Click here for printer-friendly (PDF) version of release
BAY CITY, Mich. - Wayne State University sophomore second baseman Nikki Fulton (Stratford, Ont./St. Michael Catholic S.S.) and Hillsdale College pitcher Laura Homan (Celina, Ohio) have been chosen as the GLIAC Softball "Player of the Week" and "Pitcher of the Week", respectively.
GLIAC Softball Player of the Week:
Nikki Fulton
Wayne State
Senior, 2B, R/R
Stratford, Ont./St. Michael Catholic
S.S.
Nikki Fulton led the Warriors to a 7-1 mark last week including five consecutive road wins. Fulton had a hit in the first seven games, including six multiple-hit affairs. She totaled four home runs, three of which were in consecutive WSU wins. For the week, Fulton hit .500 (15-30), reached base 17 times with 33 total bases, tallied 12 RBI, and scored 13 runs. Fulton currently leads the conference in runs scored with 48 and a .681 slugging percentage.
Softball Player Weekly
Honor Roll: Alyssa Kelley - AU, Morgan Kramerich -
FS, Tori Allen - UF, Katie Martin - GV, Megan Foley - LE, Amanda
Maxon - LS, Stacey Klonowski - NU, Amanda Kimes - SV, Meagan Baird
- TU.
2012 "Players of the Week": (3/13) Briauna
Taylor - GV; (3/19) Stephanie Foreman - WS; (3/26) Alyssa Kelley -
AU; (4/2) Nikki Fulton - WS; (4/9) Alison Allen - WS; (4/16) Nikki
Fulton - WS.
GLIAC Softball Pitcher of the Week:
Laura Homan
Hillsdale
Senior, Pitcher, L/R
Celina, Ohio
Laura Homan went undefeated for the
week, winning all four of her starts and recording a save in a
fifth appearance. Homan allowed just four earned runs in more than
27 innings pitched, and she notched wins over Ashland, Ohio
Dominican and Saginaw Valley State. She struck out 15 while only
walking six and posted a 1.02 ERA. Homan became the first Hillsdale
pitcher to reach 14 wins in a season and is currently ranked fourth
in the GLIAC with a 2.12 ERA on the season.
Softball Pitcher Weekly Honor Roll: Emlyn Knerem - AU, Dana Bowler - FS, Hannah Santora - GV, Maddison Sebald - NU, Rachel Stanzel - OD, Alexa Gehrls - SV, Amber Young - TU, Sam Cain - WS.
2012 "Pitchers of the Week": (3/13) Emlyn Knerem - AU; (3/19) Andrea Nicholson - GV; (3/26) Rachel Stanzel - OD; (4/2) Laura Homan - HC; (4/9) Hannah Santora - GV; (4/16) Laura Homan - HC.
Ashland Eagles
Ashland was ranked second in the
Midwest Region last week…the Eagles play their final two
home doubleheaders this week and will honor the three seniors on
this year’s team – pitcher Emlyn Knerem (Brunswick,
Ohio), shortstop Bri Woody (Cleveland, Ohio/Magnificat) and third
baseman Alyssa Kelley (Mentor, Ohio)…Knerem recorded her
1,000th career strikeout last week at Hillsdale. Knerem is second
in career strikeouts at AU and she is one of two hurlers to reach
1,000 strikeouts. The program’s career leader is Josie
Nelson with 1,109 strikeouts. Knerem has 1,018
strikeouts…Kelley starts this week with a six-game hitting
streak. She has a team-high 17 multi-hit games this
season…catcher Tawna Garver hit .345 last week and owns a
nine-game hitting streak…the Eagles have five players with
23 RBI or more…AU lost at Grand Valley State, 1-0 last
Saturday. That’s the first 1-0 game the Eagles have been
involved in this year.
Ferris State Bulldogs
The Ferris State University
softball team won five of a possible eight league contests this
past week. The Bulldogs swept Lake Superior State on the road
Tuesday before coming home for six consecutive games where they
earned a sweep of Lake Erie on Friday followed by a split with Ohio
Dominican on Saturday. The Bulldogs also battled the region’s
second-ranked team in Ashland to the wire in two games on Sunday.
FSU presently holds a 21-21 overall mark along with a 12-12 league
record to date this campaign. Senior outfielder Morgan Kramerich
had a big week for the Bulldogs as she posted a team-leading .423
batting average in eight games with a squad-best 11 hits. Junior
pitcher Dana Bowler had a team-leading 3-1 pitching mark this past
week as the Bulldogs won five of a possible eight league
contests. Bowler tossed 26 and one-third innings and tallied
27 strikeouts in five starts. The Bulldogs hit the road on
Wednesday (April 18) for a league doubleheader against the
Northwood Timberwolves in Midland before returning back to Big
Rapids for their final home action with a four-game set against
Saginaw Valley State on Friday and Saturday (April 20-21) at the
FSU Softball Field.
