Softball

WSU's Koopman and SVSU's Irelan awarded GLIAC softball player and pitcher of the week honors

GLIAC -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) has announced its weekly awards following the fourth week of the 2025 softball season. Wayne State freshman first baseman/pitcher Elly Koopman was recognized as GLIAC Player of the Week while Saginaw Valley State junior hurler Macy Irelan was honored as GLIAC Pitcher of the Week for the third consecutive time. 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Elly Koopman, Wayne State
Wayne State freshman first baseman/pitcher Elly Koopman batted .500 (7-for-14) as the Warriors went 3-1 during their first four games of the spring break trip. She smacked a home run and drove in eight, while playing errorless defense (8 PO, 3 A). Koopman had a hit in each game to extend her hitting streak to seven games.  She went 1-for-3 with an RBI in the win over Ohio Dominican, then had two hits and an RBI vs. Wayne State College in Saturday's second game.  Her two-out RBI single in the bottom of the fifth vs. the Panthers gave WSU a 3-1 advantage (that was the final).  She drove in the game's first run against the Wildcats with an RBI single in the top of the first. On Sunday, Koopman went 2-for-4 in each contest with three RBI in each game, including a home run to help WSU rally from a 7-2 deficit for a 10-9 victory.  With WSU trailing 7-2 in the bottom of the third, she smacked a one-out three-run home run to pull the Warriors within two at 7-5.  She singled in the fifth and scored Wayne State's seventh run (still trailed 8-7).  Her two-out RBI single in the top of the sixth vs. the Storm knotted the game at 1-1.  The next inning, Koopman delivered a two-out, two-run single to extend WSU's advantage to 5-1 (from 3-1).
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Macy Irelan, Saginaw Valley State
Junior Macy Irelan had another great week in the circle for the Cardinals. She added three starts, completing all three appearances, with three wins while allowing only two runs and totaled 28 strikeouts in those appearances. Irelan now has the lowest ERA in the GLIAC with 1.03, fewest allowed hits with 18 and runs with 10, and leads the league with 64 strikeouts and a K/7 mark of 11.6. Her seven-inning average ranks fifth in the country.
HONORABLE MENTION
Offense: Toni Rodriguez (Parkside), Lillia Sherman (Saginaw Valley State), Elizabeth Wesoloski (Grand Valley State)
Defense: Riley Czarnecki (Roosevelt), Nevaeh Ingram (Grand Valley State), Elly Koopman (Wayne State)