TU's Smith and AU's Knerem Chosen As GLIAC Softball "Player and Pitcher of the Week," Respectively

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BAY CITY, Mich. - Tiffin University junior first baseman Tiffany Smith (Fairborn, Ohio) and Ashland University sophomore pitcher Emlyn Knerem (Brunswick, Ohio) have been chosen as the GLIAC Softball "Player and Pitcher of the Week,"  respectively, as announced by the league office.

GLIAC Softball Player of the Week:
Tiffany Smith - Tiffin
Junior, 1B
Fairborn, Ohio

Tiffany Smith had a huge week, batting .615 with a team-leading 8 hits, 3 home runs, and 13 RBI as TU went 4-0 to run their winning streak to 10 games this season. She had 8 RBI in the doubleheader against Malone and added 4 more RBI in a 12-3 win against Clarion Sunday. She helped lead the Dragons to a .383 team batting average last week.

Weekly Honor Roll: Erica Miller - AU, Jaci Messmer - UF,  Devon Trimmer - HC; Katie Martin - GV, Lorrie Chaperon - LS,  Jordan Stuart - SV,  StephForeman - WS.

2010 Softball "Players of the Week": (3/18) Katie Martin - GV; (3/22) Tiffany Smith - TU

GLIAC Softball Pitcher of the Week:
Emlyn Knerem - Ashland
Sophomore, LHP
Brunswick, Ohio

Knerem has pitched 19 consecutive scoreless innings.  Last week, she threw a pair of shutouts, beating Urbana, 4-0 and Ohio Dominican, 10-0 in six innings. She allowed three hits and struck out 12 against Urbana.   She pitched a four-hitter to defeat ODU. In that game, she walked three and struck out nine.  On the year, Knerem is 6-1 with a 0.78 ERA. She has walked 13 and struck out 87. Opposing hitters have a .143 batting average against her.  The sophomore has completed all seven of her starts this season.

Weekly Honor Roll: Alyssa Shultz - UF,  Casey Hanes - WS,  Andrea Nicholson - GV, Laura Homan - HC,  Megan Samassa - SV.

2010 Softball "Pitchers of the Week": (3/18) Casey Hanes - WS; (3/22) Emlyn Knerem - AU

Ashland Eagles (10-4, 0-0 GLIAC)

AU went 3-1 last week, sweeping a twinbill from Urbana and splitting two games at Ohio Dominican. At ODU, Ashland lost the nightcap, 1-0. AU has four losses this season and three of those have come by 1-0 scores. Sophomore pitcher Emlyn Knerem (Brunswick, OH) begins this week with 19 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. Knerem is 6-1 with a 0.78 ERA.  She has struck out 87 batters and walked 13 in 50 innings.  Knerem’s only loss came in Florida to Concordia (MI), 5-2. Junior Logan Hursey (Zanesville, OH/John Glenn) has picked up where she left off last season as far as being a source of power for the Eagles.  Hursey has three homers in AU’s first 14 games.  A year ago, Hursey belted nine four-baggers. Junior Eric Miller (Indianapolis, IN/Franklin Central) hit .429 out of the leadoff spot last week with four RBI and four runs scored. This is Miller’s third season at the top of the order. AU opens GLIAC play this week with doubleheaders against Tiffin, Findlay and Hillsdale. The twinbill with Tiffin is also slated to be AU’s home opener.

Ferris State Bulldogs (9-7, 0-0 GLIAC)

The Bulldogs were idle this week and will be back in action on Wednesday, March 31.

Findlay Oilers (5-11, 0-0 GLIAC)

The Oilers went 3-3 last week. They were swept by Defiance (8-15, 3-4), won two against Lake Erie (9-2, 11-10) and split with Notre Dame (5-6, 13-7). On the season, Jaci Messmer is hitting .488 with 11 runs batted in. Cali Coppus is also above .400, hitting .411 on the season with a team-high 15 RBI’s. As a team, the Oilers are hitting .341. Alyssa Shultz is leading the pitching staff with a 2.90 earned run average while Lauren Orban has three victories. Both pitchers have 23 strikeouts on the year.

Grand Valley State Lakers (10-8, 0-0 GLIAC)

Grand Valley State went 4-2 last week with a road doubleheader split at Saint Joseph’s on Wednesday and a 3-1 record at the Urbana Tournament over the weekend. The Lakers won the tournament by winning their last three games and had four players named to the All-Tournament Team, led by sophomore Andrea Nicholson (Avon Lake, Ohio), who was named the tournament’s most valuable pitcher. She went 2-1 on the week with a 0.70 earned run average, pitching three complete games and allowing just two earned runs. Nicholson walked three batters and struck out 16 in improving to 4-3 on the year…GVSU also placed freshman Katie Martin (Ann Arbor, Mich.) on the all-tourney team at third base, sophomore Maggie Kerrigan (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) at shortstop, and senior Lesley Bates (Blissfield, Mich.) in the outfield…Martin again led the Lakers offensively by hitting .364 and owning team-highs in runs (six), hits (eight), homers (three), and RBI (five), while slugging .818. She has six homers and 16 RBI already this season and her six roundtrippers are tied for ninth-most in a single-season in school history.

