Four First-Teamers Headline Wolverines' All-Big Ten Selections
5/8/2024 10:00:00 AM | Softball
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The University of Michigan softball team earned eight total honors, including four representatives on the first team, as the Big Ten Conference announced its 2024 all-conference softball teams and individual award winners on Wednesday morning (May 8). U-M led all schools in first-team selections, while it was the program's most since putting five on the team in 2021.
Junior RHP Lauren Derkowski, sophomore third baseman Maddie Erickson, junior outfielder Ellie Sieler and senior first baseman/catcher Keke Tholl were all named to the All-Big Ten first team, while freshman outfielder Ella Stephenson was named to the second team.
Stephenson and freshman designated player Ava Costales were named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, while Sieler was also selected as Michigan's sportsmanship honoree.
Derkowski is Michigan's only repeat selection, adding to her second-team honors in 2023. She went 9-3 in Big Ten play with a 2.90 earned-run average and 89 strikeouts over 91.2 innings. She was especially strong over the final two weekend series, earning wins in pitchers' duels at Penn State with a complete-game shutout in the opener and a season-high 12 strikeouts through nine innings in the finale.
Erickson has enjoyed breakout success in her sophomore season -- and her first as an everyday starter at third base. She leads the Wolverines with a .362 batting average, including a .388 average in Big Ten play, and owns career highs in every offensive category. She posted a team-best 31 hits, including 12 for extra bases, and 25 RBI in conference games.
Sieler has also had a breakthrough season with a .356 batting average, including a .382 average in Big Ten games, from the leadoff spot. She also posted a .711 slugging percentage in conference play with 12 extra-base hits and a .461 on-base percentage. Over the Wolverines' last 10 games, Sieler has reached base 10 of the 16 times she led off an inning, including a 7-for-7 effort in the Nebraska series.
Tholl elevated her power numbers when she reached Big Ten play, posting a .371 batting average in conference games with a .952 slugging percentage and .529 on-base percentage. She posted 14 extra-base hits with 11 home runs -- she leads U-M with 14 total homers on the season -- and tied Michigan's program record with three long balls at Michigan State.
Stephenson, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week in four of the last six weeks of the regular season, took off in conference play, posting a .382 batting average with a .645 slugging percentage (10 doubles, two triples and two home runs). She became the first Wolverine to record two triples in a game since 1998 as part of a three-hit, five-RBI effort against Nebraska. She opened her rookie campaign with a .167 average (9-for-54) over the first 22 games of the season.
Costales also broke out in Big Ten play, batting .280 with five home runs and 19 RBI in the designated player spot. She delivered two go-ahead hits in the Iowa series with a two-run homer in the fifth inning of the opener and a walk-off single in the seventh of the finale and added a walk-off home in the ninth inning of the Nebraska series opener.
No. 2-seeded Michigan will open play in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday (May 9) in Iowa City, Iowa. U-M will play either Maryland or Penn State in the 4:30 p.m. CT quarterfinal at Bob Pearl Field. All tournament games will air live on the Big Ten Network.
