Ritter and Haas Headline Six All-Big Ten Wolverines
5/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- Headlined by unanimous All-Big Ten first team senior pitcher Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) and All-Big Ten first team senior second baseman Tiffany Haas (North Tustin, Calif./Foothill), six University of Michigan Wolverines were named to the 2006 All-Big Ten softball team, announced Thursday (May 11) by the conference office.
Senior catcher Becky Marx (St. Joseph, Mich./Lakeshore) and senior third baseman Grace Leutele (Sierra Vista, Calif./Buena) earned All-Big Ten second team honors, and junior outfielder Rebekah Milian (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) and sophomore first baseman Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) were named to the All-Big Ten third team.
Northwestern swept the major awards with Eileen Canney earning Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, Garland Cooper repeating as Big Ten Player of the Year, shortstop Tammy Williams earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors, and Wildcat head coach Kate Drohan earning Big Ten Coach of the Year accolades.
Ritter finished the regular season with the Big Ten's best earned run average (0.70), the most strikeouts (351) and the fewest walks for any pitcher with 20 or more appearances, earning the third All-Big Ten accolade of her career and her second first team nod. Ritter posted a 24-6 overall record with a 12-2 mark in-conference and became the first Wolverine pitcher in program history to pass the 1,000-strikeout mark for her career. Ritter earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors three times in 2006, giving her nine weekly accolades for her collegiate career.
Haas also picked up her third All-Big Ten honor, having earned All-Big Ten first team nods at second base in each of the last three seasons. Haas has yet to record an error at second base during the 2006 season, fielding 118 chances with no errors through 50 games. Haas is batting .281 in her senior campaign with a team-best 37 runs scored and eight stolen bases.
Leutele earned her second All-Big Ten honor, following a first team accolade last season. Leutele finished third on the team in batting average (.319) during the Big Ten season, recording eight RBI, a stolen base and a .976 fielding percentage at third base.
Marx earned her first All-Big Ten honor after a career year in which she set personal bests for home runs (11), RBI (41) and doubles (11). She finished the regular season third in the league in RBI and home runs, fifth in slugging percentage (.637) and ninth in batting average (.336).
Milian's breakout season earned her the first all-Big Ten honor of her career in a season in which she has set career bests in batting average (.301), runs (19), hits (40), doubles (4) and RBI (7). Milian has proved the toughest strikeout on the team this season, fanning just once every 11.08 at-bats.
Findlay earned her second All-Big Ten team accolade, rebounding from a slow start in-conference to post a .370 batting average in Big Ten play with 16 RBI and a pair of grand slams. Findlay capped the regular season with Big Ten Player of the Week honors, the first of her collegiate career.
Marx was also Michigan's recipient of Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for softball.
The Wolverines (37-13, 14-4 Big Ten) open the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 2 seed, taking on seventh seed Michigan State on Thursday (May 11) at 2 p.m. CDT in Evanston, Ill.
2006 All-Big Ten Softball Awards
| FIRST TEAM 1B: Garland Cooper, NU 2B: Tiffany Haas, U-M 3B: Caitlin Mahoney, MSU SS: Tammy Williams, NU C: Jamie Dotson, NU UT: Jenn Reynolds, PSU OF: Lauren Hines, IND OF: Katie Logan, NU* OF: Brittany Vanderink, OSU DP: Summer Downs, IOWA P: Jennie Ritter, U-M* P: Eileen Canney, NU* PLAYER OF THE YEAR Garland Cooper, NU PITCHER OF THE YEAR Eileen Canney, NU FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Tammy Williams, NU COACH OF THE YEAR Kate Drohan, NU * unanimous selection | SECOND TEAM 1B: Jenna Hall, ILL 2B: Nicole Koyano, OSU 3B: Grace Leutele, U-M SS: Stacy May, IOWA C: Becky Marx, U-M UT: Jamee Juarez, OSU OF: Megan Schwab, OSU OF: Danielle Kinley, PSU OF: Katie Hnatyk, WIS DP: Jen Williams, PSU P: Marianne Bogado, IND P: Courtnay Foster, NU THIRD TEAM 1B: Samantha Findlay, U-M 2B: Erin Riemersma, IOWA 3B: Emily Nichols, IOWA SS: Billie Carder, OSU C: Joey Daniels, WIS UT: Ashley Esparza, PSU OF: Molly Lawhead, ILL OF: Mindy Heidgerken, IOWA OF: Rebekah Milian, U-M DP: Kisten Martin, ILL P: Brittany Weil, IOWA P: Missy Beseres, PSU |
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
