May 8, 2010

Bay City, Mich. - GVSU third baseman/pitcher Katie Martin was tabbed as the 2010 GLIAC Freshman of the Year on Friday (May 7) in the all-conference balloting, voted on by the league's coaches at the GLIAC Tournament meetings. She becomes just the second player in Laker history to be named the conference's rookie of the year. Four other Grand Valley State players were named to the All-GLIAC Team, including three All-GLIAC Second Team selections.

Martin had a tremendous freshman season at GVSU, as she ranked in the top five in the GLIAC with 14 doubles (third), nine homers (third), 40 RBI (fourth), and 97 total bases (fourth), while her .392 batting average placed her seventh in the league. In starting all 45 games, Martin led the Lakers in batting average, runs (30), hits (56), doubles, homers, RBI, total bases, slugging percentage (.678), walks (18), and on-base percentage (.466). Martin tallied 20 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games, both of which were team-highs. Her nine home runs are tied for fourth-most in a single season in Laker history, while her 14 doubles are tied for sixth-most in a season at GVSU. Martin also went 10-5 in the circle this season with a 1.66 earned run average, striking out 96 batters and allowing just 44 runs in 97 innings of work. The only other Laker to ever be named the GLIAC Freshman of the Year was Erin Burgess in 1998.

Three players were named to the All-GLIAC Second Team, including first baseman Breanne Kronberg, second baseman Kayleigh Bertram, and outfielder Nellie Kosola. Kronberg had a solid offensive season for the Lakers, as she hit .310 on the year, while finishing second on the team with nine doubles and 23 RBI. She added a pair of homers, collected 31 base hits, and scored 14 runs. For her career, Kronberg hit .306 with 12 homers, 38 doubles, 102 RBI, 140 hits, and 67 runs scored. She is tied for second all-time in GVSU history in doubles and is ninth all-time in home runs, while finishing just two RBI short of 10th place all-time in Laker program history. It is the third all-conference citation for Kronberg, who was named honorable mention in 2008 and was a second team choice last year.

Starting all 45 games as a freshman, Bertram established herself as one of the better infielders in the conference, as she started 25 games at second base and 20 contests at third. She finished 12th in the league with a .376 batting average and was second on the team in runs (28), hits (53), home runs (five), total bases (77), and on-base percentage (.436). Bertram collected 13 extra-base hits, which including seven doubles, tied for fourth-most on the team, and recorded 15 multi-hit games this season.

The team's starting centerfielder for all 46 games, Kosola had also had a strong freshman campaign. She totaled the team's longest hitting streak this season at 19 games and was fifth with a .344 batting average. Kosola placed third on the team in hits (52) and runs (24), while also leading the team in triples (three), stolen bases (six), and at-bats (151). Her .424 slugging percentage was fifth-best for GVSU and she placed seventh on the team in on-base percentage (.363). As the leader in the outfield, Kosola committed just three errors in 67 total chances, recording eight outfield assists.

Two Lakers were named All-GLIAC Honorable Mention, as Martin and sophomore catcher Carli Raisutis earned that distinction. Raisutis came on midway through the season to put together a strong offensive year and finish with 16 extra-base hits, second most on the team. Her nine doubles, two triples, and five homers were all tied for second-best for GVSU, while she ranked third in batting average (.361) and total bases (67). Raisutis placed sixth in the GLIAC in slugging percentage at .620, as her five roundtrippers tied her for ninth place in the league. Defensively, she started 30 games behind the plate and committed just one error in 141 chances, good for a team-best .993 fielding percentage. Raisutis was also an All-GLIAC Honorable Mention selection last season.

Wayne State outfielder Alison Allen was named the league's player of the year, while teammate Casey Hanes earned the GLIAC Pitcher of the Year award for the second straight season. Also for the second year in a row, Ashland's Sheilah Gulas was tabbed as the conference's coach of the year.