SOFTBALL LANDS FIVE PLAYERS ON ALL-GLIAC TEAMS

*2007 All-GLIAC Softball Teams Release* PDF

Sarah Mueller

The Ferris State University softball team placed five players on the 2007 All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) teams as announced by the conference office Friday (May 4) evening at the GLIAC Softball Tournament in Midland, Mich.

Sophomore Sarah Mueller (Santa Clarita, Calif./Valencia) represented Ferris State on the first team as a utility player. Sophomore outfielder Amanda Jager (Kalamazoo/Comstock) and sophomore catcher Krystle Bailey (Wyoming/Rogers) were chosen as second-team members. Senior first baseman Laura Crower (Midland) along with sophomore pitcher Holly Bruntjens (Gladstone) received honorable mention honors.

The 2007 GLIAC Player of the Year was Wayne State's Molly Yetman while Nicole Dunford of Lake Superior State was named the GLIAC's Freshman of the Year. Wayne State's Gary Bryce was tabbed as the "Michael T. Corbett" GLIAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. The league's 11 head coaches voted on the all-conference honors.

Mueller is batting a career-best .343 average this season with a squad-high 49 base hits in 143 at bats. A starter in all 44 of Ferris' contests this season, Mueller has totaled 15 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 27 RBI, 32 runs scored, 12 stolen bases and a .428 on base percentage. She leads the Bulldogs with a .559 slugging percentage while registering a .958 fielding percentage. In conference play, Mueller batted .323 (20-62) with 10 extra-base hits and 10 RBI in 20 league games. In the pitching circle, she owns an 11-7 record to date with a 1.39 earned run average in 111.0 innings. The FSU hurler has compiled up 12 complete games in 20 appearances this spring while posting 66 strikeouts and a .216 opponent batting average.

Jager ranks third among the team's regulars in hitting with a .298 average (31-104) and has six more hits this spring than a season ago (25). She has attained career single-season highs in at bats (104), runs scored (21), hits (31), doubles (seven), triples (three), home runs (four), RBIs (24), and slugging percentage (.538). A starter in 36 of 37 games played in this season, Jager has posted a 3-0 pitching mark with a 1.53 earned run average and 14 strikeouts in 18.1 innings.

Amanda Jager

Bailey is midst her most productive campaign in a Ferris State uniform this spring as evidenced by her career-high .349 batting average (45-129) in 41 contests this season all as a starter. Her current hitting average is 91 points higher than a season ago (.271). She also has registered 10 doubles, two triples, three home runs, 17 RBI, and 20 runs scored this 2007 campaign. Bailey, who posted a team-best .385 hitting average in 20 conference outings this season, has generated a .527 slugging percentage and a .422 on base percentage this year. Her 13 multiple-hit games represents a team high as she shares top honors with Sarah Mueller in that particular statistical category.

Crower, who earned 2005 All-GLIAC Second-Team kudos, has hit for a .274 average this season with 31 hits in 113 official plate appearances. She has accumulated nine doubles, one home run, 16 RBI, 17 runs scored to go with a .381 slugging percentage as starter in all 44 encounters to date this campaign. In the field, Crower has posted a .976 fielding percentage with 294 putouts and 25 assists in 327 chances.

Making her Ferris State debut this season, Bruntjens has produced a 13-5 mark and leads the team with a 1.09 earned run average in 23 appearances. The 19-game starter has thrown 122.1 innings and boasts a squad-best 112 strikeouts. Bruntjens has pitched 13 complete games and notched a team-high tying five shutouts this spring. She went 7-2 in conference play this campaign with a 0.81 earned run average and fanned 59 batters in 60.1 innings of work.

Ferris State sports a 29-15 overall record to date this season as the Bulldogs finished second place in the GLIAC regular-season standings with a 14-6 conference ledger. Ferris, which is midst its 35th season of varsity competition this spring, hopes to continue the 2007 campaign as the Bulldogs await word on receiving a possible at-large bid to the 2007 NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional (May 10-14) at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill. A decision will be announced this Monday (May 7) at 8 a.m. (EDT) via www.ncaasports.com.