Bowling Green State University Athletics
Softball Hands Out End of the Season Awards
May 14, 2009 | Softball
May 14, 2009
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Bowling Green State University softball head coach Shannon Salsburg handed out the 2009 post-season awards as the Falcon softball team held their annual end of the season banquet. Senior Hayley Wiemer was named the Most Valuable Player and the Offensive Player of the Year, while freshman Melissa West was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Also picking up awards were junior Susan Sontag earning Most Improved and sophomore Zada Lines earning the Falcon Award.
Wiemer, one of the most decorated players in program history finished her career as a Falcon ranked in the top-10 of 10 career pitching categories and nine career hitting categories, including holding the BG record for home runs (32), slugging percentage (.600) and walks (121). Wiemer is the second player in program history to earn first team All-MAC honors all four years of her career. She ended her senior campaign leading the Falcons in slugging percentage (.651), on base percentage (.472), homers (9), doubles (9) and RBIs (29) despite being the most walked Falcon, player in the MAC and the 19th most walked player in the nation with 33 walks averaging 0.75 walks per game, over one-third of the BG's walks as a team. She became the new all-time BG homer run leader as she crushed two long balls against Toledo (March 28) in the Falcons MAC opener, marking her 27th and 28th career homers and the fourth time she hit two home runs in a single game, becoming the first Falcon to accomplish such a feat. Earlier this season she was named a Lowe's Senior CLASS Candidate, one of the top 30 senior softball players in the nation and the only player to represent the MAC. She then went on to earn four MAC weekly honors this season, the only player to earn both Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 17) and Player of the Week (March 17 & April 28), also earning MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week (April 30).
 Melissa West was named Defensive Player of the Year  |
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In her first season as a Falcon, West made a huge impact on the team both offensively and defensively. West became the fourth player in program history to be named to the All-MAC Freshman team and only the second to be named first team All-MAC and to the All-MAC Freshman team in the same season. In her rookie season, West ended the season leading the Falcons in assists (117), hits (40) and triples (5), ranking 17th in nation and 18th in the nation in triples per game averaging 0.11 triple per game. West has been ranked nationally for five consecutive weeks since April 5. She recorded a six game hitting streak as the Falcons opened their season at home recording eight hits in six games, which included her first career homer, a walk-off grand slam to sweep Toledo, a triple, a double, seven RBIs and three runs scored. West ended the regular season on a similar high note with a three game hitting streak, where she recorded three straight multiple hit games and totaled seven hits in three games. West is tied for fourth in the BG single season record book for triples with five this season. Defensively, West started every game at third base for the Falcons and totaled 117 assists and 32 putouts in 164 chances.
 Susan Sontag was named Most Improved |
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Sontag was named Most Improved this season after improving in every offensive category as one of the Falcon's top four offensive weapons as junior. Sontag posted a .281 batting average nearly 100 points better from last season and a .479 slugging percentage the second best on the team. She tallied 34 hits including 12 extra base hits, 21 runs scored, and 14 RBIs all improvements on her sophomore campaign. Sontag climbed up the BG record books during the season now ranked fourth in career home runs (14) and 16th in slugging percentage (.402).
 Zada Lines earned the Falcon Award |
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Lines earned the Falcon Award in her second season as a Falcon. Lines was also one of the Falcon's top offensive weapons tallying 33 hits, including eight extra base hits, 12 runs scored and 11 RBIs. She ended the regular season on a three game hitting streaking, which included two straight multiple hit games against Eastern Michigan and her first career homer. In eight of the last 10 games of the season Lines recorded at least one hit with three multiple hit games totaling 12 hits including four extra base hits, five RBIs and six runs scored.
