Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics
Nikki Sorgi Earns MAC's Bob James Memorial Scholarship Award
August 26, 2021 | General, Softball, Compliance, Falcon Club, Student-Athlete Services
Softball standout captures one of the conference's most prestigious honors
Bowling Green State University softball standout Nikki Sorgi has earned one of the most prestigious individual awards given out by the Mid-American Conference. Sorgi has been named the female recipient of the MAC's Bob James Memorial Scholarship Award.Â
In its 33rd year, the Bob James Memorial Scholarship Award recognizes one female and one male student who have achieved a minimum grade point average of 3.50 and have displayed good character, leadership and citizenship. The students are nominated during the year in which they complete their final season of eligibility. The $5,000 post-graduate scholarship is awarded in honor of Bob James, the second commissioner in Mid-American Conference history (1964-71).
Ball State tennis student-athlete Chris Adams was the 2021 male recipient of the award.
On the diamond, Sorgi was one of just two Falcons to start all 54 games in the 2021 season, hitting .259 with an on-base percentage of .341. Scored 23 runs to rank third on the team, and was fourth on the Falcons with 38 hits in 2021. She also led the team and tied for first in the MAC with 10 sacrifice bunts.
In conference play, Sorgi hit .295 to rank fourth on the team. She had an OBP of .390 and a fielding percentage of .993 in MAC games, with just one error in 135 total chances.
She reached base in all four of BGSU's games at Ball State, then hit .400 in the Falcons' four-game sweep of Akron. The next weekend, Sorgi reached base at least twice in all four games of the Buffalo series, hitting a team-leading .500 with an on-base pct. of .643 vs. the Bulls.
Sorgi reached base 10 times in that UB series, on five hits, four walks and one HBP, and she had five hits including a double in the Ohio series.
In her career, Sorgi played in 145 total games, making 128 starts. She batted .273 with 104 hits and 47 runs batted in. She was a part-time starter as a freshman in 2018, then moved into the lineup for her final three years, playing in all 71 of the Falcons' games over her last two years. She played in 120 of BGSU's 122 games in her last three seasons.
Sorgi hit .273 in the abbreviated 2020 season, and batted .311 – good for third on the Falcons – in 2019. In the latter year, she was second on the club in hits (42), runs batted in (25) and slugging pct. (.459).
Sorgi had a career fielding percentage of .949, and made just four errors over her last two seasons, for a fielding pct. of .980 in that time.
A native of Shelby Township, Mich., she was named to the Academic All-MAC Team in each of the two years she was eligible (no team was named in 2020 due to COVID-19), and in 2019, she became the first Falcon named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team in eight years.
Sorgi was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, the national college athlete honor society, in 2020, and also was one of three finalists for the BGSU athletics department's Female Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year award that spring.
A member of BGSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), she served as that organization's Vice President in the 2020-21 academic year.
Sorgi also was a BGSU Pre-Professional Program Intern in '20-21 after working as a nursing assistant at Beaumont Health the previous year.
For the past six years, she and her two siblings have spearheaded a blanket drive for C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, raising money to buy materials, then organizing events in which those materials are used to make blankets that are donated to the hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich. They have made over 1,000 blankets since starting the program.
Sorgi, an applied health science/pre-medicine major at BGSU, made the Dean's List in every year at BGSU, and was named Outstanding Senior by the College of Health and Human Services in 2021.
Sorgi graduated Summa Cum Laude in April of 2021 with a Bachelor of Applied Health Science degree and a 3.96 cumulative GPA. She is currently enrolled in graduate school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Sorgi becomes the 10th BGSU female student-athlete to win the Bob James Memorial Award.  In fact, Bowling Green has had more male (seven -- tied for first), female (10) and overall (17) recipients of the award than any other school. BGSU has had five more overall winners than second-place Ball State (12), and no other MAC institution has had more than seven overall recipients.
