Walsh's Jessie Rock and Ohio Dominican's Sydney Long were voted the Great Midwest Athletic Conference's player and pitcher of the year, respectively, in a vote of the conference's softball head coaches. ODU's Kaleigh Golden was voted the top freshman and Tiffin's Sarah Klein earned the Elite 25 award for academic excellence. The awards were presented Thursday afternoon during the first day of Great Midwest Softball Championship, which is being played this weekend in Findlay, Ohio.
Rock, a grad student from Columbus, Ohio, hit .389 with nine home runs overall and .432 with seven homers in conference play. She holds the all-time record at Walsh with 36 career home runs to go along with a .371 career average over 173 games. Long, a senior from Ashland, Ohio, fashioned a 15-7 overall record this season with a 1.75 ERA. She went 10-3 with a league-best 1.13 ERA in conference play while the 10 wins was tied for first.
Golden, a native of Thornville, Ohio, burst onto the scene by batting .397 in her first year with a .449 average in conference games. She had an on-base percentage of .524 in league play to help the Panthers to a 19-3 conference record. Klein, a senior from Ashville, Ohio, who was recently named Tiffin Athletics Scholar-Athlete of the Year, owns a 4.0 GPA at Tiffin as a criminalistics major.
Kyle Gross from Hillsdale and Findlay's Danielle Lowe each were voted as Great Midwest Softball Coach of the Year. Gross coached HC to the top seed in the conference tourney with a 19-2 record, and a 31-18 overall mark. Hillsdale overtook the top spot on the final day of the season. Findlay and Lowe won a league-best 34 games during the regular and landed at 18-4 in league play.
Hillsdale, Ohio Dominican and Findlay were the top teams throughout the regular season and are the top three seeds, respectively, in this weekend's tournament.
Player of the Year: Jessie Rock, Walsh
Pitcher of the Year: Sydney Long, Ohio Dominican
Freshman of the Year: Kaleigh Golden, Ohio Dominican
Coach of the Year (2 winners): Kyle Gross, Hillsdale & Danielle Lowe, Findlay
Elite 25 Award: Sarah Klein, Tiffin
1st Team All-Great Midwest
C: Jessie Rock, Walsh
DP: Megan Demler, Findlay
1B: Sydney McCormick, Trevecca
2B: Maddie Woods, Tiffin
SS: Sara Fessler, Ursuline
3B: Elaine Townley, Hillsdale
OF: Anna Bennett, Trevecca
OF: Kaleigh Golden, Ohio Dominican
OF: Lenna Robinson, Trevecca
P: Sydney Long, Ohio Dominican
P: Casey Bertke, Cedarville
P: Joni Russell, Hillsdale
P: Ashlan Sensing, Trevecca
UT-P: Lexie Hilling, Findlay
UT-NP: Caroline Turner, Findlay
2nd Team All-Great Midwest
C: Madison Stoner, Hillsdale
DP: Kristin Kopp, Ursuline
1B: Alyssa Baratta, Ursuline
2B: Madison Shemwell, Ohio Dominican
SS: Avery Shepherd, Findlay
3B: Braxton Downs, Ohio Dominican
OF: Allison Madden, Ohio Dominican
OF: Brooke Radermacher, Findlay
OF: Taylor Whalen, Tiffin
P: Claire Feldkamp, Tiffin
P: Erin Kapteyn, Hillsdale
P: Addison Smodilla, Ohio Dominican
UT-P: Tara Backherms, Ursuline
UT-NP: McKenna Smith, Cedarville
3rd Team All-Great Midwest Team
C: Kendall Andrews, Trevecca Nazarene
DP: Aubrie Harper, Tiffin
1B: Emma Bobey, Walsh
2B: Lauren Bennett, Malone
SS: Alexis Stevens, Ohio Dominican
3B: Devyn Zuro, Findlay
OF: Kiley Gallagher, Ursuline
OF: Olivia Latimer, Hillsdale
OF: Chloe Allen, Lake Erie
P: Grace Hammer, Lake Erie
P: Josie Duncan, Ashland
P: Nicole Rawlings, Ursuline
UT-NP: Madison Rathbun, Hillsdale