.png&type=webp)
Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
ARIZONA
Arizona Shows Softball No Mercy
February 16, 2001 | Softball
Feb. 16, 2001
TUCSON, Ariz. - Entering Friday's (Feb. 16) game against the University of Arizona, Bowling Green State University softball coach Leigh Ross-Shaw knew that the Wildcats could represent the toughest opponent the team had ever faced.
Consider that pre-game assessment to be correct.
The Wildcats, ranked third in the nation, erupted for 17 fourth-inning runs to cap a 29-0 victory over the Falcons. BGSU drops to 1-1 on the year after the game, part of the Pepsi Arizona Classic at UA's Hillenbrand Stadium.
The Wildcats, who entered the game having outscored opponents by an 83-4 margin on the year, improved to 11-0 with the team's 10th shutout of the season.
UA pitchers Becky Lemke and Teresa Demeter combined on a no-hitter in the game, which was halted after five innings due to the mercy rule.
The Wildcats scored four times in the first on four hits, with the final two runs of the inning scoring when All-American Jennie Finch's single was misplayed in the outfield.
UA scored a pair of runs in the second inning when Toni Mascarenas, another returning All-American, homered to left. In the third, the 'Cats picked up six more runs on Mackenzie Vandergeest's homer, a bases-loaded walk to returning All-American Nicole Giordano and a grand slam by Leneah Manuma.
BGSU freshman Jody Johnson, making her collegiate pitching debut, struggled in the fourth inning, walking four consecutive batters to make the score 13-0. Junior Rebekah Tipton, the third of five Falcon hurlers on the day, was greeted with a two-run single by Giordano and a three-run homer by Mascarenas, her second of the game and ninth of the year.
Later in the inning, both Giordano and Finch would hit grand slams as part of the Wildcats' eight hits in the frame.
BGSU's only baserunners came on walks by seniors Jen Domschot and Nikki Rouhana. Domschot drew a two-out walk in the first inning and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Rouhana walked to lead off the second inning, but UA's Lemke then struck out the next three batters.
Junior Jessie Milosek, the fifth and final BG hurler, pitched a scoreless fifth inning.
Sophomore McKenna Houle started the game and took the loss. She threw the first two innings.
Arizona finished the 2000 season with a 59-9 overall record, and the Wildcats returned eight starters and five All-Americans from a team that advanced to the semifinal round of the College World Series for the 13th consecutive year.
Both the Wildcats' run total and the Falcons' margin of defeat tied school records. BGSU suffered a 29-0 loss in the Falcons' first-ever game as a varsity program, at Miami on April 7, 1979.
BGSU will attempt to rebound with a pair of games on Saturday (Feb. 17). The Falcons continue action in the Pepsi Arizona Classic with games against Oklahoma State and Kentucky. BGSU concludes weekend play with a Sunday (Feb. 18) game vs. New Mexico State.