Additional Female 2021 Bob James Memorial Award Nominees:
Arden Hudson, Ball State (Gymnastics)
Molly McCreedy, Buffalo (Track & Field)
Kyra Bussell, Central Michigan (Basketball)
Hannah Potter, Central Michigan (Lacrosse)
Catherine Biddle, Northern Illinois (Gymnastics)
Lexa Bauer, Toledo (Soccer)
Hannah Sargent, Western Michigan (Soccer)
Additional Male 2021 Bob James Memorial Award Nominees:
Derek Downs, Bowling Green (Football)
Joseph Andrassy, Kent State (Wrestling)
Spencer Klinsky, Miami (Swimming & Diving)
Elijah Sanchez, Northern Illinois (Baseball)
Past Bob James Award Winners
2021 -- Nikki Sorgi, Bowling Green (softball); Chris Adams, Ball State (tennis)
2020 -- Maria Cegledy, Kent State (softball); Timothy Rooney, Kent State (wrestling)Â
2019 -- Julia Beyer, Bowling Green (Gymnastics); Paul Garbarino, Bowling Green (Cross Country)
2018 -- Alyssa Heintschel, Ball State (Soccer); John McCarty, Central Michigan (Basketball)
2017 -- Kelsi White, Miami (Field Hockey); Tanner Barton, Ball State (Swimming & Diving)
2016 -- Julia Lombardi, Eastern Michigan (Soccer); Jordan Italiano, Kent State (Football)
2015 -- Stephanie Haugh, Kent State (Soccer); Dustin Page, Northern Illinois (Soccer)
2014 -- Lindsey Butterfield, Bowling Green (Volleyball); Kyle Smith, Central Michigan (Track & Field)
2013 -- Skylar Chew, Ball State (Soccer); Nabal Jefferson, Northern Illinois (Football)
2012 -- Kristin Hoffman, Northern Illinois (Volleyball); Briggs Orsbon, Ball State (Football)
2011 -- Christine Chiricosta, Bowling Green (Tennis); Jon Edgington, Miami (Baseball)
2010 -- Megan Chronister, Bowling Green (Gymnastics); Tim Hiller, Western Michigan (Football)
2009 -- Jillian Wolosiansky, Eastern Michigan (Volleyball); Gonzalo Barinaga, Ball State (Football)
2008 -- Stephanie Swiger, Bowling Green (Volleyball); Wynn Michalak, Central Michigan (Wrestling)
2007 -- Jody Yednock, Northern Illinois (Gymnastics); Matt Lefeld, Bowling Green (Basketball)
2006 -- Marie Zidek, Northern Illinois (Volleyball); David Mitchell, Miami (Cross Country/Track & Field)
2005 -- Robin Davidson, Toledo (Soccer); Burke Badenhop, Bowling Green (Baseball)
2004 -- Andrea Kremer, Miami (Track & Field); Travis Barclay, Ball State (Football)
2003 -- Katrina Kerns, Bowling Green (Track & Field); Brett Faustman, Central Michigan (Wrestling)
2002 -- Kate Miller, Kent State (Basketball); Tony Malik, Bowling Green (Soccer)
2001 -- Jennifer Jarjosa, Bowling Green (Swimming); Nick Iagulli, Miami (Track & Field)
2000 -- Laura Szczepanski, Ball State (Gymnastics); Cato Coleman, Miami (Track & Field)
1999 -- Wendy Feldman, Central Michigan (Volleyball); Justin Millard, Akron (Soccer)
1998 -- Janelle Tranquillo, Ball State (Field Hockey); Desmond Johnston, Akron (Soccer)
1997 -- Sarah Mikrut, Ball State (Gymnastics); Joe Burch, Bowling Green (Soccer)
1996 -- Kristin Gaddis, Bowling Green (Cross Country/Track); Dustin Swinehart, Miami (Soccer)
1995 -- Dana Drew, Toledo (Basketball); Stephen Fetyko, Eastern Michigan (Swimming)
1994 -- Kris Parks, Ohio (Cross Country/Track); Bob Dudley, Bowling Green (Football)
1993 -- Kelly Weir, Ohio (Basketball); Sander Scott, Central Michigan (Basketball)
1992 -- Julie Young, Western Michigan (Volleyball); Jeff Bender, Central Michigan (Football)
1991 -- Kristin McDaniel, Kent State (Track & Field); Pat Jackson, Bowling Green (Football)
1990 -- Linda Popovich, Bowling Green (Volleyball); Danny Rieman, Ball State (Baseball)
1989 -- Kim Keenan, Kent State (Cross Country/Track); Rick Winegardner, Ball State (Swimming)
TOTAL BOB JAMES AWARD RECIPIENTS BY SCHOOL
17 – BOWLING GREEN (7 male, 10 female)
12 – Ball State (7, 5)
7 – Central Michigan (6, 1)
7 – Kent State (2, 5)
7 – Miami (5, 2)
5 – Northern Illinois (2, 3)
3 – Eastern Michigan (1, 2)
2 – Akron (2, 0)
2 – Ohio (0, 2)
2 – Toledo (0, 2)
2 – Western Michigan (1, 1)
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In its 33rd year, the Bob James Memorial Scholarship Award recognizes one female and one male student who have achieved a minimum grade point average of 3.50 and have displayed good character, leadership and citizenship. The students are nominated during the year in which they complete their final season of eligibility. The $5,000 post-graduate scholarship is awarded in honor of Bob James, the second commissioner in Mid-American Conference history (1964-71).
