Ohio Sweeps East Division Weekly Awards
East Division Pitcher of the Week
Danielle Stiene, Ohio
Pitcher
Senior
Loveland, Ohio/ Ursuline Academy
Senior pitcher Daniele Stiene led Ohio in the circle once again for the Bobcats. Over the weekend, Stiene went 2-0 in one start with one complete game. She recored a 0.00 ERA in 9.2 innings by not allowing a run on two hits, walking three and striking out 13. Opponents hit .067 against her and she recorded on complete game shutout, helping Ohio to win the weekend series against NIU and improve to 8-1 overall in MAC play. In her first game of the weekend, Stiene got the start, pitching all seven innings, and did not allow a run on one hit while walking one and striking out 11 of the 24 batters she faced in Ohio's 2-0 victory. Stiene returned to the circle on April 8 in the final game of the series, entering the game in the bottom of the fifth inning with Ohio trailing by one, Stiene would go on to pitch 2.2 innings and did not allow a run on one hit, while walking two and striking out two in Ohio's 7-6 come-form-behind victory, helming her earn her 13th win of the season.
East Division Player of the Week
Mikayla Cooper, Ohio
First Base
Senior
Delaware, Ohio/ Rutherford B. Hayes
Senior Mikayla Cooper continued her dominance of the Mid-American Conference this past weekend, helping lead Ohio to a 2-1 week, their third-straight MAC series win, and improve Ohio to 8-1 in MAC play. Overall, Cooper hit .500 in 10 at bats, recording five hits with one double, one triple and one homerun. She scored five runs while recording five RBI and drawing one walk. Cooper also recorded a 1.100 slugging percentage and a 5.45 on base percentage. She stole one base in one attempt and also has a perfect fielding percentage with 16 putouts.
On April 7 in the first game of the series, Cooper went 1-for-2 with a double, two RBI and a run scored, while also drawing a walk. Later in the day in the second game of the series, Cooper did not record a hit, however she did reach base on an error and stole second for her lone stolen base of the weekend in Ohio's 2-0 victory. In the final game of the three-game series, Cooper saved her best performance for last. Going 4-for-4 with a homerun, triple, two singles, three RBI and a run scored. Cooper started off the scoring in Ohio's victory, hitting a lead off homerun in the top of the first. She then gave Ohio the lead back in the top of the fifth inning with a two-RBI triple. Then in the top of the seventh, with the Bobcats trailing by one, Cooper led the inning off with her fourth hit of the day, a single. She would then move to second on a sacrifice bunt and then score, the then tying run, on a double from Katie Yun. The Bobcats would go on to score one more in the inning to win 7-6 and take the three game series.
West Division Pitcher of the Week
Heather Webb, Toledo
Pitcher
Junior
Madisonville, Ky.
Toledo's Heather Webb continued her stellar year with a pair of wins and a save in the Rockets' three-game sweep over Bowling Green. Webb tossed 4.0 shutout innings of relief and struck out a career-high eight batters in the an 8-2 win on Friday. She then came back the next day to record a three-out save in game one and a complete game in game two. Webb allowed just one run on the weekend on six hits while striking out 14. The Madisonville, Ky. native is now 12-6 on the season with a 2.11 ERA in 102.2 innings of work.
West Division Player of the Week
Amanda Akles, Eastern Michigan
Third Base
Junior
La Habra, Calif. / La Habra
Junior infielder Amanda Akles led the Eagles in the batter’s box last week, lifting EMU to its first win over Miami since 2014 and first conference series win since 2016. Through four games, Akles was a force to be reckoned with at the plate, hitting at a .750 (6-for-8) with four home runs, six RBIs, and a total of 18 bases. The junior had a dominating .846 on base percentage, to go along with a monster slugging percentage of 2.250. Akles got the week started with a single against Toledo, April 3, before exploding at the plate against Miami, April 6-7. In a come-from-behind victory on Friday, Akles pounded out a pair of two-run home runs, including the walk-off in the seventh inning to seal the 6-4 victory for the Green and White. Akles became the first Eagle to hit a walk-off home run since 2015, and two dingers in a game since 2017. The La Habra, Calif. product would then go on to add another two dingers for the week as the Eagles split Saturday’s doubleheader. Akles was a nightmare for the Miami pitching staff as they intentionally walked her five times throughout the three games. Akles has moved up in the record book as she is now sixth in program history with 20 career home runs, while she tied her career-high for homers in a single game.
Other Pitcher Nominees
Jordan Kurth, Western Michigan
Pitcher
Junior
Aurora, Ill. / Waubonsie Valley
Western Michigan junior pitcher Jordan Kurth struck out seven in a complete-game effort, leading the Western Michigan softball team to a 9-2 win over Akron Saturday. After being touched for two runs in the top of the third, Kurth shut the door on the Zips, only allowing two hits the remainder of the game. Akron had a .207 batting average for the game. Kurth's seven strikeouts were her second most this season. With the win, she improved her pitching record to 7-3 on the season.
