Grand Valley State University Athletics

One of the quickest players in Grand Valley State softball history, outfielder Melissa Sager finished her career as the all-time leader in runs scored and set a stolen base record that may never be topped. Melissa scored 163 runs in her four-year career, a GVSU record that stood for more than a dozen years; her total is still the fourth-highest in Laker history. Sager crossed home plate 52 times in 1999, which was the sixth-most in a single season by a GVSU player and still ranks 10th all-time. During the 1999 season, Melissa scored 52 runs, hit .388, and went 35-for-36 on stolen bases, helping the Lakers win a still-standing school record 58 games and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. GVSU returned to the NCAA Tournament the next two years, as Sager scored 41 runs and stole 31 bases in 2000 and followed with 40 runs and 34 stolen bases in her 2001 senior season. Melissa is the only player in Laker history to steal at least 30 bases in a season more than once - and she did so three times. For her career, Sager was 116-for-121 on stolen bases for a remarkable .959 percentage; only one other GVSU player has more than 75 career stolen bases. With 70 career walks and a .423 on-base percentage, she ranks sixth and 10th in Laker history in those respective categories. Grand Valley State went 194-42-2 during Sager’s career for an .819 winning percentage, which included the first three trips to the NCAA Tournament in program history.