Gottshall, L'Esperance Named to NFCA All-Region Team
May 19, 2022 | Softball
2022 NFCA All-Region TeamsGottshall, L'Esperance Earn All-MAC First-Team HonorsFalcons Head to Colorado for NISCNISC Tournament Centralsupport our student-athletes
Falcons land two on team for first time in 15 years
A pair of Bowling Green State University's stellar softball standouts have been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region Team. Payton Gottshall has been named to the NFCA All-Mideast Region Second Team, while Greta L'Esperance has earned all-region third-team honors.
The NFCA announced the 2022 Division I All-Region Teams on Thursday afternoon (May 19). The teams are the result of voting by coaches in each respective region.
This season marks the first time since 2007, and just the fourth time in program history, that two Falcons have been named to the team. BGSU landed a pair of players on the all-region squad in 1993 (Rachelle Highfill and Jennifer Wolf), 2005 (Gina Rango and Liz Vrabel) and 2007 (Jeanine Baca and Hayley Wiemer).
BGSU has now had three all-region selections in the last two years (Madi McCoy in 2021; Gottshall and L'Esperance in '22) after going a decade without an all-region team honoree.
Gottshall, a native of Massillon, Ohio (Perry), is 25-12Â with a 1.51Â ERA and a school-record 356 strikeouts in 237 innings this spring. She has an opponent batting average of just .159Â on the year. A seven-time MAC Pitcher of the Week, Gottshall has recorded the second-highest individual win total in school history and the highest in 30 years.
Gottshall, the 2022 MAC Pitcher of the Year, excelled in league play this season. She went 15-6 with an ERA of just 1.15 and 196 strikeouts in 140 innings in conference games..
Currently, Gottshall leads the MAC in nine statistical categories, and is ranked among the top 25 pitchers in the nation on eight of those lists. She is second in the country in total strikeouts this season. Gottshall is also now second in BGSU history in career strikeouts -- just two shy of tying the school record -- and she has added her name to 10 other BGÂ career pitching lists as well.
L'Esperance, a native of Byron, Mich. (Byron), joined Gottshall on the All-MAC First Team. She is batting a BGSU-best .383, and also leads the Falcons in hits (67), stolen bases (30) and runs scored (40). Her stolen-base total ties her for third on that BGSU single-season list, and she is also ranked among the top-five all-time Falcons in batting average (third), hits (T-fourth) and runs (fifth) on those school seasonal charts.
L'Esperance leads the MAC and is ranked 19th in the country in stolen bases. She has 59 steals in her BGSU career, and has moved into third place in school history on that list. L'Esperance currently has a career batting average of .364, which puts her third on that BG career chart.
The Falcons are 32-19 overall, and BGSU ended MAC play with a 16-11 record, good for fourth place in the 11-team league. BG's total of 32 wins this season is the program's highest since 2012, and the 2022 team's MAC winning percentage (.593) is the highest since that '12 club went 15-7 (.681) in league action.
The Falcons posted a runner-up finish at last weekend's MAC Tournament, and BGSU is set to participate in national postseason play for the first time in 18 years. The Falcons are in Fort Collins, Colo., to take part in the 2022 National Invitational Softball Championships.
BGSU's first game in the 12-team, double-elimination tournament is set for Friday morning (May 20), when the ninth-seeded Falcons face eighth-seeded Stephen F. Austin.
The complete list of BGSU's All-Region honorees is below.
For more information on BGSU softball, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUSoftball) and Instagram (@bgsu_softball) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
BGSU'S ALL-REGION HONOREES
FIRST TEAM
Rachelle Highfill, 2B................1993
Amy Lienhardt, OF....................1988
Gina Rango, 3B.....2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
SECOND TEAM
Jeanine Baca, OF.....................2007
Becky Bailey, 2B.....................1991
Hannah Fulk, SS......................2011
Payton Gottshall, P..................2022
Amy Hamilton, 1B/P...................1997
Madi McCoy, SS.......................2021
Vicki Miwa, P........................1987
Dena Romstadt, 3B....................1992
Liz Vrabel, P........................2005
Hayley Wiemer, P...............2007, 2008
Jennifer Wolf, P.....................1993
THIRD TEAM
Greta L'Esperance, OF................2022
Â
The NFCA announced the 2022 Division I All-Region Teams on Thursday afternoon (May 19). The teams are the result of voting by coaches in each respective region.
