Wayne State University Athletics

Softball 4/30/2025 7:37:00 AM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Softball Heads To Chicago For GLIAC Tournament

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University softball team (23-30 overall, 12-16 GLIAC) has qualified for the GLIAC Tournament for the fifth time in the past six years the league has conducted a tournament (no tournament was held in 2020 due to COVID). WSU had qualified for the GLIAC Softball Tournament the first 33 years (1985-2017) it was held.

The Warriors are seeded fifth and will play fourth-seeded University of Wisconsin Parkside (25-22 overall, 14-13 GLIAC) at 11 a.m. Central time on Thursday, May 1 at The Stadium at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex. The winner will advance to face top-seeded Saginaw Valley State University (40-12 overall, 23-5 GLIAC) at 11 a.m. Central time on Friday. The loser will play in an elimination game at 4 p.m. Central time on Thursday against either third-seeded Ferris State University (27-17 overall, 16-12 GLIAC) or sixth-seeded Roosevelt University (17-29 overall, 11-17 overall) who battle at 1:30 p.m. Central time on Thursday.

National Rankings
Wayne State finished the regular season having played the 46th toughest schedule (out of 277 teams) with an opponent winning percentage of .547 (1309-1084-6), which ranked second among GLIAC schools just behind SVSU.

In terms of team rankings, WSU was 39th in sac bunts (39), 42nd in triples (16) and 51st in doubles (78). Individually, sophomore Logan Forman (Brantford, Ont.) was 51st in triples (5) and 60th in total bases (108), which ranked second in the GLIAC.

Series History
The Warriors won seven of the first nine meetings, but the Rangers have notched victories in six of the last seven match-ups to even the all-time series at 27-27 dating back to 1992. The squads last met in the post-season a year ago with Parkside claiming a 4-2 triumph in the second round of the GLIAC Tournament. The teams met for five consecutive years (2014-2018) in Rosemont as part of the Lewis Indoor Tournament each February.

Leading the Warriors
Forman has a team-high 13 multiple-hit games, while freshman Elly Koopman (Hudsonville, Mich.) and Katelyn DeWitt (Grand Blanc, Mich.) each have 12. In terms of multiple-RBI contests, Koopman has a team-best seven followed by DeWitt and Forman with six each. Both Forman and senior Mady Ruczynski (Richmond, Mich. / Armada) have had a five-RBI affair this season. Forman posted the season's longest hitting streak at 14 games (March 19-April 4), and enters the post-season with a 12-game on-base streak, just two games shy of her season-best 14 game streak.

Ruczynski and freshman Hunter Near (Coopersville, Mich.) lead the squad in games started at 52, while Forman has made 50 starts at four different positions (34 at C, 11 at DP, 3 at 2B, and 2 at SS).

Scouting the Rangers
Mia Johnson, the 2024 GLIAC Player of the Year, leads Parkside with a .362 batting average (50-for-138) with 17 home runs, 42 RBI, an .862 slugging percentage and 36 walks for a .508 on-base percentage. Haley Remington is hitting .359 (51-for-142) with 12 doubles, 25 RBI and 18 walks, while Ava Swain is also batting over .300 at .304 (35-for-115).

In the circle, ninth-year head coach Kristin Ortman has had four pitchers throw at least 30 innings. Olivia Masnica has compiled a 10-6 record with a 3.00 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 100.1 innings. Ellie Curtis has a 7-3 mark with a 3.19 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 83.1 innings. Amber Smith has a 2.51 ERA in 58.2 innings with a 2-8 record, while Hope Maes is 4-1 with a 4.69 ERA in 31.1 innings.

GLIAC Tournament
The 2025 GLIAC Tournament page is available by clicking here. The double elimination tournament begins on Thursday with the top-two teams each having a first round bye.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

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

#11 Logan Forman: C/UT; 5' 6"; Sophomore; R/R

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

#8 Hunter Near: SS; 5' 8"; Freshman; R/R

#19 Mady Ruczynski: CF; 5' 8"; Senior; R/R

Players Mentioned

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

#11 Logan Forman
: 5' 6"; Sophomore; R/R
: C/UT

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

#8 Hunter Near
: 5' 8"; Freshman; R/R
: SS

#19 Mady Ruczynski
: 5' 8"; Senior; R/R
: CF