Wayne State University Athletics

Softball 3/28/2024 1:21:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Softball To Begin GLIAC Play At Home This Friday And Saturday

Warriors will host Purdue Northwest and Parkside for doubleheaders.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University softball team (8-13 overall) will begin GLIAC competition with a pair of home doubleheaders this weekend. The Warriors entertain Purdue Northwest at 3:30 p.m. on Friday and Parkside at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

SERIES HISTORY
WSU and Purdue Northwest have met 21 times in softball dating back to 2018. Every match-up but one has been a GLIAC regular-season contest with the Pride holding a 12-8 advantage in those 20 games. PNW also won the lone post-season meeting (4-0 in 2021 GLIAC tournament fourth round). Wayne State won the last meeting (5-3 on April 18, 2023) to snap a nine-game skid against the Pride.

The Warriors hold a 24-21 edge in the all-time series against Parkside. The squads met regularly in non-conference contests from 1992 through 2018, and have played 16 GLIAC regular-season contests with each team winning eight times. The last six doubleheaders have all been splits with UWP winning the opener and WSU claiming the nightcap.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
WSU's top five hitters are all upperclassmen, including four seniors. First baseman/designated player Kiley Lewandowski (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Lincoln) is hitting .438 (7-for-16) with a .526 on-base percentage. Junior designated player/right fielder Rylie Josephson (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Walled Lake Central) is batting .390 (23-for-59) with a team-best 32 total bases.

Senior Abby Favela (Riverside, Ill. / Riverside-Brookfield) is next at .343 (12-for-35), while classmate pitcher/designated player Alexis Bonk (New Hudson, Mich. / South Lyon) is hitting .333 (6-for-18). Senior shortstop Shelby Miller (Georgetown, Ont.) is batting .310 (18-for-58), while freshman right fielder/catcher Logan Forman (Brantford, Ont.) has a team-high 13 RBI. Senior catcher/first baseman Becky Hodder (Orangeville, Ont.) has team-best totals of 10 walks and six doubles.

Freshman hurler Sydney Long (Grand Blanc, Mich.) has a 4-6 record and one save in 12 appearances with a 3.15 ERA. Bonk has a 2-7 mark with a 5.61 ERA. Both pitchers have struck out 45 batters. WSU has scored just five total runs in Long's last four starts.

LEADING THE PRIDE
Purdue Northwest enters Friday's doubleheader with a 15-13 overall record after being swept at home last Sunday by Grand Valley State (11-5 and 4-0) in its GLIAC opening day.

Freshman shortstop Kylie Dugan leads PNW with a .477 average (42-for-88), while sophomore third baseman Amanda DeBoer is batting .329 (28-for-85). Graduate student first baseman Selena Michko has team-high totals of three home runs and 17 RBI

In the circle, PNW has used three throwers in senior Maddison Roop (8-4, 1.80 ERA, 65 strikeouts), junior Gabby Paliska (6-6, 3.08 ERA, 54 strikeouts) and freshman Hannah Rafferty-Flatter (1-3, 6.08 ERA, 15 strikeouts).

Fourth-year head coach Tristan (Wilcox) Zink is a 2013 graduate of Aurora University. She was the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Player of the Year in 2013 and was a four-time First Team All-NACC selection as well as an NFCA Division 3 All-Region performer in both 2012 and 2013.

LEADING THE RANGERS
Parkside begins GLIAC play at Saginaw Valley State on Friday with a 9-16 overall record.

Graduate student left fielder Cassie Rutledge leads UWP in batting at .434 (36-for-83) with nine extra-base hits and seven stolen bases. Junior center fielder Haley Remington is hitting .373 (28-for-75) with a team-high 21 RBI. Sophomore catcher/third baseman Mia Johnson is also batting over .300 at .329 (26-for-79)with a team-best eight doubles.

The Rangers have used six pitchers this spring with junior Olivia Masnica having thrown the most innings (52.2). She has a 4-1 record with a 2.79 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Sophomore Ellie Curtis is 0-6 with a 4.43 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 30 innings.

Kristin Ortman is in her eighth season leading UWP. She was the head coach at Alverno College in Milwaukee the seven years prior to heading to Kenosha. Ortman was a standout Division I pitcher at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where she garnered First Team All-Horizon League honors during her senior season of 2005.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will play a GLIAC twinbill at Ferris State on Tuesday as a make-up from the original date of March 24. The Warriors return to Gary Bryce Field on Saturday, April 6 for a league doubleheader against Saginaw Valley State. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#15 Alexis Bonk: P; 5' 9"; Senior; R/R

#7 Abby Favela: LF/2B/SS; 5' 4"; Senior; R/R

#11 Logan Forman: C/UT; 5' 5"; Freshman; R/R

#16 Becky Hodder: 1B/C; 5' 3"; Graduate Student; L/R

#4 Rylie Josephson: RF; 5' 7"; Junior; L/R

#12 Kiley Lewandowski: DP/1B; 5' 4"; Senior; R/R

#6 Sydney Long: P; 5' 5"; Freshman; R/R

#8 Shelby Miller: SS/3B; 5' 7"; Senior; L/R

Players Mentioned

#15 Alexis Bonk
: 5' 9"; Senior; R/R
: P

#7 Abby Favela
: 5' 4"; Senior; R/R
: LF/2B/SS

#11 Logan Forman
: 5' 5"; Freshman; R/R
: C/UT

#16 Becky Hodder
: 5' 3"; Graduate Student; L/R
: 1B/C

#4 Rylie Josephson
: 5' 7"; Junior; L/R
: RF

#12 Kiley Lewandowski
: 5' 4"; Senior; R/R
: DP/1B

#6 Sydney Long
: 5' 5"; Freshman; R/R
: P

#8 Shelby Miller
: 5' 7"; Senior; L/R
: SS/3B