First-Teamers Blair, Storako Headline Michigan's Eight Big Ten Honorees
5/11/2022 1:24:00 PM | Softball
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The University of Michigan softball team earned eight total honors, including two representatives on the first team, as the Big Ten Conference announced its 2022 all-conference softball teams and individual award winners on Wednesday morning (May 11).
Senior first baseman Lexie Blair and senior RHP Alex Storako were all named to the All-Big Ten first team, while senior catcher Hannah Carson, junior outfielder Audrey LeClair and graduate student second baseman Melina Livingston were named to the second team.
Graduate student outfielder Kristina Burkhardt earned a spot on the All-Defensive Team, while freshman outfielder Ellie Sieler was named to the All-Freshmen Team. Junior outfielder Lexi Voss was selected as Michigan's sportsmanship honoree.
Alex Storako, All-Big Ten first team selection (Michigan Photography)
Blair, now a three-time All-Big Ten first team honoree, converted from outfield to first baseman after injury sidelined her for three weeks during the Big Ten season. Blair led the Wolverines with a .421 batting average in conference play and posted six runs scored, 10 RBI and seven extra-base hits. She was the 2021 Big Ten Player of the Year.
Storako, last season's Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and now a two-time All-Big Ten first team selection, leads the conference and ranks among the national leaders in total strikeouts (274), strikeouts per seven innings (11.3) and shutouts (9). She boasts a 22-7 record on the season, including eight wins in Big Ten play.
Michigan's second-team honorees garnered All-Big Ten recognition for the first time in their careers. Carson and LeClair are both enjoying breakout seasons this year. Carson owns a .351 batting average and leads the Wolverine team with five homers and 36 RBI, while LeClair ranks second on the team with a .356 average -- a 189-point improvement on her previous best batting average -- and owns 27 runs scored and 12 RBI. She has started 36 games in the Wolverine outfield after serving primarily as a pinch runner over her first two seasons.
Livingston, who joined the Wolverines at the semester after transferring from Penn State, has started the last 22 games at second base -- largely coinciding with the Big Ten season -- and delivered several clutch performances, including a three-hit, five-RBI effort in the regular-season finale at Wisconsin. She is batting .330 on the season with 23 runs and 27 RBI.
Burkhardt has been Michigan's leading hitter all season, boasting a .370 batting average with 19 doubles and six triples, but earned defensive recognition from the conference for her 1.000 fielding percentage in the outfield. Fellow outfielder Sieler batted .322 in Big Ten games with seven runs and seven RBI to earn a spot on the freshman team.
No. 4-seeded Michigan will open up play in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday (May 11) in East Lansing, Michigan. U-M will play either Maryland or Michigan State in the 7 p.m. quarterfinal at Secchia Stadium. All tournament games will air live on the Big Ten Network.