Ball State tennis student-athlete Chris Adams was the 2021 male recipient of the award.
On the diamond, Sorgi was one of just two Falcons to start all 54 games in the 2021 season, hitting .259 with an on-base percentage of .341. Scored 23 runs to rank third on the team, and was fourth on the Falcons with 38 hits in 2021. She also led the team and tied for first in the MAC with 10 sacrifice bunts.In conference play, Sorgi hit .295 to rank fourth on the team. She had an OBP of .390 and a fielding percentage of .993 in MAC games, with just one error in 135 total chances.
She reached base in all four of BGSU's games at Ball State, then hit .400 in the Falcons' four-game sweep of Akron. The next weekend, Sorgi reached base at least twice in all four games of the Buffalo series, hitting a team-leading .500 with an on-base pct. of .643 vs. the Bulls.
Sorgi reached base 10 times in that UB series, on five hits, four walks and one HBP, and she had five hits including a double in the Ohio series.
In her career, Sorgi played in 145 total games, making 128 starts. She batted .273 with 104 hits and 47 runs batted in. She was a part-time starter as a freshman in 2018, then moved into the lineup for her final three years, playing in all 71 of the Falcons' games over her last two years. She played in 120 of BGSU's 122 games in her last three seasons.
Sorgi hit .273 in the abbreviated 2020 season, and batted .311 – good for third on the Falcons – in 2019. In the latter year, she was second on the club in hits (42), runs batted in (25) and slugging pct. (.459).
Sorgi had a career fielding percentage of .949, and made just four errors over her last two seasons, for a fielding pct. of .980 in that time.
A native of Shelby Township, Mich., she was named to the Academic All-MAC Team in each of the two years she was eligible (no team was named in 2020 due to COVID-19), and in 2019, she became the first Falcon named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team in eight years.
Sorgi was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, the national college athlete honor society, in 2020, and also was one of three finalists for the BGSU athletics department's Female Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year award that spring.
A member of BGSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), she served as that organization's Vice President in the 2020-21 academic year.
Sorgi also was a BGSU Pre-Professional Program Intern in '20-21 after working as a nursing assistant at Beaumont Health the previous year.
For the past six years, she and her two siblings have spearheaded a blanket drive for C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, raising money to buy materials, then organizing events in which those materials are used to make blankets that are donated to the hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich. They have made over 1,000 blankets since starting the program.
Sorgi, an applied health science/pre-medicine major at BGSU, made the Dean's List in every year at BGSU, and was named Outstanding Senior by the College of Health and Human Services in 2021.
Sorgi graduated Summa Cum Laude in April of 2021 with a Bachelor of Applied Health Science degree and a 3.96 cumulative GPA. She is currently enrolled in graduate school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Sorgi becomes the 10th BGSU female student-athlete to win the Bob James Memorial Award.  In fact, Bowling Green has had more male (seven -- tied for first), female (10) and overall (17) recipients of the award than any other school. BGSU has had five more overall winners than second-place Ball State (12), and no other MAC institution has had more than seven overall recipients.
