2004 News

May 3: Diamond Dawgs Softball Notebag

Ferris State concluded its season winning 12 of its final 16 contests, including nine of the last 12. The Bulldogs started out this spring going winless in their initial 12 outings (0-11-1).

Senior first baseman Nicki Merchant (Wayland) concluded her four-year career ranking second among Ferris' all-time leaders in home runs (14), fourth in doubles (36), sixth in base hits (175), seventh in runs batted in (83) and tied for 13th in batting average (.293).

Sophomore second baseman Lindsay Riskovitch (Reese) batted .400 (16-40) with one home run and eight RBIs in her final 14 contests this spring. In her 14 prior games, she hit .179 (7-39) with two RBIs. Riskovitch smacked her first career home run with a game-tying three-run blast in a season-finale home win over Calvin (4/27) before scoring the contest's winning run in the bottom of the seventh frame.

Senior designated player Danielle Maxwell's (Bay City/Western) career-best .422 batting average (43-102) in 38 games this season represents a FSU single-season record, eclipsing Jody Gifford's .409 average (81-198) in the 1998 campaign. Maxwell, who recorded a team-leading .438 hitting average (21-48) in conference play this spring, totaled 26 more base hits than a season ago (17 hits in 2003).

Emily McLean

Senior third baseman Dana Conklin (Wyoming/Rogers) wrapped up her four-year career by placing tied for fifth in doubles (29), 12th in base hits (135), and 16th in runs batted in (56).

Ferris State had seven individuals who registered career single-season highs in batting average this campaign. Sophomore outfielder Emily McLean (Rogers City) improved her season batting average by 63 points (.308) from the previous season (.245).

Junior pitcher Rachel Chartier (Marquette) posted a 1.79 earned run average in 27 appearances this season, which ranks tied for 12th place among the school's single-season leaders. Chartier, who matched Teresa Sutermeister's 1.79 ERA in 1998, allowed 36 earned runs in 141.0 innings en route to a career-best 11-7 pitching mark. Chartier presently ranks tied for 13th place in career earned run average at 2.39 (63/184.2) while her 59 strikeouts is the 17th highest output in school history to date.

Nicki Merchant compiled a team-high 13 multiple-hit game performances this season, which also marked a career best. Merchant accumulated 41 career multi-hit outings with 10 apiece in both the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

The Bulldogs improved their team batting average this season by 20 points (.288) from a season ago (.268) while lowering the squad's earned run average from 3.08 (2003) to 2.28.

Jessie Wright

Junior outfielder Jessie Wright (Sand Lake/Tri-County) finished this spring hitting .319 (15-47) in her final 14 games. Wright, who hit safely in 27 of 38 games played in, posted career highs in base hits (41), runs scored (21), triples (two) and RBIs (nine) while her six doubles matched last season's output.