MAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Payton Gottshall, Bowling Green
P, Freshman, Massillon, Ohio (Perry)
Bowling Green freshman pitcher Payton Gottshall went 5-0 with an ERA of 1.30 as BGSU went undefeated at the Clearwater Spring Break Invitational. Gottshall pitched in all five of BGSU’s games, and picked up the win in every contest. She entered a scoreless game in the sixth inning vs. Providence, and struck out six batters in two innings in a 1-0 BG win. Then, that evening, she threw a complete-game five-hit shutout vs. Penn State, striking out five. The next day, she entered the game with one outs in the top of the first, the bases loaded and BG trailing, 2-0. She proceeded to strike out the next two hitters, then allowed just five hits the rest of the way. In all, she pitched 6.2 shutout innings vs. the Black Knights, striking out 11. She returned to the circle that night to pick up the win in relief vs. Chattanooga, whiffing eight. On Sunday, Gottshall picked up a complete-game win over Seton Hall. On the season, she is 11-5 with an ERA of 1.93 and an opponent batting average of .182. She has pitched in 16 of BGSU’s 17 games, and has nine complete games in her 11 starts, as well as 128 strikeouts on the young season.
MAC Softball Player of the Week
Sammy Dees, Bowling Green
2B, R-Sophomore, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. (Mission Viejo)
Bowling Green redshirt sophomore Sammy Dees had an incredible weekend as the Falcons went 5-0 in at the Clearwater Spring Break Invitational. Dees hit .667 (12-for-18) in the five games in Florida, with an on-base percentage of .700 and a slugging pct. of .944. She came to the plate a total of 20 times over the weekend, and reached base in 17 of those 20 plate appearances. Dees had at least one hit in every game, with three three-hit games and a two-hit contest. On Friday, she was a combined 5-for-6 with a walk in wins over Providence and Penn State. On Saturday, Dees reached base in all four plate appearances against Army, going 3-for-3 with a walk. She singled to begin the Chattanooga game. With that hit, she had reached base in eight-straight appearances (7-for-7 with a walk) and 11 of 12 trips to the plate. Dees also reached base in her next at-bat, via a throwing error, before the Mocs finally retired her. Then, on Sunday, for the third time in five games, Dees reached base in every plate appearance. She homered, singled twice and also reached base on a pair of errors in a 10-3 win over Seton Hall. On the year, Dees is hitting .474 with a .565 OBP and a .684 slugging pct.
Other Player Nominees
Cari Padula, WMU
1B, Senior, Commerce Township, Mich. / Farmington Hills Mercy
Senior Cari Padula had a stellar weekend for the Broncos at the Clearwater Spring Break Invitational. On 11 at-bats, she collected four hits with one double and one home run, and a team-high nine total bases and six RBI. In Saturday's 13-1 win against Florida A&M, she hit a grand-slam on her way to a career-high six RBI in one game. She had three hits total in the contest with .818 slugging percentage.
Katie Keller, Northern Illinois University
C/INF, So., Geneva, Ill./Geneva
Katie Keller paced NIU at the plate during the Saluki Invitational. The Huskie sophomore started all five games of the event, batting .500. Half of her six hits on the weekend went for extra bases. She tallied a pair of doubles and a home run. Keller played a key role in NIU's 10-5 win over IUPUI. She belted a two-run homer in the first inning and scored three runs in the contest.
Morgan Lott, Miami
Outfielder, Junior, Caledonia, Ohio / River Valley
Junior outfielder Morgan Lott moved up to second in program history in career triples as she now has 11 after hitting two this weekend to give her a conference-leading three triples this season. Lott had at least one hit and one RBI in every game this weekend as she extends her hitting streak to seven games. Lott led the Miami offense in runs (3), hits (5), triples (2), home runs (1), RBI (5), total bases (12) and slugging percentage (.923) and was a perfect 2-of-2 in stolen bases this weekend. Lott began the weekend with an RBI triple in Saturday's win against EIU, also scoring a run and getting onto base a second time with a walk. Her triple drove in the game-winning run. Lott recorded her ninth multi-hit game of the season in the Saturday win against Green Bay, going 2-of-4 with a run, RBI and triple. She had a two-run home run against Eastern Illinois on Sunday.