This season marks the first time since 2007, and just the fourth time in program history, that two Falcons have been named to the team. BGSU landed a pair of players on the all-region squad in 1993 (Rachelle Highfill and Jennifer Wolf), 2005 (Gina Rango and Liz Vrabel) and 2007 (Jeanine Baca and Hayley Wiemer).
BGSU has now had three all-region selections in the last two years (Madi McCoy in 2021; Gottshall and L'Esperance in '22) after going a decade without an all-region team honoree.
Gottshall, a native of Massillon, Ohio (Perry), is 25-12Â with a 1.51Â ERA and a school-record 356 strikeouts in 237 innings this spring. She has an opponent batting average of just .159Â on the year. A seven-time MAC Pitcher of the Week, Gottshall has recorded the second-highest individual win total in school history and the highest in 30 years.
Gottshall, the 2022 MAC Pitcher of the Year, excelled in league play this season. She went 15-6 with an ERA of just 1.15 and 196 strikeouts in 140 innings in conference games..
Currently, Gottshall leads the MAC in nine statistical categories, and is ranked among the top 25 pitchers in the nation on eight of those lists. She is second in the country in total strikeouts this season. Gottshall is also now second in BGSU history in career strikeouts -- just two shy of tying the school record -- and she has added her name to 10 other BGÂ career pitching lists as well.
L'Esperance, a native of Byron, Mich. (Byron), joined Gottshall on the All-MAC First Team. She is batting a BGSU-best .383, and also leads the Falcons in hits (67), stolen bases (30) and runs scored (40). Her stolen-base total ties her for third on that BGSU single-season list, and she is also ranked among the top-five all-time Falcons in batting average (third), hits (T-fourth) and runs (fifth) on those school seasonal charts.
L'Esperance leads the MAC and is ranked 19th in the country in stolen bases. She has 59 steals in her BGSU career, and has moved into third place in school history on that list. L'Esperance currently has a career batting average of .364, which puts her third on that BG career chart.
The Falcons are 32-19 overall, and BGSU ended MAC play with a 16-11 record, good for fourth place in the 11-team league. BG's total of 32 wins this season is the program's highest since 2012, and the 2022 team's MAC winning percentage (.593) is the highest since that '12 club went 15-7 (.681) in league action.
The Falcons posted a runner-up finish at last weekend's MAC Tournament, and BGSU is set to participate in national postseason play for the first time in 18 years. The Falcons are in Fort Collins, Colo., to take part in the 2022 National Invitational Softball Championships.
BGSU's first game in the 12-team, double-elimination tournament is set for Friday morning (May 20), when the ninth-seeded Falcons face eighth-seeded Stephen F. Austin.
The complete list of BGSU's All-Region honorees is below.
For more information on BGSU softball, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUSoftball) and Instagram (@bgsu_softball) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
BGSU'S ALL-REGION HONOREES
FIRST TEAM
Rachelle Highfill, 2B................1993
Amy Lienhardt, OF....................1988
Gina Rango, 3B.....2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
SECOND TEAM
Jeanine Baca, OF.....................2007
Becky Bailey, 2B.....................1991
Hannah Fulk, SS......................2011
Payton Gottshall, P..................2022
Amy Hamilton, 1B/P...................1997
Madi McCoy, SS.......................2021
Vicki Miwa, P........................1987
Dena Romstadt, 3B....................1992
Liz Vrabel, P........................2005
Hayley Wiemer, P...............2007, 2008
Jennifer Wolf, P.....................1993
THIRD TEAM
Greta L'Esperance, OF................2022
Â
Players Mentioned
SB: 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