Four GLIAC Softball Teams Earn Berths Into the NCAA D-II Postseason Tournament

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BAY CITY, Mich. - Four Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) softball teams earned berths into the 2010 NCAA Division II Championship Tournament.  Wayne State University was awarded the No. 1 seed in the region and will host one tournament, while Ashland University earned the No. 2 seed and will host the other half of the regional bracket.

Click here for NCAA D-II Softball Regional Announcement Release

Saginaw Valley State University is the No. 5 seed in the region and will face Great Lakes Valley Conference foe, the University of Indianapolis, in the first round of the tournament at Wayne State.

Tiffin University, the No. 7 seed,  will make its first-ever appearance in the NCAA D-II softball postseason when it faces Ashland in the first round on Friday.

Wayne State will square off against eighth-seeded Quincy University (Ill.) during Friday's opening-round play.

The winners of this weekend's Midwest Region tournaments will face each other in the Super Regional, next weekend.

A complete schedule of this weekend's D-II Midwest regional tournaments is listed below:

NCAA Division II Midwest Region Tournament
hosted by Wayne State University

Friday, May, 14
#5 Saginaw Valley State vs. #4 Indianapolis, 12:30 pm
#8 Quincy at #1 Wayne State, 3:00 pm
Saturday, May, 15
Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 11:00 am
Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 1:30 pm
Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 4 pm
Sunday, May, 16
Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5, Noon
“If Necessary” Game, 2:30 pm

NCAA Division II Midwest Region Tournament
hosted by Ashland University

Friday, May, 14
#7 Tiffin at #2 Ashland, Noon
#6 Northern Kentucky vs. #3 Lewis, 2:30 pm
Saturday, May, 15
Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, Noon
Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 2:30 pm
Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 5 pm
Sunday, May, 16
Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5, Noon
“If Necessary” Game, 2:30 pm

Ashland Eagles (33-11, 20-6 GLIAC)

The Eagles are hosting an NCAA Division II regional tournament for the second consecutive year. This is the first time in school history AU has hosted regional games in consecutive seasons. This is the eighth time Ashland has advanced to the postseason.  AU has never advanced past the regional championship game.  AU has made it that far three times.  A year ago at Brookside Park the Eagles went 0-2, losing to Missouri-St. Louis and Wayne State.  On Friday (May 14), the Eagles will play Tiffin and Lewis will meet Northern Kentucky.  AU won three of four games against Tiffin this year and went 1-1 against the Norse. Ashland did not play Lewis this season...AU head coach Sheilah Gulas was named the GLIAC “Coach of the Year” last week.  This is the second consecutive year Gulas has received that award.  She also won the award in 1998...thanks to the rainout of last week’s GLIAC tournament, AU has not played since Apr. 29, when it swept a doubleheader a Lake Erie.

Ferris State Bulldogs (26-17, 17-9 GLIAC)

Ferris State concluded the season winning nine of its last 12 contests, which included a three-game winning streak.  The Bulldogs batted for a .299 average (96-321) while holding the opposition to a .213 average (61-287) at the plate.  Senior pitcher Kayle Stevenson (Holland/West Ottawa) went 5-0 in her last six appearances during that 12-game period with a 1.54 earned run average and 21 strikeouts in 36.1 innings... Senior second baseman Amanda Harrington (St. Joseph/Stevensville-Lakeshore) completed her four-year career ranking tied for ninth among Ferris State’s all-time leaders in home runs (nine) and 14th in stolen bases (24) while tying for 14th in doubles (27), base hits (147), and at bats (510).  She also presently ranks 18th in RBIs (71) and tied for 25th in batting average (.288)... The Bulldogs registered a 7-9 record against those teams which received a NCAA Division II Regional berth this season.  FSU went 5-3 in its last eight outings versus regional tournament qualifying teams.

Grand Valley State Lakers (22-24, 10-16 GLIAC)

Third baseman/pitcher Katie Martin (Ann Arbor, Mich.) was named the 2010 GLIAC Freshman of the Year last week, after leading GVSU in 10 major offensive categories. She was in the top-five in the conference with 14 doubles (third), nine homers (third), 40 RBI (fourth), and 97 total bases (fourth), while her .392 batting average was seventh-best in the league. Martin’s nine roundtrippers are tied for fourth-most in a single season in Laker history, while her 14 doubles are tied for sixth-most in a season at GVSU. She is only the second Laker to be tabbed as the league’s rookie of the year, joining Erin Burgess in 1998…senior Breanne Kronberg (Orland Park, Ill./Lockport) earned her third All-GLIAC citation, as she was named to the All-GLIAC Second Team for the second straight season. Kronberg finishes her GVSU career tied for second place all-time in doubles (38), ninth in home runs (12), and was two RBI short (102) of 10th place all-time in Laker history…sophomore catcher Carli Raisutis (Palos Heights, Ill./Stagg) was named All-GLIAC Honorable Mention for the second year in a row, as she hit .361 with 16 extra-base hits and led the team with a .993 fielding percentage. Freshmen Kayleigh Bertram (Lockport, Ill.) and Nellie Kosola (Frankfort, Ill.) were both honored on the All-GLIAC Second Team after their rookie seasons.

