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Ferris State Set For This Weekend's GLIAC Softball Tournament
Posted: May 04, 2011

Ferris State Set For This Weekend's GLIAC Softball Tournament

THIS WEEK:
2011 GLIAC Softball Tournament

vs. Saginaw Valley State
Friday (May 6) -- Fisher Stadium - Midland, Michigan @ noon p.m. (EDT) 
Live Game Statistics: FSU-SVSU 

Leading Off: The Ferris State University softball team will step onto the diamond this weekend (May 6-8) for the 2011 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Softball Tournament in hopes of winning the conference tournament and receiving an automatic NCAA Division II Tournament bid.  The Bulldogs, who are the tourney's sixth seed, will go up against three-seed Saginaw Valley State this Friday (May 6) in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament.  Opening pitch between the two teams is slated for noon (EDT) at Northwood University's Fisher Stadium in Midland, Mich., with the winner advancing to face the winner of the Ashland-Northwood contest at 4 p.m. (EDT).

2011 GLIAC Tournament: The eight-team 2011 GLIAC Tournament field, which includes Ferris State, is also comprised of  number-one seed Tiffin, which is ranked 23rd nationally in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Top 25 Poll.  Ashland is the number two seed while Saginaw Valley State and Grand Valley State are seeded third and fourth, respectively.  Northwood is the fifth seed, Ferris State is seeded sixth, Wayne State is the seventh seed, and Hillsdale is seeded eighth.  Due to wet field conditions at the Emerson Park Fields in Midland, Mich., the 2011 GLIAC Tourney will now be conducted at both Northwood's Fisher Stadium and at the Saginaw Valley State Softball Field.  Please click on this 2011 GLIAC Softball Tournament link for more information.

 **2011 GLIAC Softball Tournament Bracket** PDF   

Ferris State Record: Ferris State is 21-21 overall, which includes an 18-12 mark in the GLIAC's North Division this season.  The Bulldogs, who have won five of their last six outings to date, closed out the regular season with a pair of conference home victories over Northwood, 2-1 and 9-0 in six innings, last Sunday (May 1) at the FSU Softball Field in Big Rapids, Mich.  Ferris State is presently 9-5 at home, 9-7 on the road, and 3-9 at neutral sites this spring. 

Ferris State - Keri Becker (Saginaw Valley State, 1995), 14th season, 430-274-1 (.611). Becker, the all-time winningest coach in Ferris State's Softball history, has guided the Bulldogs to three (1998, 1999, and 2008) NCAA Division II National Softball Championship Tournament appearances. The 1998 squad placed third nationally while the 1999 team set a school record for single-season victories (46 total). The 2008 squad tied for fifth-place honors after capturing the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional title. Becker, who has been recognized as the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (GLIAC) Coach of the Year three times (1997, 2003, and 2008) was a member of the 2008 National Fastpitch Coaches Association's (NFCA)/NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year. 

Becker Among The Best: Prior to this 2011 season, FSU head coach Keri Becker ranked 42nd among the NCAA Division II's active softball head coaches in victories (409) and was 45th in winning percentage (.618).  Becker is listed 58th nationally by percentage among the winningest all-time NCAA Division II coaches.

Becker vs. The Opposition: 25-20-0 vs. Saginaw Valley State (2-2 in 2011); 25-27-0 vs. Wayne State (0-0 in 2011); 35-23-0 vs. Northwood (3-1 in 2011); 19-20-0 vs. Grand Valley State (1-3 in 2011); 26-17-0 vs. Ashland (0-2 in 2011); 5-7-0 vs. Tiffin (0-2 in 2011), and 24-11-0 vs Hillsdale (3-1 in 2011). 

All-Time Series: Ferris State is 41-52-0 vs. Saginaw Valley State; 26-19-0 vs. Ashland, 58-44-1 vs. Northwood, 5-7-0 vs. Tiffin, 53-31-0 vs. Hillsdale, 39-76-0 vs. Grand Valley State, and 41-86-0 vs. Wayne State. 

Bulldog Bites: The Bulldogs have three players with at least 40 base hits this season, led by junior first baseman Chelsea Morris' (Jenison) 48 total while junior third baseman Makenzi Peterson (Big Rapids) and junior outfielder Stephanie Dusendang (Comstock Park/Rockford) have 46 and 42 hits, respectively.  The trio have presently combined to generate 37.2% (136-366) of the team's total hits output this campaign . . . Ferris State has outscored its opponent by 21 runs (50-29) in the fifth inning this season . . . The Bulldogs are 19-3 when leading after five innings and 0-16 when trailing following the first five frames . . . Chelsea Morris' squad and career-best 44 RBIs this spring is three shy of equalling Nadine Crowl's (1999; 47 RBIs) second-place total on FSU's single-season RBI leaders chart.  Morris, who also has accumulated 60 career RBIs in 92 contests, is one shy of moving into a 24th-place tie with Staci Leyko (1994-97; 61 career total).