Findlay
Oilers
The University of Findlay softball
team went .500 (4-4) this past week, improving to 22-17 overall and
13-11 in GLIAC action. The Oilers have scored 235 runs in their 39
games of the 2012 campaign and sport a .445 team slugging
percentage. Sophomore Tori Allen recorded the most doubles in an
Oiler season on Sunday against Saginaw Valley. Findlay will travel
to Detroit on Wednesday, April 18, to face Wayne State for a
doubleheader starting at 3:30 p.m. This weekend, the Oilers
will head south to Columbus for a four-game series against Ohio
Dominican, beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, April 20.
Grand Valley State Lakers
#17 Grand Valley State went 6-2
last week, including a 5-1 homestand over the weekend.
Friday’s 4-2 win over Ohio Dominican was the 800th career
victory for Laker head coach Doug Woods, who becomes just the 16th
coach in Division II history to reach the 800-win plateau. Woods is
now 804-369-3 over his 22 seasons at the helm of the GVSU
program…junior designated player Katie Martin (Ann Arbor,
Mich./Ann Arbor Pioneer) homered in the second game of all four
doubleheaders last week, while hitting .464 with a 1.000 slugging
percentage. She now has seven homers this season and 36
roundtrippers during her career…junior pitcher Hannah
Santora (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) went 3-0 and tossed a
pair of shutouts last week, including a nine-inning, five-hit
shutout in the 1-0 win over Ashland. She currently holds a
scoreless streak of 18.2 consecutive innings. Santora also earned
an extra-inning win on Friday, pitching all eight innings of
GVSU’s 4-3 win over Ohio Dominican. In 17 innings against ODU
and AU on back-to-back days, she gave up just 10 base
hits…the Lakers’ 40 home runs lead the GLIAC and are
the third-most in school history. Junior Miranda Cleary (Howell,
Mich.) and sophomore Briauna Taylor (Livonia, Mich./Livonia
Franklin) are tied for the GLIAC lead with nine home runs each,
while Martin is close behind with seven blasts.
Hillsdale Chargers
The Hillsdale College softball team
reached new plateaus over the week, going 5-3 to remain in second
place in the GLIAC North Division…With a stolen base by
freshman Jessica Day Saturday, the 2012 Chargers set a new school
record for stolen bases by a team in a single season (now standing
at 68, leading the GLIAC)…the old record was 65, set by the
1990 squad, which went 40-5…Seven players have five or more
stolen bases this season…Senior Jessica Guertin hit a 3-run
home run against Ohio Dominican Sunday, and as a result, broke the
old school record for career RBI…Guertin now has 141 RBI in
her career, breaking the record of 140 set by Sarah Princinsky and
established in 1997…Her 42 home runs are just four shy of
the GLIAC career record…Hillsdale’s 22 wins on the
season are its most since 2006 and its 14 conference wins are its
most since it became a Division II institution in
1998…Senior pitcher Laura Homan went 4-0 with a save last
week, shutting out Saginaw Valley State while helping to lead the
Chargers to their first win over Ashland since March
2008…Her 14 wins are the most in a season by a Hillsdale
pitcher since Joelle Frantz won 15 in 2002…Junior Kate Hoop
set a new career-high for hits in a season with 37, exceeding last
season’s total by one…The team will play six straight
home games this week, starting with a rematch with Grand Valley
State Wednesday.
Lake Erie Storm
Lake Erie College ran into trouble
this week, dropping all eight games played. The Storm power
source for the week came from senior Megan Foley who belted a pair
of homers and scored five runs while hitting .368. Foley is
hitting .350 on the season and is the team leader with six home
runs, 18 runs batted in and 23 runs scored. Sophomore Juliana
Brotzman (Madison, Ohio/Madison) hit .348 on the week (eight-of-23)
scoring a pair of runs. She leads the team with a .388
batting average. Lake Erie plays six times this week,
traveling to Ashland University for a doubleheader Wednesday before
returning home for senior weekend Friday and Saturday against Wayne
State.
Lake Superior State Lakers
Freshman
catcher/shortstop Amanda Maxon (Munising, Mich.) had at least one
hit during seven of the Lakers’ eight games during last
week’s homestand. She closed out the week by going 4-for-4
with six RBI during a 10-2 victory over Wayne State. She was
2-for-4 with a double and triple during an 11-2 win over Findlay.
Sophomore shortstop Danielle Reveley (St. Clair Shores, Mich.)
batted .417 with 10 hits. For the season, Maxon is batting .371 and
Reveley .273. Sophomore Felicia Gingrich (St. Johns, Mich.) pitched
both Laker wins. For the week she was 2-2 with a 2.42 earned run
average, four walks and 16 strikeouts. Saturday’s victory
over Findlay snapped a 13-game losing skid. LSSU totaled 22 hits
during Sunday’s 10-2 victory over Wayne State, which was a
single-game high for LSSU since coach Lori Shimasaki took over the
program last season. The Lakers are 2-6 at home heading into this
week’s six-game homestand.
