Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons To Play Eight Road Games This Week
April 03, 2000 | Softball
April 3, 2000
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
UP NEXT: The Bowling Green State University softball team, after going 2-2 to open Mid-American Conference play last weekend, is on the road for eight contests this week. The Falcons (15-8) will open the week with a Tuesday (April 4) twinbill at nationally-ranked Michigan. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at U-M's Alumni Field in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The next day (April 5), the Brown and Orange will venture back to the state of Michigan for a double-dip with Detroit. The Falcons and Titans will meet in a 3:00 p.m. start at UDM's Titan Field.
Friday (April 7), the Falcons will return to MAC play with a pair of games at arch-rival Toledo. That twinbill begins at 2:00 p.m. at UT's Carter Field at Scott Park.
On Saturday, BG will head to Muncie, Ind., for a 1:00 p.m. twinbill vs. Ball State at the BSU Softball Complex.
This week's action completes a nine-game road swing for the Falcons, as well as a stretch in which the team is scheduled to play 13 games in nine days.
GREAT START: The Falcons are 15-8 overall, the third-best start to a season in school history ... the best 23-game start in BG softball annals is 16-7, set in the 1992 season and matched the next year ... the 1992 squad went 37-16 overall and 19-10 in league play ... in 1993, BG was 34-18 and won the MAC with a 26-9 record.
THE RECORDS: BGSU is 15-8 on the year, and 2-2 in MAC action. The Falcons started the season at 0-3, but tied the school record by winning the next 10 games. Last weekend, BGSU split four games to open the league schedule. The Falcons swept a Friday (March 31) doubleheader from visiting Western Michigan by scores of 5-0 and 4-1, then dropped a twinbill to Northern Illinois the next day (April 1), 9-5 and 7-5. On Sunday (April 2), the Brown and Orange won a non-league game at Oakland, 6-0.
The Falcons ended the 1999 season with a 21-27 record. BGSU qualified for the MAC Tournament for the second consecutive year.
The '99 Falcons finished MAC action with a 15-11 league mark, good for second place in the East Division. BG, after beginning the league slate with a 4-7 record, won 11 of the final 15 MAC contests.
Michigan checks into Tuesday's DH with a 26-6 record, and the Wolverines are ranked 13th in the nation. U-M has won its last 16 games, including two vs. both Purdue and Indiana last weekend. Tuesday's action will open Michigan's home schedule. The team was 51-13-1 overall and 21-3 in the Big Ten Conference last year.
Detroit takes an 8-5 record into a Monday (April 3) game at Oakland, and the Titans will host Central Michigan for a Tuesday DH before facing BG the next day. Last week, UDM played for the first time since March 10, winning at Toledo, 3-2, Tuesday before losing a home-opening doubleheader to Michigan State, 8-3 and 10-0, Wednesday. Last year, UDM went 10-35 overall and 1-11 in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference.
Toledo enters the week with an 8-12 record, and the Rockets are 2-1 in MAC play. UT was scheduled to play a DH at Ohio State Monday before facing BG Friday. Last week, the Rockets lost to Detroit before taking two-of-three games from visiting Eastern Michigan. UT topped the Eagles by 3-2 and 2-1 scores before losing a 2-0 decision. In 1999, the team went 17-37, including a 7-21 MAC slate.
Ball State is 9-16 heading into the week, and the Cardinals are 0-3 in the MAC. BSU plays a Tuesday twinbill at Bradley before hosting Miami for two Friday games. Last week, the Cards opened MAC play by losing three games to Central Michigan. The visiting Chippewas recorded a 2-1 Friday win, then won Saturday's DH by identical 5-0 scores. A year ago, BSU was 22-38 overall and 8-18 in league action.
THE COACHES: BGSU's Leigh Ross-Shaw is in her second season as a collegiate head coach. She assumed the top job after two years as BG's assistant coach. The Ottawa Lake, Mich., native came to the Falcon program in 1996 after serving as the head coach at Notre Dame Academy for four seasons. Ross-Shaw, a 1992 graduate of the University of Toledo, still holds numerous UT and MAC records, and remains the all-time conference leader in batting average (.398), at-bats and hits. She set a MAC record by hitting .447 as a senior en route to All-America Second-Team honors.