Hanna Warren, Central Michigan
Pitcher
Senior
Canton, Mich. / Canton
Central Michigan is on an eight-game win streak and posting four victories in conference play last week. The Chippewas defeated Western Michigan, 5-2, on Tuesday afternoon and then earned the three-game sweep over Buffalo on Saturday and Sunday. CMU’s offense was explosive, outscoring its opponents 35-10 over the four games, while the Chippewa defense posted a .990 fielding percentage and a .261 opponent batting average. Senior pitcher Hanna Warren posted a 0.00 ERA and a 1-0 record over the weekend. She pitched 5.0 innings, gave up three hits and struck out a season-high eight batters in a 7-1 victory over Buffalo. Over the last 10 games, she has started four time in the circle with a 2-0 record and has posted a 0.75 ERA with 17 strikeouts. The senior leads the team with a 2.62 ERA and has recorded three shutouts.
Trisha Trujillo, Eastern Michigan
Pitcher
Senior
Whittier, Calif. / California
Eastern Michigan’s senior pitcher, Trisha Trujillo tossed a career-high 10 strikeouts in relief to lift the Eagles to a 6-4 win over Miami, Friday, April 6. Trujillo allowed just two hits through 4.2 innings of work, while issuing just one walk. The Whittier, Calif. native’s 10 strikeouts serves as a season-high for the pitching staff, as well as the most since 2016 when the Eagles fanned 12 against UMass-Lowell. Through three appearances for the week, Trujillo retired 17 total batters with a 3.42 ERA through 14.1 innings of work.
Kayla Kmett, Akron
Pitcher
Freshman
San Clemente, Calif. / J Serra Catholic
Freshman Kayla Kmett earned her first collegiate win this past Sunday in Akron's 5-4 win over Western Michigan to give the Zips their second win and first on conference play. Kmett compiled her finest weekend of the season against the Broncos going 1-2, posted a 3.82 ERA, gave up 14 hits, 10 runs (eight earned), walked three and struck out four. Kmett tossed her second complete game of the season throwing 6.0 innings in a loss to WMU before bouncing back and pitching five relief innings en route to her first victory of the season. The Akron freshman tossed 5.0 relief innings, gave up just four hits and two runs before the final out of the game was made earning the Zips a 5-4 win. Kmett's 2.80 ERA in the contest against the Broncos was the second-lowest of the season for Kmett.
Madi Huck, Kent State
Pitcher
Sophomore
Delaware, Ohio / Delaware Hayes
Kent State sophomore pitcher Madi Huck tossed two complete-game victories and had a 1.50 ERA in Kent State's series win on the road over Ball State. She limited Ball State to just a .204 team batting average after the Cardinals checked into the week with the second highest average in the conference at .303. Huck allowed just three earned runs over 14 innings of work and despite five strikeouts, pitched to contact with great success. In game one of the series on Friday, she scattered seven hits and allowed two earned runs while going the distance in Kent State's 5-2 victory. On Saturday in the rubber match, Huck fired another complete game and held Ball State to just one earned run and allowed three hits as Kent State took the series. Huck controlled the Ball State bats for its second-lowest hit output of the season and for the weekend the lowest amount of runs scored in a MAC series.
Other Player Nominees
Brooke Wyman, Western Michigan
Shortstop
Junior
Kalamazoo, Mich. / Portage Central
Western Michigan junior shortstop Brooke Wyman batted .462, going 6-for-13 with a double, a home run and three runs scored and led the Broncos with a team-high six RBIs over four game this past week. She drove in runs in all three games of this weekend's series against Akron and had a hit in all four games this week. Wyman came up big in Saturday's 9-2 game one win, going 2-for-3 with four RBIs, hitting a two-run home run in the third and a two-out, two-run single in the fourth. In the second game of the series, a 5-2 Bronco victory, she batted 2-for-3 with two singles and an RBI. In the final game she had an RBI single. In midweek action against CMU she went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
Shaidan Knapp, Central Michigan
Infield
Freshman
Vicksburg, Mich. / Vicksburg
Central Michigan is on an eight-game win streak and posting four victories in conference play last week. The Chippewas defeated Western Michigan, 5-2, on Tuesday afternoon and then earned the three-game sweep over Buffalo on Saturday and Sunday. CMU’s offense was explosive, outscoring its opponents 35-10 over the four games. Freshman Shaidan Knapp contributed to that explosive offense with a .714 batting average (5-of-7) and a 1.286 slugging percentage. Knapp ripped a double to left field to start a three-run scoring frenzy in the third inning. Two innings later, she smacked a home run to right field to give the Chippewas a 5-2 lead. The Vicksburg, Mich. native posted a hit in each of the games versus Buffalo, including two runs. Over the last 10 games, the freshman has posted 12 hits on 27 at-bats (.444) with five RBI. Knapp leads the team with a .520 batting average (13-of-25) and second in home runs (2) in MAC games.
