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Bay City, Mich. -- Wayne State University junior shortstop Jaci Banton (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and 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":
Jaci Banton - Wayne State
(Jr, SS, R/R, Richmond Hill, Ont./Cardinal Center)

Last week, junior shortstop Jaci Banton batted .529 (9-17) as Wayne State went 5-1 while playing all six games on the road. WSU started the week with a sweep at #32-Ashland on Wednesday, then won three of four on the road over the weekend at Hillsdale and Findlay. For the week, Banton scored seven runs, had six extra-base hits (3-doubles, 1-triple, 2-home runs) from a player who had 10 collegiate extra-base hits in her 114 games prior to this week. She drove in 8 runs, and had a 1.176 slugging percentage on 20 total bases.

Weekly Honor Roll: Shannon Gray - AU, Makenzi Peterson - FS, Brittany Dauterman - UF, Nichole Woityra - GV, Jordan Kellie - HC, Nichole Dunford - LS, Alyssa Eppler - NU, Marsha Beaubien - SV.

2009 "Players of the Week": (3/18) M. Beaubien - SV; (3/23) S. Gray - AU; (3/30) L. Hursey - AU; (4/6) J. Banton - WS.

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

Last week, junior Casey Hanes compiled a 5-0 mark in six appearances with a 0.50 earned run average. She had three complete games in her four starts (lone non-complete game was in 8-0 win at Findlay). She was part of three shutouts (one solo and two combined), while limiting opponents to 10 hits (one double) in 28 innings for a .116 opponents batting average. Hanes struck out 26 while walking six and allowing two runs (both earned). Casey has a league-leading eight shutouts, and is also leading the GLIAC in wins (17), innings-pitched (130), and appearances (23). Hanes is second in the league in ERA (0.38), strikeouts (144), saves (2), complete games (14), and opponents batting average (.157).

Weekly Honor Roll: Emlyn Knerem - AU, Kayle Stevenson - FS, Lauren Orban - UF, Lori Andjelich - GV, Jamie Vandenburgh - HC, Jessica Wojcik - NU, Jade Fulton - SV. 

2009 "Pitchers of the Week": (3/18) L. Andjelich - GV; (3/23) C. Hanes - WS; (3/30) E. Knerem - AU; (4/6) C. Hanes - WS. 

-- GLIAC Softball Weekly Notes --

Ashland - The Eagles were ranked third in last week's regional rankings. AU has appeared in the regional rankings each of the last two weeks...in last week's NCAA Division II statistics the Eagles were sixth in fielding percentage and freshman pitcher Emlyn Knerem (Brunswick, OH) was 14th in strikeouts per seven innings. Knerem helped her cause in that regard last Sunday when she pitched 9.1 scoreless innings against Tiffin and struck out 15. In the first game of a doubleheader, she pitched a complete-game one-hitter with 15 strikeouts. She pitched in relief in the nightcap and struck out all seven batters she faced...AU saw a 12-game winning streak end last week when Wayne State came to town and swept the Eagles. WSU shut down Ashland at the plate. The Eagles had five hits in the two games, none for extra bases...there's been no sophomore slump for right fielder Erica Miller (Indianapolis, IN/Franklin Central), last year's GLIAC freshman of the year. Miller has started all 28 games to date and is hitting .347 (second on the team). Miller is AU's leadoff hitter and her on-base percentage (.436) is second on the club...prior to the start of the season, AU head coach Sheilah Gulas said the Eagles would have to use their speed to manufacture runs. So far, the Eagles are 23-of-28 on stolen base attempts (82.1 percent)...the Eagles host Seton Hill this coming Wednesday in a non-conference twinbill. That's the fifth straight home doubleheader for AU. After that Ashland has just two home doubleheaders left on the schedule. This week AU will play two games at Wayne State and two more at Saginaw Valley State. WSU was ranked fourth in the regional rankings last week.

