Volpe, Young Share Michigan Outstanding Player Honors
5/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Senior third baseman Stefanie Volpe (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth-Salem HS) and junior pitcher and first baseman Marissa Young (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS) shared the Outstanding Player Award, while Young took home the Outstanding Pitcher Award after sharing that honor with Marie Barda (1998-2001) last season. The Outstanding Player Award is both players' first, and they are the fifth duo to share the award and the first since Traci Conrad and Cathy Davie in 1999.
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Volpe's three-run home run in the 5-0 win over Ohio State on Friday (May 10) was her 11th of the season, which is the second-best single-season total in Michigan history. Volpe closed the Big Ten regular season as the conference's leader in both slugging (.717) and on-base (.565) percentage, and she leads the Wolverines in batting average (.424), runs (51), home runs (11), RBI (44) and walks (48).
Young was not the only Wolverine to take home a pair of honors this evening as junior catcher Lisa Mack (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) earned the Edna and Leo Drewett Award for academic excellence as well as the Maize and Blue Coaches Award. Both awards are a first for Mack, who is the first Michigan player to take home both of those honors in the same evening. Mack set career highs this season in every major offensive category and is tied for fifth on the team with three home runs, including her first career grand slam against Central Michigan on April 10.
Carrying on the momentum from being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, pitcher Nicole Motycka (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney HS) was selected as Michigan's Freshman of the Year as well. Motycka recently became the ninth 20-game winner in Michigan history, and her 20 wins this season are the second-best total ever by a Michigan freshman. She is currently carrying a string of 15 straight victorious decisions.
The 11th-ranked Wolverines continue postseason action Thursday through Sunday (May 16-19) as host to NCAA Regional 6 at Alumni Field. Michigan is the No. 2 seed of the six-team, double-elimination event whose winner will advance to the eight-team Women's College World Series on May 23-27 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