Northwood Timberwolves
Northwood split eight home games
last week, splitting against Grand Valley State and Tiffin,
sweeping Findlay while getting swept by Wayne State … the
Timberwolves are now 16-22 overall, 13-13 in the GLIAC … for
the week, Northwood hit .321 as a team and averaged over five runs
per game … Stacey Klonowski (Canton, Mich./Plymouth) hit
.519 for the week, registering 14 hits in 27 at-bats …
Northwood earned a pair of dramatic comeback wins during the week,
scoring six in the bottom of the seventh against Findlay to win 9-8
and plating two in the final inning to beat Tiffin 7-6 …
Rachel Hammer (Commerce, Mich./Lakeland) had her first three home
runs of the season this week, including two in one game against
Grand Valley State … GVSU and Northwood have now played
games in back-to-back seasons where both teams scored at least 10
runs – the Lakers won a 13-10 contest last season while
Northwood earned 14-11 win earlier this week … the
Timberwolves will finish the regular season by hosting Ferris State
and traveling to Hillsdale.
Ohio Dominican Panthers
ODU finished last week 4-4 in
conference action, highlighted by a sweep of Lake Erie, 9-1/5-2, at
home on Tuesday. Of the four losses though, three were by two runs
or fewer, including a pair of setbacks, 4-2/4-3 (8), at No. 17
Grand Valley State on Friday. The Panthers recorded consecutive
splits at Ferris State and Hillsdale on the weekend and now sit in
a tie for fourth in the overall GLIAC standings with the Chargers
at 14-10. Junior Brooke McCartney (Salem, OH) and freshmen Alex
Cribari (Lyndhurst, OH) tied for the team lead with nine hits over
the eight-game span, while senior Kylee Crislip’s
(Louisville, OH) three homeruns, including two versus the Storm,
moved her atop the GLIAC rankings and into fourth in the
program’s single-season record book with 10. Cribari eclipsed
the ODU career mark for HBPs held by Kelly Simms (2000-03) with
three last week to give her 18 for the year, just five shy of the
fifth highest single-season mark in Division II history, while her
HBP per game average of 0.41 would tie for 11th highest all-time.
Freshman ace Rachael Stanzel (Angleton, TX) went 3-1 with a trio of
complete games in four starts to improve to 13-9 overall. The
Panthers are at Tiffin this Wednesday, April 18 for a 3 p.m.
doubleheader and their final road matchup of the year, before
returning home for a four-game home set with Findlay on Friday and
Saturday.
Saginaw Valley State Cardinals
The Saginaw Valley State University
softball team went 2-6 on the week, splitting with Hillsdale and
Tiffin and getting swept by Wayne State and Findlay. Amanda Kimes
led the way for the Cardinals with five hits and five runs batted
in on the week. Kimes had a game changing inside the park grand
slam against Tiffin University, that allowed SVSU to defeat the
Dragons 7-3. Alexa Gehrls picked up the only two Cardinal wins of
the week pitching four complete games. Saginaw Valley will be back
in action on Wednesday (Apr. 18) when they travel to Lake Superior
State. The Cardinals will travel to Ferris State on Friday (Apr.
20) for a weekend series against the Bulldogs.
Tiffin Dragons
Meagan Baird hit a blistering .571 in the Dragons’ 5-3
week, leading the team with 8 runs scored and collecting 4 doubles
with a home run for 8 RBI while slugging .905 and posting a .654
OBP... Amber Young had a solid week, winning 3 of the
Dragons’ 5 games this week. She fanned 21 batters in 22
innings while holding opposing hitters to a .195 average...Amanda
Temple continued her solid hitting, batting .458 for the week,
while Caitlin Houk also had a nice weekend, hitting .400 with a
team best 2 home runs and 9 RBI...Stephanie Bobotas also hit well,
totaling .360 with 8 runs scored.
Wayne State Warriors
Wayne State won
its first seven games last week to extend its winning streak to
eight contests. The Warriors are 15-5 in their last 20
games. Sophomore second baseman Nikki Fulton (Stratford, Ont.
/ St. Michael Catholic S.S.) batted .500 (15-for-30) for the week
with four home runs, including round-trippers in back-to-back at
bats (ending game two Saturday at Northwood, and leading off game
one Sunday at Lake Superior). She finished the week with 13
runs and 12 RBI along with a 1.100 slugging percentage.
Senior first baseman Rebecca Ryan (Westland, Mich. / Dearborn
Divine Child) also hit four home runs last week while batting .375
(9-for-24). Senior third baseman Alison Allen (Redford, Mich.
/ Farmington Hills Mercy) had a team-best 13 RBI with five doubles
among her 11 hits. Wednesday’s doubleheader against
Findlay will be televised live throughout the state of Michigan on
XFinity channel 900.