Ferris State - Ferris State reached the 20-win total this season with a 6-1 conference triumph at Northwood Sunday (April 5). The Bulldogs, who are currently 21-3 overall this spring, have now compiled at least 20 single-season victories the last six consecutive seasons (2004-09)...Junior first baseman Amanda Jager (Kalamazoo/Comstock) is within two home runs of tying Emily McLean (2003-06; 19 home runs) for second place among Ferris State's all-time home run leaders. Jager has currently accumulated 17 career roundtrippers in 157 games, which includes a pair of four-base hits this spring...Senior pitcher-outfielder Holly Bruntjens (Gladstone) is four victories away from recording her 40th career win. Bruntjens presently sports a 36-17 career pitching mark in 63 appearances. Bruntjens is two wins shy of moving into a fourth-place tie with Teresa Sutermeister (1998-01; 38 career wins) on FSU's career victories leaders list...Freshman third baseman Makenzi Peterson (Big Rapids) is batting for a team-leading .636 average in the Bulldogs' four home outings this season with seven hits in 11 at bats. Peterson also leads the squad in slugging percentage (.818) and on-base percentage (.692) to go with a team-high tying three multiple-hit game performances. ..The Bulldogs' pitching staff of Kayle Stevenson, Holly Bruntjens, senior Shannon Roney (Wheaton, Ill./Glen Ellyn Glenbard South), and Rhea Flores have combined for a 1.01 earned run average (six earned runs allowed) in 41.2 innings this month. The foursome are a combined 5-1 in the circle with 38 strikeouts and have limited the opposition to a .230 batting average to date.

Findlay - The Oilers won their two non-conference games at Urbana last week but fell in four games to Saginaw Valley State and Wayne State in GLIAC action...Freshman Brittany Dauterman smacked three home runs in the two wins against Urbana and now has five on the season...Her homerun mark is the third best in school history...The Oilers are hitting .303 as a team this season...Sophomore Kara Hochevar leads the way at .391...She is also leading the team with 25 runs batted in...Sophomore Lauren Orban leads the pitching staff with five wins.

Grand Valley State - GVSU went 3-3 during the week, ending the six-game stretch with a doubleheader sweep over Lake Superior State on Sunday. The teams will meet again on Monday in a twinbill at Grand Valley State for the sixth and seventh meetings of the season. GVSU has won the previous five meetings and is 10-0 at home this season...senior pitcher Lori Andjelich (Munster, Ind.) went 2-1 on the week with a 1.68 earned run average, with her only loss coming in a 11-inning defeat against #6 Ferris State last Monday. She pitched 10 innings against the Bulldogs, giving up three runs (one earned) on six hits, while striking out seven. Andjelich is 14-4 on the year with a 1.10 ERA in 115.0 innings pitched...senior shortstop Nichole Woityra (Lake Orion, Mich.) led the Lakers with six RBI, four doubles, and scored four runs, while playing flawlessly in the field in 15 total chances. Woityra leads GVSU with a .361 batting average, 39 hits, and 24 runs, while adding a pair of homers and 19 RBI...junior Breanne Kronberg (Orland Park, Ill./Lockport) is second on the Lakers with a .346 average and 36 hits, while her 10 doubles, three homers, 26 RBI, and .548 slugging percentage are all tops on the team...Grand Valley State is 19-0 when leading after six innings and is 14-1 when it scores first.

Hillsdale - The Hillsdale College softball team split three straight doubleheaders last week before losing two close games to Saginaw Valley State Sunday morning...Sophomore Jordan Kellie was at the center of two of the team's wins...She hit a walk-off solo home run that helped beat Tiffin 7-6 on March 30...On April 4, she hit a grand slam home run that turned out to be a big difference in Hillsdale's 7-5 win over Wayne State...She has five home runs and 20 RBI on the season, putting her on pace to break the school's single-season records in both categories...Freshman Jessica Guertin tied a career-high with three hits in the first game vs. Tiffin March 30...Senior Dana Gould leads the team with a .319 batting average, and has scored a run in four straight games...Gould also had four multiple hit games for the Chargers last week...The team will be on the road all week, traveling to Wayne State Wednesday before making the west Michigan swing at Grand Valley State and Ferris State this weekend.

Lake Superior State - Junior catcher Nichole Dunford (Chesterfield, Mich.) was 5-for-16 (.313) with two RBIs as LSSU went 0-6 last week. As a team, LSSU batted .225...LSSU lost 2-1 and 6-2 at Grand Valley State on Sunday and is 0-5 against GVSU heading into Monday's double-header...Dunford leads the Lakers in RBIs with 19...Junior infielder Lacey Knoop (Reed City, Mich.) is LSSU's top hitter overall at .361, followed by Dunford at .301. 