Additional Female 2021 Bob James Memorial Award Nominees:
Arden Hudson, Ball State (Gymnastics)
Molly McCreedy, Buffalo (Track & Field)
Kyra Bussell, Central Michigan (Basketball)
Hannah Potter, Central Michigan (Lacrosse)
Catherine Biddle, Northern Illinois (Gymnastics)
Lexa Bauer, Toledo (Soccer)
Hannah Sargent, Western Michigan (Soccer)
Additional Male 2021 Bob James Memorial Award Nominees:
Derek Downs, Bowling Green (Football)
Joseph Andrassy, Kent State (Wrestling)
Spencer Klinsky, Miami (Swimming & Diving)
Elijah Sanchez, Northern Illinois (Baseball)
Past Bob James Award Winners
2021 -- Nikki Sorgi, Bowling Green (softball); Chris Adams, Ball State (tennis)
2020 -- Maria Cegledy, Kent State (softball); Timothy Rooney, Kent State (wrestling)Â
2019 -- Julia Beyer, Bowling Green (Gymnastics); Paul Garbarino, Bowling Green (Cross Country)
2018 -- Alyssa Heintschel, Ball State (Soccer); John McCarty, Central Michigan (Basketball)
2017 -- Kelsi White, Miami (Field Hockey); Tanner Barton, Ball State (Swimming & Diving)
2016 -- Julia Lombardi, Eastern Michigan (Soccer); Jordan Italiano, Kent State (Football)
2015 -- Stephanie Haugh, Kent State (Soccer); Dustin Page, Northern Illinois (Soccer)
2014 -- Lindsey Butterfield, Bowling Green (Volleyball); Kyle Smith, Central Michigan (Track & Field)
2013 -- Skylar Chew, Ball State (Soccer); Nabal Jefferson, Northern Illinois (Football)
2012 -- Kristin Hoffman, Northern Illinois (Volleyball); Briggs Orsbon, Ball State (Football)
2011 -- Christine Chiricosta, Bowling Green (Tennis); Jon Edgington, Miami (Baseball)
2010 -- Megan Chronister, Bowling Green (Gymnastics); Tim Hiller, Western Michigan (Football)
2009 -- Jillian Wolosiansky, Eastern Michigan (Volleyball); Gonzalo Barinaga, Ball State (Football)
2008 -- Stephanie Swiger, Bowling Green (Volleyball); Wynn Michalak, Central Michigan (Wrestling)
2007 -- Jody Yednock, Northern Illinois (Gymnastics); Matt Lefeld, Bowling Green (Basketball)
2006 -- Marie Zidek, Northern Illinois (Volleyball); David Mitchell, Miami (Cross Country/Track & Field)
2005 -- Robin Davidson, Toledo (Soccer); Burke Badenhop, Bowling Green (Baseball)
2004 -- Andrea Kremer, Miami (Track & Field); Travis Barclay, Ball State (Football)
2003 -- Katrina Kerns, Bowling Green (Track & Field); Brett Faustman, Central Michigan (Wrestling)
2002 -- Kate Miller, Kent State (Basketball); Tony Malik, Bowling Green (Soccer)
2001 -- Jennifer Jarjosa, Bowling Green (Swimming); Nick Iagulli, Miami (Track & Field)
2000 -- Laura Szczepanski, Ball State (Gymnastics); Cato Coleman, Miami (Track & Field)
1999 -- Wendy Feldman, Central Michigan (Volleyball); Justin Millard, Akron (Soccer)
1998 -- Janelle Tranquillo, Ball State (Field Hockey); Desmond Johnston, Akron (Soccer)
1997 -- Sarah Mikrut, Ball State (Gymnastics); Joe Burch, Bowling Green (Soccer)
1996 -- Kristin Gaddis, Bowling Green (Cross Country/Track); Dustin Swinehart, Miami (Soccer)
1995 -- Dana Drew, Toledo (Basketball); Stephen Fetyko, Eastern Michigan (Swimming)
1994 -- Kris Parks, Ohio (Cross Country/Track); Bob Dudley, Bowling Green (Football)
1993 -- Kelly Weir, Ohio (Basketball); Sander Scott, Central Michigan (Basketball)
1992 -- Julie Young, Western Michigan (Volleyball); Jeff Bender, Central Michigan (Football)
1991 -- Kristin McDaniel, Kent State (Track & Field); Pat Jackson, Bowling Green (Football)
1990 -- Linda Popovich, Bowling Green (Volleyball); Danny Rieman, Ball State (Baseball)
1989 -- Kim Keenan, Kent State (Cross Country/Track); Rick Winegardner, Ball State (Swimming)
TOTAL BOB JAMES AWARD RECIPIENTS BY SCHOOL
17 – BOWLING GREEN (7 male, 10 female)
12 – Ball State (7, 5)
7 – Central Michigan (6, 1)
7 – Kent State (2, 5)
7 – Miami (5, 2)
5 – Northern Illinois (2, 3)
3 – Eastern Michigan (1, 2)
2 – Akron (2, 0)
2 – Ohio (0, 2)
2 – Toledo (0, 2)
2 – Western Michigan (1, 1)
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Players Mentioned
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/ SoftballSB: First Pitch Dinner Recap (Jan. 11, 2024)
Wednesday, January 24
BGSU-CMU Softball Highlights (May 13, 2022)
Saturday, May 14
BGSU In The Nest : Nikki and Alex Sorgi (Softball)
Wednesday, May 08
BG Softball Beats Akron in Game 1 on Senior Day 4.27
Saturday, April 27