Long Ball Slugger: Chelsea Morris' team-leading nine home runs this season in 42 games represents a tie for the second-highest output among the program's all-time single-season leaders.  Morris, who's currently tied with Jody Gifford (1999), Nicki Merchant (2003), and Emily McLean (2005), is one shy of equalling Jody Gifford's school-record 10 roundtrippers established in the 1998 season. 

Strikeout Machine: Sophomore pitcher Dana Bowler's (Lockport, Ill.) 12 strikeouts against Northwood last Sunday (May 1) represented a career single-game high, bettering her 11 strikeouts a season ago (Apr. 19) at Lake Superior State.  Bowler, who needs five more strikeouts to match her 118 total in 20 appearances last season, has fanned 113 batters in 27 outings this campaign to date.  Bowler currently ranks seventh on FSU's all-time pitching leaders with 231 career strikeouts and is 21 away from tying Mary Gnatkowski (1982-85; 252 career strikeouts) and Amy Kilbourn (1992-95; 252 career strikeouts) for fifth-place honors. 

Past GLIAC Tourney Results: Ferris State has compiled a 9-8 record (.529) since 2005 in GLIAC Tournament contests.  A season ago, the GLIAC Tournament was cancelled due to weather and wet field conditions at the Emerson Softball Complex in Midland, Mich.  In the 2009 season, the Bulldogs registered a 1-2 mark in conference tourney play (May 1-2), prevailing 6-4 over Northwood (May 1) before suffering a 9-5 loss to Saginaw Valley State (May 1) and a 4-0 setback to Wayne State (May 2).  Ferris State captured its second conference tournament title in 2005 (May 6-7) as the Bulldogs won all four of their tourney contests.

Crimson & Gold's 39th Season: The 2011 campaign represents the 39th season of varsity competition for the Ferris State Softball program. The Bulldogs are currently 789-685-3 overall (.535) since the program's inception in 1973. During that period, FSU has compiled 19 20-plus win seasons, including three consecutive (1997-99) 40 or more victory campaigns.  

A Season Ago: The 2010 Bulldogs registered a 26-16 overall record, which included a third-place tying 17-9 GLIAC mark.  FSU's 26 victories a season ago tied for the 11th most single-season wins in the program's history.

NCAA Tournament History: FSU made its seventh NCAA-II Regional Tournament appearance in 2009 and its fourth trip in the last five years.  The Bulldogs compiled a 2-2-0 mark in the double-elimination 2009 sub-Midwest Regional Tourney (March 8 & 10) held at University Center, Mich.  Ferris State was crowned Great Lakes Regional Tournament champions in 2008 and went on to a fifth-place tying showing at the National Softball Championships in Houston, Texas.  The Bulldogs, who are 24-13 all-time in NCAA Tournament competition, have made three national tournament appearances (1998, 1999, and 2008) to date in their program's history.  The 1998 team posted a 3-2 tourney mark en route to placing third in Ferris' national tourney debut.

Softball Yearbook: The 2011 FSU Softball Online Yearbook is available for viewing at this link: www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com/sports/sball/2010-11/yearbook/index. 

Bulldog Athletics Twitbook: Ferris State Bulldog Softball fans now can have access to additional information on the 2011 team via Twitter at twitter.com/ferrisathletics. 

On The Internet: Ferris State University Athletics' official web site can be found at www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com. The site features information on all of FSU's varsity athletics programs including rosters, statistics, and more.

2011 GLIAC Standings: Fans can view the complete 2011 GLIAC Standings at this link - GLIAC Standings.  Information for the conference overall and individual statistical leaders is available at GLIAC Statistics. 

2011 NFCA Poll Results: The most recent (May 4) National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Top 25 poll results are available at this link. 

National Statistical Leaders: Both NCAA Division II team and individual national statistical leaders for the 2011 season is available by clicking on this link. Ferris State's rankings, both team and individual, can be accessed via this link. 

2011 NCAA Regional Rankings: The latest (April 27) NCAA Division II regional rankings used to assist the selection committee for choosing the field of 64 teams to compete in the 2011 NCAA Tournament are available for viewing at this link.