Amy Kyler is in her second season as Ross-Shaw's assistant. Kyler, quite possibly the top pitcher in Cleveland State history, graduated from CSU in 1997. She played for the Carolina Diamonds of the Women's Pro Softball League for two years before joining the expansion Akron Racers for the 1999 campaign.
Michigan's Carol Hutchins, 642-271-2 in her 16th year at the Wolverine helm, is 665-282-2 in her 17th season overall.
Detroit coach Bob Wilkerson is 41-113 in his fourth year, all with the Titans.
Toledo's Michelle Fagnant, in her first year as the Rockets' head coach, is 115-77 in her fifth year overall.
Ball State's Terri Laux, 95-97 in her fourth year in Muncie, is 247-345-2 in her 13th year as a collegiate head coach.
THE SERIES: The Falcons trail Michigan by a 17-4 count in the all-time series, and the Wolverines have won the last five meetings, including a pair of run-rule decisions at a 1998 tournament at Purdue.
BGSU is 16-5 against Detroit, and the Falcons have won the last five games. The Brown and Orange beat the Titans by 3-1 and 8-3 scores in BG last year. The year before, BG won a pair in the Motor City by scores of 9-1 and 3-2.
The Falcons lead Toledo, 35-31, and have captured the last four games in the series. The teams have already met twice in 2000, with BG posting 10-1 and 4-0 wins in Orlando, Fla., on March 10. The Brown and Orange swept last year's DH in BG, but the Rockets took both ends of a 1998 twinbill in the Glass City.
BGSU leads Ball State by a 30-24 margin, including last year's 3-1 and 7-2 wins at the BGSU Softball Field. The Falcons have won the last three in the series, but BSU captured the last two games in Muncie, in 1997.
FALCON FACTS: The Falcon pitching staff has recorded a total of nine shutouts in the season's first 23 games ... all four hurlers - sophomores Andrea Genter, Jessie Milosek and Rebekah Tipton and freshman McKenna Houle - have thrown at least one complete-game shutout ... BGSU hit .333 as a team last weekend, while the opponents hit a combined .210 ... in the five games, the Falcons had 16 extra-base hits to the opponents' four ... junior Nikki Rouhana hit .556 (5-for-9) last week, while sophomore Renee Rosemeier was 5-for-10 with three doubles and a slugging pct. of .800.
2000 MAC STANDINGS:
East Division Team (Overall)______________MAC Akron (14-11)_______________2-1 Marshall (12-19)____________2-1 Bowling Green (15-8)________2-2 Kent (6-16)_________________1-2 Ohio (6-16)_________________1-2 Miami (10-18)_______________1-3West Division Northern Illinois (15-12)___4-0 Central Michigan (11-5)_____3-0 Toledo (8-12)_______________2-1 Eastern Michigan (12-12)____1-2 Western Michigan (5-16)_____1-3 Ball State (9-16)___________0-3
at BGSU 5-4, Western Michigan 0-1: On Friday (March 31), BG opened the home schedule and the MAC slate with a doubleheader sweep of the visiting Broncos ... in the opener, sophomore Jessie Milosek fired a complete-game one-hitter ... WMU got only a third-inning single ... BG scored twice in the third, on RBI hits by junior Lynsey Ebel and freshman Libby Voshell ... BG scored a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth ... after sixth-inning singles by junior Nikki Rouhana and Ebel, both runners scored when junior Angie Domschot's single was misplayed by the WMU centerfielder ... in the game, Ebel went 3-for-3 and Rouhana was 2-for-2 ... Angie Domschot was 2-of-4 ... in the nightcap, sophomore Andrea Genter threw a complete-game six-hitter ... the Falcons scored twice in both the first and second innings ... Angie Domschot and senior Carmen Hitterdal began the first inning with singles ... Domschot scored on a single by senior Colleen Bates, while Hitterdal scored on a Rouhana sacrifice fly ... Voshell led off the second frame with a homer to right, the second of her young career ... BG's final run came when Angie Domschot, who had reached on a fielder's choice, scored after a Bates single ... both teams left 10 runners on base in the game ... Bates and senior Erin Zwinck each had two hits as BG held an 11-6 advantage in that department.
