Michigan State University Athletics
Foerster, Stoffer Earn Big Ten Honors
5/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
East Lansing, Michigan - Freshman center fielder Lea Foerster (Portage, Michigan/ Portage Central) has been named a Second Team All-Big Ten selection, and senior Ellie Stoffer (Chelsea, Michigan) has been named the program's Sportsmanship Award recipient, as announced by the Big Ten office on Wednesday morning.
"Lea has had an absolutely outstanding freshman season," said head coach Jacquie Joseph. " She acclimated herself to college ball very quickly, and took on a large role for us. She earned a starting spot in the second game of the year, and she never looked back. I'm so proud of what she was able to do as a freshman and I'm looking forward to what the rest of her career brings.
"Ellie is a true student-athlete who has placed equal gravity on her athletics and academics over her four years," continued Joseph. "She is someone who has put the team before herself in stepping into any role we have asked of her during her career. She is a player that you hope her teammates emulate in their commitment to academics in addition to our sport."
A second team selection, Foerster played in all 55 games, hitting .339. She led the Spartans in ), game starts (54), hits (59), runs scored (41), doubles (12), triples (5), total bases (90), plate appearances (211), at-bats (174) and hit by pitch (14), a team-best 20 extra base hits, and was a perfect 8-for-8 on stolen bases. She led the team with 17 multiple-hit games, had eight multipole-RBI games, and ended the season on a four-game hitting streak.
Among the Conference's first-year players, she ranked fifth in batting average, second in doubles and home runs, third in hits, and fourth in RBI. In Big Ten games only, Foerster hit a team-best .360, led the Big Ten with three triples, and contributed six doubles a pair of home runs, and 15 RBI as one of three players to play and start all 23 games.
Foerster was one of five freshmen to make the All-Big Ten teams, and is just the sixth Spartan to earn All-Big Ten honors in her first collegiate season. She joins Patty Raduenz (1993, second team), Keri Lemasters (1994, first team), Stacey Phillips (1997, second team), Elizabeth Peterson (2003, second team), and Bianca Mieja (2008, third team) as first-year players to be honored by the league.
Stoffer captures the Sportsmanship Award for the third consecutive season. The student-athletes chosen for this distinction are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. Stoffer has earned the Top GPA honor at the SASS Academic Gala in each of her collegiate seasons, will be a three-time Academic All-Big Ten Selection, and is a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. As a senior, Stoffer appeared in 54 of 55 games, getting 44 starts behind the plate.
