MAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Courtney Vierstra, Miami University, Pitcher
Senior, Thornville, Ohio/ Lakewood
Vierstra went 2-0 over the past seven days, picking up wins over No. 19 Michigan and Northern Illinois. The senior threw 12 innings, allowing just seven hits, while striking out 14. The Thornville, Ohio, native threw a complete game in the win over the Wolverines and pitched five innings in a 9-1 win over NIU, striking out seven.
MAC Co-Softball Player(s) of the Week
Abbey Tolmie, Central Michigan, Centerfield
Sophomore, Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston
Central Michigan sophomore Abbey Tolmie hit .583 in three games as the Chippewas swept Ball State in a MAC doubleheader en route to a 2-1 week. Tolmie, a sophomore center fielder from Clarkston, collected seven hits including a pair of doubles and posted an outstanding .615 on-base percentage in setting the table from the leadoff spot. She also made two sensational diving catches in center field, one against Michigan State, the other against Ball State. She led off all three games with a single and she played a crucial role in the Chippewas' 9-8 9-inning comeback victory over the Cardinals in the nightcap of their doubleheader. With one on and the game tied, 8-8, in the bottom of the ninth, Tolmie slapped a full-count pitch into left field for an opposite field hit to keep the inning alive and send teammate Sami Mills to third base. Mills then scored the winning run on a wild pitch. Tolmie is tied for first among MAC players with 31 hits and ranks seventh in the league with a .373 batting average.
Kate Kobayashi, Miami University, Outfielder
Sophomore, Kansas City, MO/ Park Hill South
Kobayashi hit .429 for the week, adding two home runs and four RBI over a three-game span. She added four walks and two stolen bases, helping the RedHawks to a 3-0 week. The Kansas City, Mo., native picked up a double in the win over No. 19 Michigan and had two home runs in the series finale over NIU.
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Other Nominees
Payton Gottshall, Bowling Green, Pitcher
Sophomore, Massillon, Ohio (Perry)
Bowling Green’s Payton Gottshall was 1-1 with an ERA of just 0.68 last week at Ohio. She threw a complete-game four-hitter in the series opener, allowing just one earned run while walking two batters and striking out nine. In the nightcap, she came on to pitch four innings of scoreless, two-hit relief and picked up the win. In that game, Gottshall struck out two and did not walk a batter. On the year, Gottshall is 9-5 with a 1.47 ERA and 139 strikeouts (and just 16 walks) in 85 2/3 innings. She has an ERA of 0.86 in MAC games to date.
Emma Eubank, Ball State, Relief Pitcher
Freshman, Santa Claus, Ind. (Heritage Hills)
Freshman reliever Emma Eubank shined in the circle versus CMU Friday afternoon, limiting the Chippewas to four hits and one unearned run over the final 5.2 innings of the 4-3 loss. Her pitching, which included three strikeouts, allowed the Cardinals rally and tie the score at 3-3 with two outs in the top of the seventh.
Unfortunately, the hosts were able to capitalize on a pair of errors to open the bottom of the seventh to score what proved to be the game-winning run.
Reagan Williamson, Bowling Green, Catcher
Sophomore, Harrison, Ohio (Harrison)
Bowling Green sophomore Reagan Williamson hit a team-leading .600 with a slugging pct. of 1.200 for the Falcons last week. BGSU dropped a narrow 2-1 decision to Ohio before downing the Bobcats, 5-3. The third game of the series was canceled due to weather conditions. In the win over the Bobcats, Williamson reached base in all four of her plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with a walk. She singled and scored as BGSU came from three runs down to tie the score in the fourth inning, then hit a mammoth two-run homer and picked up what proved to be the game-winning RBI in the fifth. Williamson was perfect in 11 chances in the field as well. Over the last eight games, Williamson is hitting .571 (12-of-21) with an on-base pct. of .714. She is hitting a team-best .387 in her first season as a starter, and is batting an eye-popping .571 (8-of-14) in MAC games this season to date.
Faith Hensley, Ball State, Left Field
Senior, Monroe, Ohio (Monroe)
In Friday’s opener at CMU, senior left fielder Faith Hensley blasted a two-out, three-run home run to help the Cardinals tie the score at 3-3 in the seventh. Unfortunately, the Chippewas answered with a sac fly in the bottom of the inning to win the game 4-3.
The nightcap saw CMU pull head 6-0 before Hensley's second home run of the day spoiled a potential perfect game in the top of the fourth and sparked a five-run rally over two innings. BSU would go on to tie the game at 7-7 with two outs in the top of the seventh, before taking the lead in the top of the ninth after Hensley's leadoff walk turned into a run scored. Once again the Chippewas would rally for the win, however, scoring two in the bottom of the seventh.
Madison Hershberger, Kent State, Outfield
Sophomore, Lake Lynn, Pa. / Albert Gallatin
Madison Hershberger reached base in 5 of her 6 trips to the plate to lead the Kent State offense in a doubleheader against rival Akron on Friday. All 3 of Hershberger’s hits were doubles as she posted a 1.500 slugging percentage and 2 RBIs. She was hit by a pitch in her first plate appearance of the weekend and scored all the way from first base on a throwing error. Hershberger hit doubles during at-bats in the fifth and seventh innings. She reached safely for the fourth consecutive time after being hit by a pitch in the first inning of Game 2 and helped the Golden Flashes end the contest in 5 innings with a 2-run double before scoring in the fourth to extend the lead to 11-2.
Alexis Lucyshyn, Buffalo, P/1B
Junior, Calgary, AB, Canada
Junior Alexis Lucyshyn had a monster game on Friday as she went 2-for-4 at the plate with four RBI, good for a 1.250 slugging and .500 on base percentage, to lead the Bulls to a 13-3 win at Toledo to improve the Bulls to 3-1 in MAC play.
Lucyshyn leads the team with a .345 batting average on a team-best 20 hits, three home runs, 17 RBI, nine runs scored and a .552 slugging and .424 on base percentage.
Megan McMenemy, Ohio, INF
Senior, Westerville, Ohio / Westerville Central
Graduate student infielder Megan McMenemy led Ohio at the plate over the last week. Overall, the infielder hit /364 with four hits in 11 at bats. She registered two doubles, one homerun, one run scored and two RBI. She had a .818 slugging percentage and a.364 on base percentage. She also tallied nine total bases while not recording an error and registering two putouts and six assists.
On March 22 against her former team, Ohio State, McMenemy recorded one basest for the Bobcats. Then on March 25 in game one against BGSU, McMenemy went 1-for-3 with a solo homerun, scored one run and registered one RBI in the 2-1 walkout victory. Later in the day, McMenemy went 2-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI.
