have a combined ERA of 1.22 for the season and have racked up an impressive 135 strikeouts through the first 18 games of the season. Current NFCA/Louisville Slugger National Pitcher of the Week Jade Fulton continued her near perfect form against U of M-Dearborn with a 9-1 victory, her sixth of the season. Fulton threw a complete game two-hitter, allowing just one run, while striking out 11 on the afternoon to help the Cardinals extend their winning streak to eight games. Fulton now has 90 strikeouts on the season in just 62 innings pitched. Marsha Beaubien went four-of-five with two homeruns to help the Cardinals to the sweep. She drove in three runs and scored four times on the afternoon. More impressively, she continued to rack up the stolen bases, going three-for-three to move her season total to 21. She now is just nine steals away from breaking the school record of 29 steals in a season. To go along with her outstanding base running, Beaubien added a new element to her game this week, the long ball. In game two against U of M-Dearborn, she blasted two opposite field homeruns to help lift the Cardinals to an 11-3 victory. Stacy Kraatz started to heat up over the cold weekend, going five-for-seven with a triple and a homerun. Kraatz also drove in five runs on the afternoon, four of which came in the 9-1 game one victory.

Tiffin - Tiffin went 1-3 for the week, dropping a close doubleheader to Ashland before splitting with Clarion…Krista Sowers went 1-1 for the week on the mound, taking the tough 1-0 loss to Ashland before bouncing back for a 2-0 win over Clarion. She had a miniscule 0.64 ERA over her two starts, fanning 11 over 14 innings with 0 walks and one shutout…Kellie Kitchen had a 3.09 ERA with no decisions over 11.2 innings of work and 13 strikeouts…TU struggled from the plate, hitting just .163 as a team…Tiffany Smith led the team with a healthy .375 clip while Kellie Kitchen and Michelle Manley hit .333 in limited action…Kenzie Kitchen batted .300 while Meagan Baird hit .286 and Delaney Talmage .273…TU had only 4 extra base hits in four games.

Wayne State - Wayne State compiled a 10-4 mark on its spring break trip to the Rebel Spring Games…junior pitcher Casey Hanes (Richmond, Va.) had a streak of 46.2 consecutive scoreless innings during the trip with her only setback coming 1-0 on an unearned run vs. Central Missouri on March 20…she had won nine consecutive decisions (plus two saves) since a season-opening setback on Feb. 20…Hanes has 102 strikeouts to 11 walks in 90 innings of work…the 102 strikeouts ranks 13th on the WSU single-season chart…freshman designated player/first baseman Alison Allen (Redford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) had a 14-game hitting streak from Feb. 20 through March 19 in which she batted .412 (21-51)…freshman third baseman Rebecca Stanley (Waterloo, Ont.) hit .500 over the last 10 games in Florida by going 14-for-28 with a .545 on-base percentage…she also recorded a .607 slugging percentage with 17 total bases…head coach Gary Bryce, in his 28th season at WSU, has 898 career victories and needs two more to become the seventh Division II softball coach in history with 900 wins and just the 23rd in any NCAA Division.