Hillsdale Chargers (5-7, 0-0 GLIAC)

The Hillsdale College softball team got off to a great start in Florida, sweeping a doubleheader from Barry University before losing six straight games, two each to Eckerd, Florida Southern and 19th-ranked Rollins. The team is off for eight days, and will play its GLIAC and home openers Sunday against Ashland. Senior Devon Trimmer, the team’s leadoff hitter, had a terrific trip south, getting at least one hit in the last seven straight games of the trip, including three in the final game vs. Rollins. Sophomore Jessica Guertin hit two home runs on the trip, giving her three for the season. Sophomore Jennifer Berlet was hit by two pitches in the same game, one of the Chargers’ wins over Barry. Hillsdale has hit five home runs as a team, compared to one for its opponents. Trimmer also leads the team with two stolen bases.

Lake Superior State Lakers (5-17, 0-0 GLIAC)

Lake Superior State senior catcher Nichole Dunford (Chesterfield, Mich.), senior second baseman Lorrie Chaperon (Howell, Mich.), sophomore outfielder Brittany Cousino (Monroe, Mich.) and sophomore utility player Samantha Periard (Birch Run, Mich.) were named to the all-tournament team as the Lakers finished 1-3 at the Urbana Tournament. Dunford was 7-of-14 with two RBIs, while Periard was 4-for-8 with a home run. Chaperon batted .467 with a double, a home run and five RBIs, and Cousino batted .364…For the season, Chaperon is batting a team-leading .380, while senior shortstop Lacey Knoop is second at .365. Both middle infielders have 27 hits, nine RBIs and fielding averages above .930...The Lakers are off until a March 31 home game against Northwood. The venue for that contest will be determined at a later date.

Northwood Timberwolves (7-8, 0-0 GLIAC)

The Northwood softball team did not play last week. They return to action against Lake Superior State March 31.

Saginaw Valley State Cardinals (13-2, 0-0 GLIAC)

The Saginaw Valley State University softball team swept its only two contests of the week, downing Concordia University (Mich.) in a doubleheader on Saturday with scores of 12-0 and 15-7, respectively.  The sweep moves the Cardinals to 13-2 overall on the 2010 campaign.  In the first game, Jordan Stuart was 3-for-3, while Lauren Memmer, Billi Hoeppner, Angela Kaiser and Kailah Happ all added two hits to the Cardinal effort.  Jade Fulton picked up the win on the mound, allowing only two hits.  In game two, Jill Peterson and Kaiser each had three hits, as did Kalie Burdick.  Stuart and Shannon McLaughlin added a pair of base-knocks as well in the victory.  Megan Samassa picked up the win in relief, tossing 2.1 hitless innings while striking-out three Concordia batters.  SVSU is returns to the field on Wednesday, Mar. 31, when it opens GLIAC play at Ferris State University for a 3:30 pm doubleheader.

Tiffin Dragons (11-3, 0-0 GLIAC)

Tiffany Smith had a huge week, batting .615 with a team-leading 8 hits, 3 home runs, and 13 RBI as TU went 4-0 to run their winning streak to 10 games this season. She had 8 RBI in the doubleheader against Malone and added 4 more RBI in a 12-3 win against Clarion Sunday. She helped lead the Dragons to a .383 team batting average last week. Alyssa Brown batted .583 while Amanda Temple also was red hot with a .533 average with 7 RBI in four games. Meagan Baird hit .462 and Lauren Mazzuca hit .455. Abbey Cooksey was 1-0 on the mound with a 0.00 ERA, tossing a 7 inning, 3 hit shutout against Clarion while Amber Young also went 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA after a 6 inning, 4 hit game against Malone. TU had a team slugging percentage of .643 and team on-base percentage of .478 for the week. Tiffin University won their 10th game in a row, sweeping Clarion 6-1 in game one and 12-3 in 6 innings in game two. The offense banged out 23 hits in the twinbill, with Amanda Temple had 2 hits with a double for 2 RBI while Lauren Mazzuca had 2 hits with a double.

Wayne State Warrior (22-5, 0-0 GLIAC)

Wayne State compiled an 8-2 mark in its final 10 contests at the Rebel Spring Games and heads north with a 22-5 record. The Warriors will be idle until beginning conference play on March 31 at Ashland. Senior left fielder Stephanie LeClair (Kitchener, Ont. / Forest Heights C.I.) batted .414 (12-for-29) over the final 10 games with four RBI. Sophomore right fielder Alison Allen (Redford, Mich. / Farmington Hills Mercy) had a hit in eight consecutive at bats and finished the week hitting .366 (15-for-41) with two home runs. Freshman center fielder Steph Foreman (Cambridge, Ont. / Preston) tallied a team-best 12 RBI last week while recording a .548 slugging percentage. Four regulars had an on-base percentage of at least .400 last week (LeClair, Foreman, Rebecca Stanley and Brittany Omelanchuk). As a team, the Warriors batted .335 last week with an on-base percentage of .383. WSU hitters walked 21 times while striking out only 25 times … senior pitcher Casey Hanes (Richmond, Va. / Douglas Freeman) compiled a 7-1 mark with a 1.02 ERA.