Softball 3/27/2025 3:52:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Softball To Play First GLIAC Road Games This Weekend At Roosevelt And Parkside

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University softball squad (13-16 overall, 2-4 GLIAC) takes to the road this weekend for a pair of road GLIAC doubleheaders. With the revised schedule, WSU will visit Roosevelt University (9-15 overall, 3-3 GLIAC) on Friday for games at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Central time, before making the trek to Wisconsin Parkside (13-11 overall, 4-2 GLIAC) for contests at Noon and 2 p.m. Central time on Saturday.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Earlier today, the NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) released its 2025 NFCA DII Player & Pitcher of the Year watchlist and two Warrior freshmen are included on the Watch List. Third baseman Katelyn DeWitt (Grand Blanc, Mich.) and first baseman/pitcher Elly Koopman (Hudsonville, Mich.) were joined by GLIAC rivals Macy Irelan (Pitcher, Saginaw Valley State), Alexis Kozlowski (1B, Ferris State) and Olivia Hernandez (C, Purdue Northwest) along with six student-athletes from the GLVC and four from the G-MAC. See NFCA Release below.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Fresh off a split on Wednesday against GLIAC front runner Saginaw Valley State, Wayne State will play its first road league games this weekend. Despite having senior and leadoff hitter Rylie Josephson (.577 batting average, 15-for-26) miss the last 20 games, WSU is 10-10 with Josephson in the lineup. DeWitt is hitting .400 (36-for-90) with 12 extra-base hits and 21 RBI. Koopman is batting .360 (31-for-86) with a team-high 22 RBI. Right fielder Morgan Williams (Midland, Mich.), another newcomer, has a .410 on-base percentage thanks to 13 walks. She is 44th nationally in sac bunts per game (0.24 / 6 in 25 games played).

Fourth-year head coach Nicole Tines has a trio of pitchers to turn to. Junior Grace Fisher (Painesville, Ohio / Riverside [Notre Dame College]) is 6-6 with a 3.31 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 67.2 innings, while sophomore Sydney Long (Grand Blanc, Mich.) has compiled a 3-5 mark with a 5.00 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 70 innings. Junior Hayden Batton (Plainfield, Ind. / Avon) is 1-5 with a 6.66 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. In addition, Koopman has made four appearances in the circle with a 3-0 record and a 1.88 ERA. She has struck out 15 in 18.2 innings.

LEADING THE LAKERS
RU is coming off a split at Parkside on Wednesday. The Rangers won the opener (15-4 in 5 innings), while the Lakers took the nightcap 5-1. Roosevelt sisters Ella and Brynn Dvoracek are two of the top hitters with Ella batting .413 (31-for-75) and Brynn hitting .270 (20-for-74) with a team-best 21 RBI. Rebecca Urbaniak is hitting .394 (13-for-33), while Caitlin Williams leads the squad in stolen bases (15) and walks (14).

Fourth-year head coach Michele Alexander has four hurlers who have all worked at least 13 innings this spring. Kailey Hancock (3-4, 3.28 ERA, 31 SO) and Riley Czarnecki (8-2, 3.77 ERA, 37 SO) have pitched the most innings at 59.2 and 65.0, respectively. Urbaniak (1-0, 4.31 ERA, 3 SO) and Catie Luzzi (1-5, 5.58 ERA, 5 SO) are the other two arms for the Lakers.

LEADING THE RANGERS
Parkside is led by 2024 GLIAC Player of the Year Mia Johnson, who is batting .380 (30-for-79 with 10 doubles and 10 home runs for a .911 slugging percentage. She also has a team-best 25 RBI as UWP is averaging over six runs per contest. Toni Rodriguez is hitting .348 (24-for-69) with three home runs and 18 RBI. Megan Medlin leads the squad with 16 walks.

Ninth-year head coach Kristin Ortman has the Rangers off to their best start in recent memory. Olivia Masnica leads the pitching corps with a 5-3 record and a 2.61 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 67 innings. Ellie Curtis (4-3, 3.12 ERA, 37 SO) has thrown 51.2 innings, while four other throwers have combined to pitch just over 37 innings.

UP NEXT
Wayne State is slated to host former GLIAC rival Tiffin for a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday, April 2. First pitch at Gary L Bryce Field is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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NFCA Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – One hundred and sixteen student-athletes from across the country were revealed as part of the 2025 NFCA Division II Player and Pitcher of the Year watchlist.

The list is broken down into the eight NCAA Regions (Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast and West) with up to 15 student-athletes represented in each region. The list is compiled by the elected members of the NFCA Division II All-American Committee with one head coach representing each of the eight NCAA regions. To be eligible, a student-athlete's head coach must be a member.

Headlining the list are 21 returning NFCA All-Americans, seven from the first team, including reigning Player of the Year, Lauren Harris from McKendree University. In all, the group consists of 87 programs from 21 different conferences.

Voted on by the NFCA's Division II All-American Committee, the 2025 NFCA Player and Pitcher of the Year winners will be announced on May 30 following the conclusion of the NCAA Division II National Championships. All student-athletes are eligible for the end-of-the-season award and do not have to be on this list to be considered.

The Player of the Year award was created in 2015 to honor the outstanding athletic achievements among softball student-athletes throughout NCAA Division II. In 2019, the Association expanded the award to include a Player and Pitcher of the Year.

PREVIOUS WINNERS (Player / Pitcher)
2024 - Lauren Harris, McKendree University / Kenzee Smith, University of Indianapolis
2023 - Zoe Willis, Georgia Southwestern State University / Tatum Goff, UT Tyler
2022 - Kayson Boatner, Anderson University / Andrea Morales, Rogers State University
2021 - Shanna McBroom, West Texas A&M University / Morgan Perry, Saint Anselm College
2019 - Julia Seader LIU Post / Allison Lipovsky, Grand Valley State University
2018 - Kylee Smith, University of North Georgia
2017 - Coley Ries, Minnesota State University Mankato
2016 - Lyndsay Butler, Wayne State University
2015 - Courtney Poole, University of North Georgia

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Players Mentioned

#18 Hayden Batton: P; 5' 8"; Junior; L/L

#20 Kate DeWitt: 3B/DP; 5' 7"; Freshman; R/R

#16 Grace Fisher: P; 5' 6"; Junior; R/R

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

#21 Elly Koopman: P/1B/DP; 5' 9"; Freshman; L/R

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

#15 Morgan Williams: RF/1B; 5' 8"; Freshman; L/L

Players Mentioned

#18 Hayden Batton
: 5' 8"; Junior; L/L
: P

#20 Kate DeWitt
: 5' 7"; Freshman; R/R
: 3B/DP

#16 Grace Fisher
: 5' 6"; Junior; R/R
: P

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

#21 Elly Koopman
: 5' 9"; Freshman; L/R
: P/1B/DP

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

#15 Morgan Williams
: 5' 8"; Freshman; L/L
: RF/1B