FINDLAY, Ohio - The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced its 2017 All-GLIAC Softball Teams and Postseason Awards in conjunction with the Conference's annual Softball Tournament at the Marathon Diamonds in Findlay, Ohio. The awards were voted on by the conference softball coaches.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Lyndsay Butler - Wayne State

Wayne State graduate student Lyndsay Butler has become the first four-time GLIAC of the Year award winner in conference history.  After winning GLIAC Pitcher of the Year honors as a redshirt freshman and sophomore, Butler earned her second consecutive GLIAC Player of the Year award in voting by the league's head coaches .  Butler led all GLIAC pitchers in ERA (0.83), shutouts (6) and complete games (12) during the league portion of the schedule, while ranking third in both wins (9) and strikeouts (74).  She concluded her GLIAC career with a 41-9 conference record and seven saves, along with 43 complete games, 394 strikeouts, and 40 earned runs in 343.2 innings for a 0.81 career GLIAC game ERA.  Offensively in 2017, Butler batted .421 in the conference play, while ranking fourth in both hits (32) and total bases (44), fifth in home runs (3) and sixth in on-base percentage (.463).  Defensively, Butler was flawless in 46 chances (1 putout, 45 assists), while starting two double plays.  The 2016 NFCA National Player of the Year, Butler is currently one of 25 national finalists for the 2017 award.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Allison Lipovsky - Grand Valley State

The 2016 GLIAC Freshman of the Year, sophomore Allison Lipovsky was the four-time consecutive GLIAC Pitcher of the Week and received All-GLIAC First Team honors after being a Second Team selection as a rookie last season. With a 14-3 overall record and 185 strikeouts (fifth-most in GVSU single season history), she was 9-2 in GLIAC play with a 1.49 ERA and league-bests of 109 strikeouts and 9.54 strikeouts per game. Half of her eight shutouts this season came in GLIAC play, where she allowed opponents to hit just .164. Lipovsky ranks second in Division II in fewest hits allowed per game (3.63), seventh in strikeouts per game (9.5), and 15th in total K’s. She recorded 11 double-digit strikeout games, including her final eight outings of the regular season. In 11 April outings, Lipovsky allowed a total of 10 runs and she gave up more than five hits in a game just twice in 22 appearances. Overall, batters hit just .150 off of the righthander, with only 20 extra base hits in 137.0 total innings.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Dayna Denner - Ashland

As Ashland’s primary third baseman and leadoff hitter, Dayna Denner led all GLIAC freshmen in batting average (.383), hits (57), runs (32), stolen bases (14) and on-base percentage (.446). Her four home runs and three triples are both tied for the most among the conference’s freshmen, and her .564 slugging percentage slots her at No. 2. She is the only freshman in the conference to have earned a GLIAC Hitter of the Week award this season.

CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR: Sheilah Gulas - Ashland

Ashland coach Sheilah Gulas, who also won the award in 2009 and 2010, eclipsed 900 career wins this year. Despite having no returning first- or second-team All-GLIAC players, Gulas led the Eagles to a 28-21 overall regular-season record in 2017. In what is her 21st and final season as she’s retiring in May, the team’s 13-9 GLIAC record has them slotted as the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament.

Dana Callihan - Grand Valley State

Third-year head coach Dana Callihan led GVSU to the regular season championship thanks in large part to a season-ending 19-game winning streak, the third-longest in program history. At 31-15 overall, the Lakers reached the 30-win plateau for the seventh consecutive year and the third straight season under Callihan. Grand Valley State went from a 2-5 start in GLIAC play to a run of 15 consecutive league victories, including seven straight conference doubleheader sweeps. The Lakers were also 14-0 at home this season. Callihan also recorded the 100th win of her head coaching career in late-April and coached the GLIAC Pitcher of the Year and three All-GLIAC First Team honorees.

For a complete list of the 2017 All-GLIAC Softball Teams click below: