Northwood’s Jenna Kowalski watches the ball off her bat during a March 21 game against Lake Erie.
Fred Kelly/fred.kelly@mdn.net
Northwood’s Brinley Eckerman prepares to make contact during Monday’s doubleheader against Ursuline, March 30, 2026.
Fred Kelly/Midland Daily News
Northwood’s Jenna Kowalski snags a pitch in the dirt during a March 21 game against Lake Erie.
Fred Kelly/fred.kelly@mdn.netgonorthwood.com
Northwood’s Brinley Eckerman catches a flyball during a March 21 game against Lake Erie.
Fred Kelly/Midland Daily Newsgonorthwood.com
Northwood’s Brinley Eckerman drives the ball for a double during Monday’s doubleheader against Ursuline, March 30, 2026.
Fred Kelly/Midland Daily News
Northwood’s Jenna Kowalski prepares to round first during a March 21 game against Lake Erie.
Fred Kelly/fred.kelly@mdn.net
Most incoming college athletes have to spend their first season paying dues. Northwood newcomers Jenna Kowalski and Brinley Eckerman are paying dividends instead.
Kowalski, a Freeland alum, and Eckerman, of Livonia Stevenson, have hit the ground running for NU’s softball team, leading the Timberwolves in hitting as true freshmen.
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“It’s been unbelievable. It’s great when you have freshmen who can get in there and play right away. As a coach, you want to get freshmen who can jump in there,” said NU coach Gregg Sauve. “Sometimes, the game speeds up (for young players), but those guys belong. They step into the box and look like they belong.
“ … Both of them are hitting close to .400 as freshmen. They’re not intimidated,” Sauve added. “It started during our first weekend in Georgia. They looked like they belong, and they’re just tremendous people and tremendous teammates, and we’re excited to have them in the program.”
Kowalski, a catcher who is coming off an incredible senior season at Freeland, said it has been a challenge to adjust to collegiate pitching.
“They can place their pitches a lot better, and the speed’s better, and their presence on the mound is different,” she noted. “These girls are 22-years-old and about to buy a house, and I’m just out of high school, so that’s a big difference. I’ve just got match their mentality and compete with them.
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“ … I just tried to come in with no expectations, and if I got the opportunity, I just wanted to do good for my team,” she added.
And “do good,” she and Eckerman certainly have.
Through Northwood’s first 22 games, Eckerman, an outfielder, is leading the Timberwolves in hitting with a .427 batting average, while Kowalski is a close second at .400 – totals which rank fifth and eighth, respectively, among all players in the GMAC.
Meanwhile, Kowalski leads the team with a sterling .490 on-base percentage, while Eckerman is close behind at .457.
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“I’m just trying to not change my approach and looking for a pitch that I want to drive,” Kowalski said. “Going from high school to college, the college pitchers are a lot more skilled and a lot more advanced, so I’m just trying to stay in my zone and not chase pitches.
“I got really adjusted in the fall here, hitting off our own pitchers and the pitching machine, just tweaking some things so that I would be well-adjusted when I got into games,” she added.
Sauve said that both women are smart, well-rounded players, and he is hoping to get Kowalski back soon after she had to sit out Monday’s doubleheader against Ursuline with a sprained wrist.
“They understand the game. They understand baserunning. They understand where to throw and where to back-up,” he said. “ … Jenna is handling the pitching staff tremendously … and she’s hitting .400 for us, so it’s hard to lose her. … Hopefully, we’ll get her back for the upcoming weekend.”
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Sauve added that he feels very comfortable allowing Kowalski to call pitches herself behind the plate, a fact which is not lost on Kowalski.
“That means a lot. I’ve called pitches before, so being able to come in here and learn the pitchers and build relationships with them has been really cool,” she said. “The pitching staff is amazing, and I love everyone out there, so it was really easy to get to know them.
“ … (I’ve done) a lot of bullpens, a lot of time in the ‘Arm Barn,’ just hanging out with them, getting to know them, learning what they like and what they don’t like, how they miss, how to talk to them on the mound – just building relationships,” she added.
Kowalski said she has also enjoyed getting to know Eckerman – and watching her tear it up at the plate.
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“Brinley is my roommate, and she’s doing amazing,” Kowalski said of Eckerman, who also leads the team in hits (32) and doubles (8), while ranking second in runs scored (16) and third in runs batted in (14) from the leadoff spot.
“She just finds the barrel every single time, and she’s so confident and humble, and it’s amazing to watch what she’s been able to do,” Kowalski added.
According to Sauve, their older teammates accepted and embraced Eckerman and Kowalski from day one.
“They both belong, and the neat thing is, our team feeds off them. That’s a pretty cool thing to watch,” Sauve said. “ … They feed off of them and get a lot of energy off of them. It’s a very close-knit team here, and they’re growing and growing. Hopefully, we can make some noise in the conference.”
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Kowalski said she is grateful for what she called “fantastic” team chemistry.
“Everyone is really supportive of each other. Everyone loves each other,” she noted. “I feel supported whether I go out there and strike out or ground out or get a hit.”
Asked what she has enjoyed most about the college experience, Kowalski, a marketing major, replied, “Just being able to do what I Iove every single day is really cool — just focus on softball and be able to get my education at a school that I really like while I’m playing softball every single day.”
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