Bailey Curry, Toledo
1B/C
Freshman
Frankfort, Ky. / Anderson County
In seven at bats in which she was not walked, Toledo's Bailey Curry went 4-for-7 with two home runs and five RBIs. Curry was walked seven times on the week leading to an on-base percentage of .786. In game one of Saturday's doubleheader against Bowling Green, the Frankfort, Ky. native walked in all four plate appearances and did not register an at bat. Curry also slugged 1.429 for an outstanding OPS of 2.215. Curry currently leads the first-place Rockets in average (.373), hits (44), home runs (11), RBIs (37), walks (20), total bases (82), slugging (.695) and on-base percentage (.468). Her 11 home runs is two shy of a Toledo single season record.
Bailey Brownfield, Kent State
Infield
Junior
Thornville, Ohio / Lakewood
Kent State junior infield Bailey Brownfield continued her hot hitting last weekend, batting .545 in the Golden Flashes series victory over Ball State. Brownfield was 6-for-11 at the plate with three RBIs, a double and a walk while slugging .636. She was 2-for-4 with an RBI in Kent State's series-opening 5-2 victory over the Cardinals. She drove in Kent State's first run of the game on a two-out bases-loaded single through the right side. In game two of the series, she was 1-for-4 and drove in another run with a bases-loaded single. On Sunday she against fired the opening salvo, with a ringing double to right center that plated the first run of the game in KSU's 4-1 win. She had her best of the weekend going 3-for-3 with a walk. Brownfield was part of a Kent State lineup that tagged Ball State's ace for a season-high 10 hits.
Cassie Gillespie, Akron
First Base
Senior
Sylvania, Ohio \ Notre Dame Academy
Cassie Gillespie paced the Akron offense to their second win of the year and first MAC win against Western Michigan this past weekend. Gillespie recorded a .625/.875/.700 slash line in the three-game series with the Broncos going 5-for-8 with two doubles, two RBI, seven total bases, scored one run and drew two walks. At first base, Gillespie was perfect in the field recording 21 putouts in 21 chances. The senior captain had a pair of multi-hit performances on the weekend going 2-for-4 with an RBI on Saturday, April 7 and 2-for-2, a run scored and two walks in Akron’s 5-4 win on Sunday, April 8. Gillespie has now hit in seven straight contests and three of those seven games have been a multi-hit game. Her seven-game hit streak is a career-high for the Zips senior.
Annie Robinson, Ball State
Designated Player
Junior
Junior designated player Annie Robinson led Ball State with a .444 batting average in the series versus Kent State. She also paced the squad with two home runs and five RBI on the weekend, while tying for team-high honors with three runs scored. Robinson played a key role in Friday's game-two victory, with four RBI and a pair of runs scored. Her first two RBI came on a home run in the second inning. Robinson had a pair of plate appearances in the seven-run third inning, singling and scoring in her first at bat, while drawing an RBI walk in her second. She also added a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to help Ball State complete the run-rule victory. Her first home run of the series came in Friday's opener, when she hit a solo shot in the sixth inning to bring the Cardinals within two runs.
Alaynie Woollard, Northern Illinois
Third Base
Senior
New Castle, Ind. /New Castle
Senior Alaynie Woollard (New Castle, Ind. /New Castle) was the powerhouse of the weekend for the Huskies against the Ohio Bobcats. The Huskie outfielder hit a third-inning grand slam as part of a six-run third inning in the 15-5 win on Saturday. Woollard added a three-run home run Sunday's 7-6 loss, to put the Huskies up 6-5 in the fifth inning. Woollard finished the weekend batting .333 with two home runs and seven RBI while slugging .900. The Huskies lost two out of three against the Bobcats.
Alex Sorgi, Bowling Green
Center Field
Junior
Shelby Township, Mich. / Henry Ford II
Bowling Green junior CF Alex Sorgi led the Falcons in hitting last week, batting .417 in BGSU’s three games. Sorgi was 5-for-12 in the Falcons’ weekend series at Toledo, stealing a base and scoring two runs. She had a pair of two-hit games, and now leads the Orange and Brown with 13 multiple-hit games on the season. Sorgi has started all 36 games, and is batting a team-high .373 on the year. She currently has a nine-game hitting streak. In MAC games, Sorgi is hitting a team-high .387, and leads the Falcons in a multitude of categories. She is in a virtual tie for sixth place in BGSU history with a career batting average of .328, and has moved into eighth place on the BG career list for stolen bases, with 36.n a two-out bases-loaded single through the right side. In game two of the series, she was 1-for-4 and drove in another run with a bases-loaded single. On Sunday she against fired the opening salvo, with a ringing double to right center that plated the first run of the game in KSU's 4-1 win. She had her best of the weekend going 3-for-3 with a walk. Brownfield was part of a Kent State lineup that tagged Ball State's ace for a season-high 10 hits.