Hillsdale Chargers (16-28, 7-19 GLIAC)

For the second year in a row, Hillsdale College's Devon Trimmer was named First-Team All-GLIAC in a vote taken by conference softball coaches... The all-conference teams were released by the GLIAC office on Friday, during the never-completed conference tournament in Midland... Despite having the top two players in the conference in individual batting average, Trimmer was Hillsdale's only representative on either the First or Second-Team All-GLIAC squads... Charger sophomores Jessica Guertin (.436 batting average) and Jennifer Berlet (.421 batting average) did earn honorable mention All-GLIAC honors. For Berlet, it was the second year in a row she's been named to that team... Trimmer finished her career ranking in Hillsdale's all-time top 10 in total hits, runs batted in and runs scored. She was the team's third-leading hitter this season, with a .355 average. She had 55 hits and led Hillsdale with nine stolen bases on the season. Trimmer is the first two-time All-GLIAC softball player in many years.

Northwood Timberwolves (25-18, 17-9 GLIAC)

The Northwood softball team finished its season by placing third in the GLIAC … NU finished the year 25-18 overall, 17-9 in the GLIAC … the Timberwolves finished the year ranked ninth in the region, one spot out of reaching the NCAA Tournament … four Timberwolves were placed on the All-GLIAC team – senior Michelle Boscola (Broomfield, Colo./Legacy) and Megan Eddy (Merrill, Mich.) were named First Team All-GLIAC … senior Jessica Wojcik (Highland, Mich./Milford) and freshman Marissa Borkowski (Sterling Hts., Mich./Stevenson) each earned Honorable Mention All-GLIAC … Northwood will lose four seniors for the 2011 season.

Saginaw Valley State Cardinals (27-14, 14-12 GLIAC)

The 2010 GLIAC Softball Tournament was canceled because of inclement weather this weekend.  The Cardinals’ opening round game against Northwood on Friday (May 7) had originally been suspended with SVSU holding a 4-0 advantage in the bottom of the fourth inning before heavy rain halted play for day one.  SVSU was one of four GLIAC teams to qualify for the NCAA Division II Championships slated to start this weekend (May ).  SVSU will travel to Wayne State and will play Indianapolis in the first round on Friday.  This marks the third straight season in which the Cardinals have qualified for the NCAA tournament and the first time they have meet Indianapolis on the softball diamond since being eliminated in the 2009 Midwest Super Regional. The Cardinals have a .319 batting average this season allowing their opponents to only hit at .241 clip.  Saginaw Valley’s pitchers have an average ERA of 2.25 while the opponents have an ERA of 3.80. SVSU placed six players on All-GLIAC teams, led by junior designated player Jessica McKeith, who was selected to the first team.

Tiffin Dragons (34-16, 14-12 GLIAC)

The Dragons qualified for the NCAA Regionals for the first time in school history, earning the selection as they finished the regular season ranked 7th in the Midwest Region. They will play host and top seed Ashland at Ashland on May 14…Five Dragons were selected to the All-GLIAC team, with Meagan Baird, Amanda Temple and Delaney Talmage earning Second Team honors. Tiffany Smith and Lauren Mazzuca were Honorable Mention recipients. Temple (3B) and Baird (SS) comprised the left side of the Second Team infield, with Talmage earning selection as Utility player. Smith (1B) and Mazzuca (2B) gave the Dragons two more All-Conference infielders…The Dragons continue to hit solidly in recent weeks, posting a team average of .336. Jessie Creakbaum had her best week of the season to close the regular season, hitting .667 over 4 games with 4 runs scored and 4 RBI while posting an OBP of .692. Delaney Talmage also stayed hot, hitting .429 and scoring a team-high of 5 runs. Tiffany Smith was the most productive hitter for TU, tying the school’s single season home run record at 12 and driving in 9 runs in 12 at-bats. She also slugged .833 with a .562 OBP…Amanda Temple also hit well at .357…Overall Temple leads the Dragons with a .421 average while Smith hit .379 and Alyssa Brown finished her freshman campaign third on the team with a .329 mark.

Wayne State Warriors (47-10, 21-5 GLIAC)

Wayne State received the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional and will be hosting an NCAA regional for the first time since 1996 and for the fourth time in program history ... the Warriors are making their 16th NCAA tournament appearance in head coach Gary Bryce’s 29th season, and their fifth consecutive trip to the post season ... WSU is led by senior pitcher Casey Hanes (Richmond, Va.), who leads the nation in ERA  (0.56) and is second in victories (37), shutouts (15) and strikeouts (314), fourth in hits allowed per seven innings (3.85), 19th in saves (3), and 37th in strikeouts per seven innings (7.9) ... Hanes and sophomore right fielder Alison Allen (Redford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) were both named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team ... in addition, Hanes was voted GLIAC Pitcher of the Year, while Allen became the fourth Tartar/Warrior to be selected GLIAC Player of the Year ... Wayne State has a 9-9 mark in its last 18 NCAA regional contests dating back to the 2003 campaign.