Wolverines Welcome Five During Early Signing Period
11/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The defending national champion University of Michigan softball team received National Letters of Intent from five student-athletes in the early signing period (Nov. 9-16), including Molly Bausher (Las Vegas, Nev./Spring Valley), Angela Findlay (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township), Nicole Nemitz (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Regina), Roya St. Clair (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) and Maggie Viefhaus (Pacific, Mo./Eureka).
"We are very excited about this class," said head coach Carol Hutchins. "This group is very athletic, and we have filled our needs with some high quality student-athletes who will be great additions to the program and the University."
Bausher is an infielder at Spring Valley High School after two years at Bonanza High School. She helped Spring Valley advance to regionals in its first year of existence and was awarded the inaugural Spring Valley Most Valuable Player award. Bausher is a three-time all-conference and all-region honoree while twice earning all-state accolades. Bausher also plays with the Worth Firecrackers Gold, which took ninth at the 2005 Gold Nationals in Salinas, Calif., and won the prestigious 2005 Champions Cup and 2005 Colorado Fireworks tournaments. Molly's older sister, Sara, was a senior outfielder at Louisville in 2005, when she started 63 games, hit .284 and drove in 28 runs.
"Molly is an exceptional athlete who fell in love with Michigan when she set foot on campus," said Hutchins. "She has an outstanding competitive background and will bring great speed from the left side."
Findlay is an infielder at Lockport Township High School and earned all-state honors after leading Lockport Township to the Elite Eight in her junior season. Findlay was also named all-area by the Chicago Sun-Times, Joliet Herald News and Daily Southern and was named Star Newspapers All-Area MVP. She added All-Conference SICA West honors and the Most Valuable Infielder award. Angela is the sister of Michigan first baseman and 2005 Women's College World Series MVP Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./Lockport East). Angela also plays softball with the Stone City Sharks, who took fourth place at the AFA Nationals in 2005 and fifth in 2004.
"Angela is a great athlete who can play any position," said Hutchins. "She comes from a very competitive high school and travel ball team, and I'm sure she's looking forward to reuniting with her sister, Samantha."
Nemitz is a pitcher at Regina High School who led the Saddlelites to consecutive Class A state softball championships and was named 2005 Louisville Slugger NFCA High School All-Region North Third Team. She is a three-time all-regional and all-district honoree, while earning all-league and all-state accolades twice. In 2005, Nemitz was ranked as the top player in the state of Michigan in the Detroit News preseason top-50 list. She also lettered in basketball, helping Regina to a runner-up finish in the Catholic League Central-AA Division championship.
"Nicole has great potential as a collegiate pitcher," said Hutchins. "She is also able to hit, which will make her a very versatile member of our team. We expect her to flourish here at Michigan."
St. Clair is an infielder at Stevenson High School, earning all-state honorable mention in her junior season while adding all-conference, all-district and all-region honors to her resume. She is a three-time all-district and three-time all-region award winner and was twice named first team All-Livonia Observer. She also holds the Michigan High School Athletic Association record for home runs in consecutive at-bats with three against Utica Eisenhower on May 14, 2005. St. Clair also competes with Finesse Fast Pitch Softball.
"She is another homegrown student-athlete who has great potential," said Hutchins. "We expect her to catch when she comes in next season. Roya has attended our camps for years, and it's great to welcome another great Michigan player."
Viefhaus is an infielder at Eureka High School, two-time conference player of the year and 2002 conference rookie of the year. She also plays with the St. Louis Chaos, and three sisters -- Marta, Adie and Haley -- all played softball at Southern Illinois.
"Maggie is an exceptional athlete who comes from a long line of great Michigan players from St. Louis," said Hutchins. "She gives us outstanding power and speed from the left side and can play a number of positions in the infield. She was also a triple jumper in high school, which only attests to the level of her athleticism."
Michigan opens the 2006 season on Feb. 17 at the GRU Classic in Gainesville, Fla.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
