MAC Softball Player of the Week
Evelyn Loyola, Bowling Green
Catcher, Senior, Ventura, Calif. (Buena)
Bowling Green’s Evelyn Loyola hit .556 as the Falcons won three of four games in a season-opening series at Cleveland State. Loyola went 5-for-9 vs. the Vikings, with an on-base pct. of .733 and a slugging pct. of .889 in the four games. In the season opener, she had a three-run homer to account for all of the scoring in a 3-0 win, and was 3-for-3 with a walk in that victory. She had at least one walk in every game, with a total of six on the weekend. In the final game of the series, went 2-for-3 with two walks, a run scored and an RBI. In the four games, Loyola led the Falcons in batting average, homers, RBI, walks, OBP and slugging, and she tied for the team lead with eight total bases. She had a perfect fielding percentage of 1.000 in 36 total chances.
MAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Payton Gottshall, Bowling Green
Pitcher, R-Freshman, Massillon, Ohio / Perry
Bowling Green’s Payton Gottshall had an epic weekend as the Falcons won three out of four games in a season-opening series at Cleveland State. On the weekend, Gottshall was 3-0 with an ERA of 0.00, allowing just five hits in 21 1/3 innings of work for an opponent batting average of .072. She struck out 51 and did not walk a batter. In Friday’s (Feb. 12) opener, Gottshall fired a one-hit shutout, striking out a school-record 20 batters. The strikeout total tied her for third on the NCAA Division-I list for strikeouts in a seven-inning game. In that win, she faced 22 batters, allowing only two to put the ball in play (a leadoff single in the fifth and a popup back to the circle). Then, on Saturday (Feb. 13), Gottshall threw a perfect game, striking out 16. It was just the second perfect game in school history, and the first since 1993. She struck out 16 of the 21 Viking batters she faced for her second complete-game shutout in as many days. Then, in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader, she entered the game in relief, with BG trailing 6-1 in the second inning, and proceeded to pitch 7 1/3 innings and pick up the win as the Falcons rallied for an 8-7, extra-inning victory. She struck out 15 more hitters in that game.
Other Nominees
Karlee Juarez, Miami
Outfielder, Freshman, Angels Camp, Calif/Brent Hart Union
In her first game in a Miami uniform, Karlee went 3-for-4 with a two-run homerun and four RBI. She scored two runs in the first game against the 20th ranked Bulldogs. Her two-run homerun in the top of the third and double in the top of the fifth accounted for Miami's first four runs in the 10-9 loss. The freshman went 1-for-3 in game two with an RBI, finishing the weekend going 5-for-7 with five RBI, a double and a homerun, batting .571 and accounting for seven of Miami's 13 runs in the doubleheader.
