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Leister Named To The 2023 Tucci/ NFCA DII Pitcher Of The Year Watchlist
Posted: Mar 30, 2023

Leister Named To The 2023 Tucci/ NFCA DII Pitcher Of The Year Watchlist

Full 2023 Tucci/NFCA DII Player & Pitcher of the Year Watchlist

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Northwood softball pitcher, Hailey Leister, was named to the 2023 Tucci/ National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) DII Player & Pitcher of the Year watchlist released Thursday (March 30). Leister along with 115 student-athletes from across the country were named on the watchlist. 

New in 2023, the list is broken down into the eight NCAA Regions (Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast, and West) with up to 15 student-athletes represented in each region. The list is compiled and the award is voted on by the elected members of the NFCA Division II All-American Committee with one head coach representing each of the eight NCAA regions. To be eligible, a student athlete's head coach must be a member.

Reigning G-MAC pitcher of the week, Leister (13-4) went a 4-0 last week with 21 IP including two shutouts (Ashland and Lake Erie). Leister totaled 16 strikeouts, walking no one, allowing 12 hits, and only one run. She dropped her season ERA to .98 over 100 IP, and currently leads the conference in wins (13), shutouts (5), and batting average against (.177).

Northwood's ace is currently first in DII in strikeout-to-walk ratio (12.00) for any pitcher with 100 IP. She also has the third-lowest ERA of anyone with at least 94 IP this season in DII. She is second in walks allowed per seven innings (.49), fourth in WHIP (.70), and 14th in wins (13).

Northwood softball is currently 18-11 on the season and is set to travel south to battle Trevecca Nazarene this Saturday (April 1) in Nashville. Games begin at 2 p.m. CT / 1 p.m. ET.

Voted on by the NFCA's Division II All-American Committee, the 2023 Tucci/NFCA Player and Pitcher of the Year will be announced on June 1. All student-athletes are eligible for the end-of-the-season award and do not have to be on this list to be considered.

Past winners of the award include Roger State's Andrea Morales (Pitcher / 2022), West Texas A&M's Shanna McBroom (Player / 2021), Saint Anselm's Morgan Perry (Pitcher / 2021), LIU Post's Julia Seader (Player / 2019), and Grand Valley State's Allison Lipovsky (Pitcher / 2019). The award was not presented in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.