2004 News

April 26: Diamond Dawgs Softball Notebag

Ferris State is 7-3 in its last 10 appearances. The Bulldogs have registered five shutouts during that period and have held their opponents scoreless in 10 outings this season. In its previous two campaigns (2002 and 2003), FSU notched a combined nine shutouts.

Senior first baseman Nicki Merchant (Wayland) is two RBIs shy of matching her career-high 26 total set in 48 games last season. Merchant has compiled a team-leading 24 RBIs in 44 contests this spring. She's also currently tied with Anne Koltvedt (1998-01) for seventh place among FSU's all-time RBI leaders with 82 career RBIs in 178 outings and is three away from tying Shawn Martinez (1995-98) for sixth place.

Freshman pitcher Jenna Thiede (LaSalle/Airport) posted a 3-0 mark with a 0.86 earned run average (three earned runs) in 24.1 innings this last week. Thiede recorded nine strikeouts and allowed 20 hits in her five appearances. She threw a three-hitter in a 1-0 extra-inning victory at Northwood (4/20) and held Wisconsin-Parkside (4/25) to five hits in a 3-0 complete-game triumph.

Junior shortstop Navreet Gill's (Brampton, Ontario/Mayfield Secondary) 32 base hits in 127 at bats this spring represents a personal career best, eclipsing her 31-hit total in 129 at bats last season.

Navreet Gill

Senior designated player Danielle Maxwell (Bay City/Western) has hit safely in 28 of 36 games played in this season. Maxwell, who has racked up eight multiple-hit games, is batting a team-best .714 (5-7) in the Diamond Dawgs' last five encounters to go with a current five-game hitting streak.

Nicki Merchant has presently compiled 40 career multi-hit game performances, which includes a season-high 12 efforts this spring. She posted 10 in each of her previous two campaigns (2002 and 2003).

Junior pitcher Rachel Chartier (Marquette) is one victory shy of moving into a four-way tie for 12th place on Ferris' single-season win leaders chart. Chartier, who has an 11-7 record this season, presently trails Sharalee Boda (1981), Mary Gnatkowski (1982) and Niki Moeggenborg (1994).

Senior third baseman Dana Conklin's (Wyoming/Rogers) current .302 batting average (38-126) is 40 points higher than her previous career high of .262 (34-130) set in 45 games a season ago. She has tallied at least 30 base hits in each of her four seasons, including a career-best 38 hits in 44 contests this spring.