2017 GLIAC Softball Tournament Central
BAY CITY, Mich. -- The field is set for the 2017 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Softball Tournament beginning Friday, May 5th at the Marathon Diamonds in Findlay, Ohio. The eight-team, double-elimination format will be hosted by the University of Findlay with support from the Huron Country Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Grand Valley State captured the 2017 GLIAC Softball regular-season title on Saturday with a road sweep over Saginaw Valley to earn the No. 1 in next week's tournament. The Lakers pushed their winning streak to 19 consecutive games -- two shy of the second-longest win streak in school history -- and improved to 31-15 on the year and 17-5 in conference play. GVSU earned its 14th conference title in program history. The Lakers will face-off against No. 8 Findlay who finished 10-12 in league action. GVSU is led by sophomore pitcher Allison Lipovsky who racked up a 14-3 record this season, including the fifth-most strikeouts in a single season (185). Jenna Lenza led by the GLIAC by a wide margin in batting average (.522), on-base-percentage (.616) and slugging percentage (.821) all by significant margins in conference games.
Wayne State is the No. 2 seed following a 15-7 record in GLIAC play and a 36-12 mark overall. The Warriors have relied on their pitching in 2017 with reigning NFCA Player of the Year Lyndsay Butler posting a league-best 0.83 earned-run-average in conference games. Wayne State has captured five consecutive conference tournament crowns and will match-up with No. 7 Ferris State in Friday's opening round. Both teams split their lone two meetings this year -- all the way back on the opening date of GLIAC competition.
The No. 3 seed goes to Saginaw Valley who posted a mark of 14-8 as the Cardinals boasted the highest-scoring offense throughout the GLIAC. SVSU ace Sam Willman amassed an 11-3 GLIAC record in the circle throwing a league-high 101.2 innings while putting together a 1.31 ERA -- second best behind WSU's Butler. SVSU will face No. 6 Hillsdale who is guided by NFCA Player of the Year Finalist Bekah Kastning's .470 batting average to go with 27 RBI and 18 stolen bases.
Ohio Dominican is positioned at No. 4 and will battle No. 5 Ashland with both teams coming off of a tightly-contested series split on Friday (April 28). ODU is paced by Taylor Kline's league-best 21 stolen bases and second-highest batting average in the conference (.444). Ashland skipper Sheilah Gulas leads the Eagles in her final year of coaching with Dayna Denner guiding the offense to the tune of a .423 batting average and seven stolen bases.
Follow all the action on the 2017 GLIAC Softball Tournament Central page for links to live stats and video.