Stacy Payton, Ball State
C / 1B, Junior, Brazil, Ind. / Northview
Stacy Payton continued to post monster numbers for the Ball State offense, leading the team with four doubles and nine RBI last week ... She reached base safely in all seven games and ended the week on a four-game hitting streak ... her best game came in BSU's 9-0 (6) win at Bethune-Cookman, when she went 4-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, a single, five RBI and two runs scored.
Brenna Brownfield, Kent State
Utility, Junior, Thornville, Ohio/Lakewood
Brenna Brownfield posted a .600/.933/.588 slash with five doubles and eight RBIs to lead the Kent State offense at the Duke Invitational. Brownfield recorded a hit in all four of the Golden Flashes’ games with multiple hits and multiple RBIs in three games. She had a career-high four hits Friday against Fordham and career-high four RBIs Friday against Lafayette.
Other Pitcher Nominees
Reily Galloway, Western Michigan University
P, Junior, Laporte, Ind. / Laporte
Reily Galloway had a stellar weekend for the Broncos, picking up her first win in the circle of the season. Galloway pitched a complete game shutout in the 4-0 win against Providence at the Clearwater Spring Break invitational, striking out a season-high ten batters. She allowed no runs and just two hits in the game. Over the weekend of the tournament, Galloway had a 3.06 ERA and 14 total strikeouts. She started in the Providence, Robert Morris, and Penn State games, pitching a total of 16 innings.
Courtney Vierstra, Miami
Pitcher, Junior, Thornville, Ohio / Lakewood
Junior pitcher Courtney Vierstra had a standout weekend in the circle as she allowed only one earned run on three hits in 13.1 innings of work and registered 28 strikeouts to move her into fourth in program history in career strikeouts with 555. She limited opposing batters to a .068 average on the weekend. Vierstra began the weekend with a complete-game win against Eastern Illinois, allowing no earned runs in a full seven innings while striking out 14 batters and giving up just two hits. In Miami's win against Green Bay on Sunday, Vierstra pitched the final three innings, earning all nine outs by strikeout and allowing no hits in her appearance. She also relieved in the final game of the weekend, earning five strikeouts in three and a third innings pitched while allowing just one hit. Vierstra leads the MAC in strikeouts (129), strikeouts looking (34) and opposing batting average (.171). Prior to the weekend, she ranked fifth in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (12.1) and was tied for seventh in strikeouts.
Deborah Jones, Ball State
Starting Pitcher, Freshman, Unionville, Ind./Bloomington North
Led a Ball State pitching staff which allowed just five earned runs and held opponents to a .210 batting average in seven games last week ... Picked up her first career complete game shutout victory in Ball State's 9-0 (6) win in the nightcap at Bethune-Cookman, allowing just four hits while striking out seven ... Held Maryland to five hits over 4.0 innings of work to open the Panther Invitational last Friday, adding a pair of strikeouts ... Threw 8.0 brilliant innings versus Tulsa, allowing just three hits and one unearned run, while striking out three ... Closed Spring Break by picking up her second complete game shutout of the week in the 2-0 win over Samford, holding the Bulldogs to just two hits while striking out six over 7.0 innings.
Alexis Lucyshyn, Buffalo
Pitcher, Freshman, Calgary, AB, Canada (Bishop Grandin)
Freshman Alexis Lucyshyn had a solid weekend at the Mason Invitational recording a 1.80 ERA and giving up just three runs in a pair of starts, with 13 strikeouts to just six walks in 11.2 innings pitched. On Sunday against George Mason, Lucyshyn took a no hitter into the sixth inning and ended up allowing just one run on two hits while striking out a career-best seven batters.