Northwood - Northwood went 3-5 last week in GLIAC action...NU earned a pair of victories against Lake Superior State and a win against Grand Valley State...Alyssa Eppler (Monroe, Mich./Jefferson) led the way for the Northwood offense, batting .417 with a team-high five RBI's...she also finished the week with a .500 on-base percentage...junior Jessica Wojcik (Highland, Mich./Milford) earned all three of Northwood's victories, going 3-1 for the week with a 1.56 ERA...against GVSU, Wojcik tossed a complete-game two hitter, allowing one run while striking out two...the Timberwolves will travel to Ferris State Wednesday before hosting Lake Superior Friday.  

Saginaw Valley State - The Lady Cardinals took seven-of-eight games this week, with their only setback coming in a split with #7 Ferris State on Wednesday (Apr. 1). Saginaw Valley has now won 19 of their last 20 games and 11-of-12 in the GLIAC. For the season the Cardinals are hitting .317 as a team and have outscored their opponents 178-52, including 64-14 in the first two innings of games. Saginaw Valley State University also improved its record to 22-2 when scoring two or more runs in a game. The Cardinals pitching staff has also been dominating this season holding opponents to a .211 batting average, while striking out 214 batters. The Cardinals boast the GLIAC's second best team ERA of 1.42 and have combined for 12 shutouts on the season. Marsha Beaubien continues to be a nightmare for opposing teams this season on the softball field. At the plate this past week Beaubien racked up nine hits, three of which left the park. She also had 10 RBI's and scored five runs for one of the top offenses in the GLIAC. Also this past week Beaubien set a new SVSU standard for stolen bases in a season, moving past Jesse Kaniszewski (29) who set the mark in the 2004 season. Beubien was five-of-seven in steal attempts this week for the Cardinals, as she continues to be one of the catalysts that drive the Saginaw Valley offense. Jade Fulton continues to be the Cardinals go to pitcher this season. In six appearances this last week Fulton picked up three wins and two saves for SVSU; including two shutouts. In Saginaw Valley's 1-0 win over Northwood she fanned 10 Timberwolves and then against Findlay she sat down a career high 17 batters via strikeout in the Cardinals 7-0 victory. Fulton calmly entered games twice this weekend and converted saves against Findlay and Hillsdale after pitching for wins in the first games. Fulton now has 11 wins on the season and five saves. The Cardinals will travel to Tiffin on Friday (Apr. 10) and return home on Saturday (Apr. 11) to battle Ashland before breaking for the Easter holiday.

Tiffin - TU fell to 4-6 in the GLIAC, as they had a 2-4 week...Stephanie Bobotas led the starters in batting average, hitting .353 for the week batting near the top of the order...Lauren Mazzuca hit .348 and was second on the team with 5 RBI with 3 doubles and a home run while Delaney Talmage led the team with 6 RBI including 4 doubles and a home run while hitting .333...Tiffany Smith drilled 3 home runs and had 4 RBI for the week...Kelsey Vincent also hit .286...Lexie Pinkleman had the top ERA for the week, posting a 1.93 ERA with 3 relief appearances. Krista Sowers went 1-2 with a 3.92 ERA, fanning 22 over 20.2 innings of work.

 

Wayne State - Wayne State went 5-1 last week in six road GLIAC games outscoring its opponents 35-9...junior shortstop Jaci Banton (Richmond Hill, Ont./Cardinal Carter), who entered the week with 10 collegiate extra-base hits in114 games, had six extra-base hits (3-doubles, 1-triple, 2-home runs) in six games this past week...she drove in eight runs, and had a 1.176 slugging percentage on 20 total bases, while batting .529 (9-17)...senior outfielder Amanda Van't Wout (Guelph, Ont./Guelph Collegiate V.I.) batted .500 (11-22) with four RBI, while two freshmen - Rebecca Stanley (Waterloo, Ont./Waterloo C.I.) and Alison Allen (Redford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) each batted .400 (8-20)...Stanley had three extra-base hits and drove in four, with Allen smacking two home runs for an .800 slugging percentage...Allen's five home runs is tied-for-12th on the WSU single-season chart...junior pitcher Casey Hanes (Richmond, Va.) compiled a 5-0 record with a 0.50 earned-run average...she struck out 26 in 28 innings while allowing six walks...opponents batted .116 on 10 hits in 86 at bats...Hanes was also part of all three WSU shutouts (one solo and two combined with Nicole Abel)...she is eighth on the WSU single-season strikeout list with 144...seven different Warriors have at least 10 RBI this year...Wayne State is slated to play six games this week starting with a home doubleheader on April 8 vs. Hillsdale...the Warriors entertain Ashland on Friday before visiting Tiffin on Saturday.