March 17, 2026
Ava Gardner, Cecelia Bell lead Ferris State softball team to a sweep of GLIAC Player of the Week honors
Ferris State University softball players Ava Gardner and Cecelia Bell led the Bulldogs to a clean sweep of this week’s conference honors, with Gardner named as the GLIAC Player of the Week and Bell tapped as the GLIAC Pitcher of the Week.
Gardner, a freshman outfielder from Hudsonville majoring in Nursing, was a cornerstone in the team’s success between March 9 to 13 at the USSSA Space Coast Spring Games in Melbourne, Florida.
She hit a team-leading .462 overall and produced a squad-best 12 hits and nine RBIs with a team-high eight runs scored in the eight games – all through 26 at-bats. She also had three doubles, two triples and two home runs while drawing a walk.
The freshman standout posted a .962 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage for Ferris State. Gardner also tallied three multi-hit games and tallied at least one hit in eight of nine games on the week, including three hits in two different contests.
Bell, an Accountancy major from South Elgin, Illinois, also had a big week in the Sunshine State, as the junior pitcher tossed a team-leading 23.1 innings on the week with three complete-game efforts. She earned a pair of victories in four appearances while totaling a team-best 0.90 earned run average and allowed only three earned runs on the week with 11 strikeouts and only a single walk.
Bell earned wins over both Gannon and Thomas More in the week of action and did not allow an earned run in six innings of work versus Rockhurst in regional play. She also did not allow a run on two hits while pitching 3.1 innings of relief action on March 13 in a victory over Northern State to close out the trip.
Bell and Gardner’s performances helped the Bulldogs finish 5-3 overall during the eight-game road trip and closed out the stretch on a three-game winning streak, including a statement 7-0 shutout against Saint Anslem on March 13.
Ferris State is 14-11 overall this season as the team inches closer to conference action this weekend.
The Bulldogs are slated to open GLIAC play at home (weather permitting) in a pair of doubleheaders against Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, March 21, and against Wayne State on Sunday, March 22. The first game for each series is scheduled for 1 p.m. on their respective dates at the FSU Softball Field in Big Rapids.