<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Jenna Kowalski watches the ball off her bat during a March 21 game against Lake Erie.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/fred.kelly@mdn.net<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Brinley Eckerman prepares to make contact during Monday’s doubleheader against Ursuline, March 30, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Jenna Kowalski snags a pitch in the dirt during a March 21 game against Lake Erie.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/fred.kelly@mdn.netgonorthwood.com
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Northwood’s Brinley Eckerman catches a flyball during a March 21 game against Lake Erie.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily Newsgonorthwood.com
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Northwood’s Brinley Eckerman drives the ball for a double during Monday’s doubleheader against Ursuline, March 30, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Jenna Kowalski prepares to round first during a March 21 game against Lake Erie.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/fred.kelly@mdn.net<\/p>\n
Most incoming college athletes have to spend their first season paying dues. Northwood newcomers Jenna Kowalski and Brinley Eckerman are paying dividends instead.<\/p>\n
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Kowalski, a Freeland alum, and Eckerman, of Livonia Stevenson, have hit the ground running for NU\u2019s softball team, leading the Timberwolves in hitting as true freshmen.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s been unbelievable. It\u2019s 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,\u201d said NU coach Gregg Sauve. \u201cSometimes, the game speeds up (for young players), but those guys belong. They step into the box and look like they belong.<\/p>\n
\u201c \u2026 Both of them are hitting close to .400 as freshmen. They\u2019re not intimidated,\u201d Sauve added. \u201cIt started during our first weekend in Georgia. They looked like they belong, and they\u2019re just tremendous people and tremendous teammates, and we\u2019re excited to have them in the program.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kowalski, a catcher who is coming off an incredible senior season at Freeland, said it has been a challenge to adjust to collegiate pitching.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can place their pitches a lot better, and the speed\u2019s better, and their presence on the mound is different,\u201d she noted. \u201cThese girls are 22-years-old and about to buy a house, and I\u2019m just out of high school, so that\u2019s a big difference. I\u2019ve just got match their mentality and compete with them.<\/p>\n
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\u201c \u2026 I just tried to come in with no expectations, and if I got the opportunity, I just wanted to do good for my team,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
And \u201cdo good,\u201d she and Eckerman certainly have.<\/p>\n
Through Northwood\u2019s 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 \u2013 totals which rank fifth and eighth, respectively, among all players in the GMAC.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Kowalski leads the team with a sterling .490 on-base percentage, while Eckerman is close behind at .457.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m just trying to not change my approach and looking for a pitch that I want to drive,\u201d Kowalski said. \u201cGoing from high school to college, the college pitchers are a lot more skilled and a lot more advanced, so I\u2019m just trying to stay in my zone and not chase pitches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s doubleheader against Ursuline with a sprained wrist.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey understand the game. They understand baserunning. They understand where to throw and where to back-up,\u201d he said. \u201c \u2026 Jenna is handling the pitching staff tremendously \u2026 and she\u2019s hitting .400 for us, so it\u2019s hard to lose her. \u2026 Hopefully, we\u2019ll get her back for the upcoming weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means a lot. I\u2019ve called pitches before, so being able to come in here and learn the pitchers and build relationships with them has been really cool,\u201d she said. \u201cThe pitching staff is amazing, and I love everyone out there, so it was really easy to get to know them.<\/p>\n
\u201c \u2026 (I\u2019ve done) a lot of bullpens, a lot of time in the \u2018Arm Barn,\u2019 just hanging out with them, getting to know them, learning what they like and what they don\u2019t like, how they miss, how to talk to them on the mound \u2013 just building relationships,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Kowalski said she has also enjoyed getting to know Eckerman \u2013 and watching her tear it up at the plate.<\/p>\n
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\u201cBrinley is my roommate, and she\u2019s doing amazing,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe just finds the barrel every single time, and she\u2019s so confident and humble, and it\u2019s amazing to watch what she\u2019s been able to do,\u201d Kowalski added.<\/p>\n
According to Sauve, their older teammates accepted and embraced Eckerman and Kowalski from day one.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey both belong, and the neat thing is, our team feeds off them. That\u2019s a pretty cool thing to watch,\u201d Sauve said. \u201c \u2026 They feed off of them and get a lot of energy off of them. It\u2019s a very close-knit team here, and they\u2019re growing and growing. Hopefully, we can make some noise in the conference.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Kowalski said she is grateful for what she called \u201cfantastic\u201d team chemistry.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is really supportive of each other. Everyone loves each other,\u201d she noted. \u201cI feel supported whether I go out there and strike out or ground out or get a hit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked what she has enjoyed most about the college experience, Kowalski, a marketing major, replied, \u201cJust 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\u2019m playing softball every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n
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