Excellence in Softball Camps

ROCHESTER, Mich. – Under the direction of head coach Connie Miner, the 2015 Oakland softball team completed one of the most successful campaigns in program history.

• TEAM HIGHLIGHTS:
  Oakland captured a share of the program’s first regular season Horizon League title (Last-2001 Mid-Con.).
• Went 3-0 to claim first Horizon League Tournament championship (Last-2003 Mid-Con.).
• Third NCAA Regional (Ann Arbor) appearance (Last-2003 Mid-Con.).
  
  

2015 season records (program ranking):

• 237 runs (1st), 217 RBI (1st), 44 home runs (1st), 623 total bases (1st), 145 walks (1st), .295 batting average (1st), 443 slugging percentage (1st) .372 on-base percentage (1st).
• 27 Wins (2nd), 14 Conference wins (3rd).
  
  

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS:

In season:

• Sara Cupp set the all-time single season school record in RBI (44), slugging percentage (.695) and walks (26) while ranking second in home runs (10) and doubles (13), third in on base percentage (.492), fourth in total bases (98) sixth in batting average (.376).
• Sarah Hartley set the all-time single season school record in home runs (11), run scored (41) and total bases (112) while ranking second in RBI (40), third in triples (5), stolen bases (21) and ninth in batting average (.361).
• Hartley hit walk-off home run against and Kaley Waalkes also hit clutch three-run home run against Wright State (May 2) and tossed 4.0 shutout innings to pick up the win giving Oakland a share of the program’s first Horizon League regular season title.
• Jackie Kisman set the all-time single season school record in at bats (197), ranking second in hits (70) and third in runs scored (33).
• Courtnee Johnson ranked fourth in home runs (8), RBI (31), seventh in batting average (.371) and ninth in total bases (83) in the all-time single season school records.
• Erin Kownacki ranked fourth in wins (16), shutouts (5), games started (29) and complete games (22) and seventh in innings pitched (168.2) in the all-time single season school records.
• Kownacki finished the regular season leading the HL in wins (13) while raking second in games started (25), fourth in innings pitched (143.0) and fifth in strikeouts (86).
• Lydia Peplinski’s first career hit was a grand slam home run at Ava Maria (Feb. 25).
  
  

Post season:

• Cupp belted three-run home run in the sixth inning lifting Oakland to a 7-3 win over Wright State (May 9) to secure Oakland’s first Horizon League Championship in program history and third automatic NCAA bid since 2003. For the tournament, she posted a staggering .750 batting average with six hits, five RBIs and home run.
• Kownacki went 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA, 10 strikeouts and a one-hit complete game shutout during HL Tournament.
• Laura Pond hit first career home run at Michigan (May 15) in NCAA Tournament Regional that was named ESPN Sports Center Top Home Run.
• Johnson also made a diving catch in same game at U-M that was #10 on ESPN Sports Center Top 10 plays.
• Cupp and Johnson each hit home runs against Pittsburgh (May 16) in NCAA Regional.
  
  

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:

In season:

• Horizon League Player of the Week: Hartley (Feb. 23), Sara Cupp (Mar. 30).
• Horizon League Pitcher of Week: Kownacki (Mar. 16 & 30).
• College Sports Madness Horizon League Softball Player of the Week: Cupp (April 7).

Post season:

• Seven student-athletes garnered Horizon League postseason honors: Kownacki, Cupp and Johnson were first-team selections, Hartley and Kisman earned second-team honors, while Julia Morales and Haley Zemmer were all-freshman team selections.
• Coach Miner was named Coach of the Year (Last-Glenn MacDonald 2006 Summit League Coach of the Year).
• Four student-athletes were named to the 2015 Horizon League All-Tournament Team: Cupp, Kownacki, Kisman and Hartley.
• Cupp was named Tournament MVP and Batting Champion, Kownacki received the Pitcher Award and Johnson was named Defensive MVP.
• Kownacki, Cupp, Hartley and Johnson were College Sports Madness Horizon All-Conference First-Team selections with Kownacki also being named Pitcher of the Year.
• Cupp was a 2015 Capital One Academic All-America Third Team selection becoming the 10th student-athlete in athletics program history to receive this award.
• Cupp also was a 2015 Capital One Academic All-District V Softball First-Team selection.
• Cupp, Hartley, Johnson and Kisman were 2015 Spring Academic All-League Selections.
• Hartley, Johnson, Kisman, Pond, and Waalkes were on both 2014 Fall and 2015 Spring Horizon League Honor Roll while Lyndsay Hill and Peplinski were on the spring honor roll.