Three Softball Players Earn All-Region Honors By D2CCA
MIDLAND, MICH. – Three athletes from the Northwood softball team were named to the DII Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) softball All-Midwest Region Team released Monday (May 13). Communication professionals select these teams from across the NCAA Division II Midwest Region. A region made up of member schools from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), and the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC).
The Timberwolves' Brittany Steimel, Emily Cox, and Ashley Ziel were amongst the honorees named. Steimel was voted First Team while Cox and Ziel earned Second Team accolades. They were three of 31 athletes who earned All-Region honors from D2CCA.
Steimel brought the pop for the Timbys lineup, leading the team with 10 home runs and 42 RBI, this season while bolstering a .335 average, a .418 on-base percentage, and a .593 slugging percentage. Northwood's everyday first basemen was a First Team All-G-MAC honoree and G-MAC Player of the Week honoree (March 11).
Cox had a breakout 2024 campaign collecting First Team All-G-MAC honors, holding a 19-7 record from the circle with two saves in 166.2 innings of work. She struck out 142 batters, allowing just 35 free passes and bolstering a 1.47 ERA with five shutouts. She was named the G-MAC Tournament's Most Valuable Player for her work, going a perfect 4-0, pitching all 30 innings while allowing just three earned runs en route to the Timberwolves' first-ever conference tournament championship.
Ziel's bat was scorching in the second half of the season. Over, the last 32 games, Ziel led the Timberwolves with a .394 avg., 43 hits, five home runs, 10 doubles, and 24 RBI. Ziel was named to the G-MAC All-Tournament team, going 6-13 from the plate with a home run.
NORTHWOOD NOTES
- This season, the Timberwolves' 35 wins mark the most single-season wins in Gregg Sauve's tenure and the most for the Timberwolves since 2006 (37-15, 15-5 GLIAC).
- Northwood finished 35-20 overall and 17-9 in the G-MAC, including its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament (2005, 2021, and 2024).
- The Timberwolves became the first team in program history to win the conference tournament, going 4-0 in the G-MAC Tournament (May 1-4).