Northern Illinois 9-7, BGSU 5-5: Errors plagued the Falcons in Saturday's (April 1) twinbill ... a total of 10 BG miscues led to 10 unearned runs on the day for the Huskies ... NIU scored twice in the first inning and once in the fourth ... the visitors scored four unearned runs in the sixth inning, before the Falcons rallied for five runs in the bottom of the frame ... Colleen Bates led off the inning with a homer to dead center ... one out later, Erin Zwinck singled, and went to third on Renee Rosemeier's second double of the game ... Libby Voshell walked to load the bases, and the runners moved up on a wild pitch ... after a walk to Nikki Rouhana reloaded the bases, Angie Domschot cleared them with a three-run double ... but, BG could draw no closer, and NIU scored twice in the seventh after a two-out error ... McKenna Houle, who gave up five runs (two earned) in a total of six innings, took the loss ... in the second game, NIU opened the scoring with three unearned runs in the fourth inning, on just one hit and two BG errors ... BG got two runs back in the bottom of the inning ... Zwinck singled and Rouhana walked to start the inning ... Zwinck scored on a Lynsey Ebel hit, and Rouhana came in on a Voshell single ... NIU scored a run in the fifth, but BG took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the inning ... Bates drew a one-out walk, and Roesmeier singled her to second ... Zwinck tripled both runners home, and Rouhana doubled to plate Zwinck ... the BG lead held up until the seventh, when NIU scored three times ... BG could not rally in the bottom of the inning ... Andrea Genter took the loss, giving up three earned runs in the complete-game performance ... Rosemeier, Zwinck and Ebel eadh had two hits as the Falcons held a 9-7 lead in that department ... NIU did not make an error on the day.
BGSU 6, at Oakland 0: McKenna Houle and Jessie Milosek combined on a three-hitter in a non-league road win Sunday (April 2) ... the Falcons scored five runs in the second inning, and added another in the seventh ... Houle got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, before BG erupted in the top of the second ... Erin Zwinck, who was 2-for-2 in the game, led off with a double, and scored on a Renee Rosemeier two-bagger ... Natalie Phillips singled, and Holly Frantz walked to load the bases ... after a wild pitch scored Rosemeier, Angie Domschot tripled to score Phillips and Frantz ... OU threatened to score in the fifth, putting runners on second and third with no outs ... the next batter hit a nubber toward the pitching circle, and a charging Houle grabbed and flipped the ball to Frantz in one motion ... Frantz applied the tag at the plate, and Houle retired the next two batters ... BG's final run came when Jen Domschot drew a walk, took third on a Lynsey Ebel single and scored on a wild pitch ... BGSU outhit the hosts, 9-3, with five extra-base hits ... Houle surrendered two hits in five innings, while Milosek threw two innings of one-hit relief.
FALCON QUICK FACTS
UP NEXT BGSU at Michigan (DH) Tues., April 4 * 3:00 p.m. Ann Arbor, MichiganBGSU at Detroit (DH) Wed., April 5 * 3:00 p.m. Detroit, Michigan
BGSU at Toledo (DH) Fri., April 7 * 2:00 p.m. Toledo, Ohio
BGSU at Ball State (DH) Sat., April 8 * 1:00 p.m. Muncie, Indiana
LAST WEEK BGSU 5-4, Western Michigan 0-1 Fri., Mar. 31 * Bowling Green, Ohio
Northern Illinois 9-7, BGSU 5-5 Sat., April 1 * Bowling Green, Ohio
BGSU 6, Oakland 0 Sun., April 2 * Rochester, Mich.
2000 BGSU RECORDS Overall: 15-8 Mid-American Conference: 2-2
1999 BGSU FINAL RECORDS Overall: 21-27 Mid-American Conference: 15-11 Finish: Second in East Division
HEAD COACH - Leigh Ross-Shaw (Toledo, 1992) BGSU Record: 36-35 (second year) Overall: 36-35 (second year)
BOWLING GREEN RECORDS All-Time: 471-533-8 (.469) (1978-present / 23rd season) MAC: 222-209-1 (.515) (1983-present / 18th season)
BGSU RESULTS LINE 419/372-7076, choose option 4 (same-day scores and brief summaries from all Falcon athletic teams)
