MAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Payton Gottshall, Bowling Green, Pitcher
Sophomore, Massillon, Ohio
Bowling Green’s Payton Gottshall had an ERA of 0.91 and allowed opponents to bat just .105 against her last week. Gottshall had two wins and a save, and gave up just eight hits in 23 innings of work. She threw all 14 innings of a DH sweep of Central Michigan on Wednesday, allowing just an unearned run and three combined hits in those 14 innings. Gottshall threw a two-hitter in the opener, then fired a one-hit shutout in the nightcap. At Kent State, she suffered a loss despite allowing just two earned runs and four hits in another complete-game effort, and she bounced back to earn a save in the second game of that day’s DH, pitching three innings and giving up just one hit. On the year, Gottshall is now 23-10 with a 1.32 ERA and a .154 OBA. She has a school-record 325 strikeouts in 212 1/3 innings. In MAC games, she went 15-6 with a 1.15 ERA and 196 strikeouts in 140 innings.
MAC Softball Player of the Week
Annalia Paoli, Ohio, Third Base
Sophomore, Point Marion, Pa
Sophomore Annalia Paoli helped lead Ohio this past week to a 3-2 week. Overall, she hit, .400 with six hits, three homeruns, 11 RBI and five runs scored. She also registered a 1.000 slugging percentage and drew two walks and had a .444 on base percentage. She also registered 15 total bases.
Against Toledo, Paoli hit .571 in two games, with four hits, two homeruns, six RBI and three runs scored. She recorded a 1.429 slugging percentage, drew a walk and had a .626 on base percentage. She also recorded 10 total bases. Against WMU, Paoli added another three-run homerun, five RBI and two runs scored.
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Other Nominees
Jessica LeBeau, Kent State, Pitcher
Sophomore, Hartville, Ohio / Lake
Jessica LeBeau held opposing hitters to a .127 batting average and had 21 strikeouts over 18.1 innings. LeBeau earned a pair of victories to lead Kent State to a series victory over Bowling Green, shutting the Falcons out over her final 9.2 innings in the circle. In her first pitching appearance of the week Tuesday at Buffalo, LeBeau took a no-hitter into extra innings.
Reily Galloway, Western Michigan, Pitcher
Senior, La Porte, Ind.
Galloway stamped the end of a spectacular senior season this week in the circle, picking up a win against Ohio in game one of Saturday's doubleheader. Reily held the Bobcats scoreless for the one and only time in conference play during the 2022 season, limiting Ohio to just three hits in seven innings and walking one single batter in the process. Across four appearances, Galloway delivered 23 strikeouts to bring her season total to an even 270, and also registered her first save of the season by keeping the Bobcats at bay for the second Bronco victory of the day on Saturday.
Claire Norred, Northern Illinois University, Pitcher
Sophomore, Tipton, Ind./Tipton
Norred carried a 2.80 earned run average and earned a pair of wins in the circle last week for the Northern Illinois University softball team. In an 8-6 win over the University of Buffalo in the season finale Sunday, Norred worked three solid innings and fanned four batters while not giving up an extra base hit. In all, she struck out 15 batters and only gave up five extra base hits across 20 innings pitched.
Brianna Pratt, Miami, Pitcher
Senior, Perrysburg, Ohio
Brianna Pratt recorded a 0.98 earned run average over the past week, going 2-0 in the process as the RedHawks claimed its second straight MAC Regular Season Championship. The senior struck out 10 batters in 14.1 innings pitched, allowing just 11 hits. Prat began the week with a complete game victory over Ball State. She then came in relief, throwing 4.1 innings, allowing one run as the RedHawks once again downed the Cardinals in the second game of a doubleheader.
Brenna Brownfield, Kent State, Designated Player
Redshirt Senior, Thornville, Ohio / Lakewood
Playing with a torn ACL that requires a pinch runner whenever she reaches base, Brenna Brownfield had a memorable final week as a member of the Kent State softball program that included a game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning off Bowling Green ace Payton Gottshall. Brownfield recorded a hit of four of the Golden Flashes’ games, beginning with a 2-for-2 performance Tuesday at Buffalo. With the score tied and two outs in the bottom of the sixth in the series opener against BG, she delivered a clutch home run to the opposite field off one of the region’s top pitchers. Brownfield added a RBI in Sunday’s season finale, as Brooklyn Whitt was able to tag from third after the BG centerfielder robbed her of a hit with an excellent diving catch.
Rachel Steffan, Buffalo, Infielder
Sophomore, Williamsville, NY
Sophomore Rachel Steffan led the Bulls in batting this past week as she had a .462 average, going 6-for-13 with seven runs scored. Steffan blasted three home runs, all on Saturday during UB’s doubleheader sweep of Northern Illinois. She slugged 1.385 for the week, while finishing with an on-base percentage of .667 after drawing five walks and being hit by three pitches. She was also a perfect 4-of-4 in stolen base attempts.
Courtney Farrish, Western Michigan, Infield/Catcher
Junior, St. Joseph, Mich. / St. Joseph HS
Courtney Farrish solidified a monster second half of the season this week, blasting four homeruns in five games played to bring her total to seven bombs in the Broncos last 11 games. This weekend is also the third time this season she has homered in consecutive games.
Farrish posted a slugging percentage of an eye-popping 1.200 for the week along with a .450 average at the plate and .938 fielding percentage in addition to 15 put-outs in the field to guide the Broncos to a 3-2 record on the week.
Katie Keller, Northern Illinois, IF/C
Senior, Geneva, Ill./Geneva
Keller connected for eight hits, including five doubles, in leading the Northern Illinois University softball team to a pair of victories last week. She collected a .500 batting average with an .812 slugging percentage and drove in four runs with six runs scored. In a 4-3, 8-inning victory over Western Michigan May 4, Keller was a perfect 2 for 2 at the plate with two runs scored and a pair of doubles. She finished the 2022 season with a team-best .443 batting average, 45 RBI and seven home runs.
Shannon Stein, Central Michigan, First base
Senior, Albuquerque, N.M.
Central Michigan senior Shannon Stein turned in another big week as the Chippewas clinched a MAC Tournament berth. Stein, a senior from Albuquerque, N.M., hit .421 on the week with one home run, which came in the final home game of her career and was her program-record 17th of the season. In the same game, she hit her third double of the week which was her 19th of the season, which is also a program record. She finished the week by going 8-for-13 with three doubles and a homer in leading the Chippewas to two wins in a three-game series with league regular season champion Miami.
Lily Wilmont, Miami, OF
Senior, Alameda, Calif.
Lily Wilmot hit .389 over the week as the RedHawks clinched its third-straight Mid-American Conference Championship. The senior added one home run and four RBI while drawing three walks as well. Wilmot had hits in five of the six contests, including five hits over the weekend versus CMU.
Greta L'Esperance, Bowling Green, CF
Sophomore, Byron, Mich / Byron
Bowling Green’s Greta L’Esperance hit a team-leading .471 in the final week of the regular season. She went 5-for-7 in the Falcons’ DH sweep of Central Michigan, with a stolen base in each game. She was 2-for-3 in the opener and 3-for-4 in the nightcap, scoring a run in each contest as well. L’Esperance singled and scored a run in a win at Kent State, then went 2-for-3 with a double in the final game of the weekend. On the season, she is batting a team-leading .390, and also paces the Falcons in hits (62), stolen bases (30) and runs scored (39). L’Esperance batted a BG-best .389 in MAC games.
