Bowling Green State University Athletics
Softball Back In Action
March 12, 2001 | Softball
March 12, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
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The Bowling Green State University softball team, after being idle from competition for nearly a month, will resume the 2001 schedule with action at a pair of tournaments this week. The Falcons (2-3) are scheduled to play at least nine games this week, beginning with action at the Coastal Carolina University Classic. The three-day, five-team tournament will see the Falcons play at least five games in Conway, S.C.
BGSU's game-by-game schedule, including possible championship-round play, in the CCU Classic is as follows (all times are Eastern):
Monday, March 12: vs. Illinois, 9:00 a.m. at Coastal Carolina, 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 13: vs. East Carolina, 2:00 p.m. vs. Virginia, 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 14: #4 seed vs. #5 seed, 9:00 a.m. #2 seed vs. #3 seed, 11:30 a.m. #1 seed vs. 4/5 winner, 2:00 p.m. Championship, 4:30 p.m. (winners of 11:30 and 2:00 games)
After a one-day hiatus from competition, the Brown and Orange will return to action by participating in the 2001 Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. The Falcons have been placed in Pool F for the 26-team tournament, and BGSU's game-by-game schedule is as follows (all times Eastern):
Friday, March 16: vs. North Carolina A&T, 4:00 p.m. vs. Saint Louis, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, March 17: vs. Virginia Tech, Noon First-round single elim., 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. Second-round single elimination, 6:00 p.m. Sunday, March 18: Semifinals, 10:00 a.m. Championships, Noon
After this week's action, BGSU will participate in one more tournament (Virginia Hoo's Who Tournament, March 23-25) before commencing the Mid-American Conference schedule with a home doubleheader against the arch-rival University of Toledo on March 27.
HEAD COACH LEIGH ROSS-SHAW: Leigh Ross-Shaw is in her third season as a collegiate head coach, and has an overall record of 56-48. Ross-Shaw has a Mid-American Conference mark of 28-18 after leading the Falcons to a MAC East Division co-championship last year.
Ross-Shaw 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 a high-school head coach, at Notre Dame Academy in Toledo, 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 hit a MAC-record .447 as a senior en route to All-America Second-Team honors. On February 2, she was inducted into the UT Athletics Hall of Fame.
Amy Kyler is in her third 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 pitching for the Akron Racers in each of the last two seasons.
MAC PRESEASON POLL: The Falcons were selected to win the MAC's East Division in the league's preseason poll ... the poll was the result of voting by the MAC's 13 head coaches ... BGSU earned seven first-place votes and 79 points to outdistance Marshall by 16 points ... the Falcons also were the most popular choice to win the MAC Tournament, receiving four votes ... the complete poll follows, with first-place votes and points received:
East Division Pts. 1. Bowling Green (7) 79 2. Marshall (1) 63 3. Kent State (1) 61 4. Akron (2) 59 5. Ohio (2) 49 6. Miami 40 7. Buffalo 13West Division Pts. 1. Central Michigan (8) 72 2. Northern Ill. (5) 69 3. Ball State 48 4. Eastern Michigan 41 5. Toledo 22 6. Western Michigan 21
MAC Tournament Winner: Bowling Green 4, Northern Illinois 3, Central Michigan 2, Akron, Ball State, Eastern Michigan and Marshall 1.
LAST TIME OUT: The Falcons opened the season by posting a 2-3 record at the Pepsi Arizona Classic (Feb. 16-18) ... BGSU started the year with an 8-3 win over Pacific, but dropped a 29-0 decision to the nationally-ranked hosts ... the Falcons then fell to Oklahoma State (2-0) and Kentucky (3-2) before rallying for a 7-2 win over New Mexico State ... the Brown and Orange saw a scheduled March 7 home doubleheader vs. Dayton cancelled due to weather and field conditions.
THE OPPONENTS: Illinois will bring a 13-6 record into Monday's game vs. BGSU. The Fighting Illini swept Eastern Illinois in a Thursday (March 8) doubleheader. UI, a second-year program, finished 13-17 last year. Terri Sullivan is 26-23 in her second year as a head coach, both at Illinois. More information on the team can be found on the web at www.fightingillini.com.
Coastal Carolina has a 5-4 record heading into CCU Classic play. The Lady Chanticleers split a doubleheader with visiting Pittsburgh Thursday, with the second-game loss breaking a three-game winning streak. A year ago, CCU went 37-28 overall, won the Big South Conference with an 8-2 record, and advanced to NCAA Regional play. Head coach Jess Dannelly is 437-280 in 14-plus years as a collegiate mentor, all in Conway. More information is available at www.coastal.edu/athletics.
East Carolina took a 17-5 record into Sunday action at the team's own Lady Pirate Invitational. A year ago, ECU posted a 60-17 record, but a 2-8 mark in the South Atlantic Softball Alliance. Fifth-year head coach Tracey Kee is 219-89, both with the Lady Pirates and overall. More information is available on the web at www.ecupirates.com.
Virginia took a record of 11-6 into Sunday action at the 49ers Invitational in Charlotte, N.C. The Cavaliers had won seven consecutive games heading into Sunday. Last year, the team went 27-38 overall and 3-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Head coach Cheryl Sprangel is 111-98 in her fourth year at the school. The former head coach at Toledo, Sprangel is 572-453-1 in her 17th year overall. More information can be found on the web at www.virginiasports.com.
North Carolina A&T went 16-32 last year, posting a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference mark of 6-10. No information on the team's record this season was available. Head coach Mamie Jones entered the season with a 66-189 record. The school's athletic web site is www.ncat.edu/~athletic.
Saint Louis was 6-5 heading into Sunday games at the Georgia State Tournament. The Billikens went 9-43 last season, including a Conference USA record of 3-14. Head coach Jim Molloy is 25-179 in his fifth year, both with the school and as a collegiate coach. More information can be accessed at www.slubillikens.com.
Virginia Tech enters the week with a 13-11 record on the season. Last year, the Hokies posted a record of 41-22, including an Atlantic 10 Conference mark of 12-4. Virginia Tech is now in the Big East Conference. Head coach Scott Thomas is 180-144 in his sixth year, all in Blacksburg. More information on the team can be found at www.hokiesportsinfo.com.
THE SERIES: The Falcons have faced East Carolina once, falling by a 4-2 score on a tournament at Florida State in 1986.
BGSU has a 2-1 record vs. Virginia in the all-time series between the schools. The teams split a doubleheader in Columbia, S.C., in 1985, and the Falcons captured a 3-0 decision last spring (March 24, 2000) at UVa's own Hoo's Who Tournament.
The Falcons' only prior meeting with North Carolina A&T was last year's 10-1, six-inning Falcon win at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex (March 7, 2000).
BGSU is 2-0 all-time against Saint Louis, having won decisions of 7-4 and 6-0 at Missouri's tournament during the 1991 season.
BGSU has never met Illinois, Coastal Carolina or Virginia Tech on the softball diamond.
COACHING TIES: Leigh Ross-Shaw will match wits with her former coach this week ... Virginia's Cheryl Sprangel was the head coach at Toledo while Ross-Shaw (then Leigh Ross) was the team's leadoff hitter and centerfielder ... the Falcons and Cavaliers will meet at the CCU Classic Tuesday, and will meet in Charlottesville a week-and-a-half later (March 24).
ROSEMEIER = RBI: Junior Renee Rosemeier had a stellar game at the plate in the Falcons' season-opening win over Pacific (Feb. 16) ... Rosemeier, who had a total of 16 runs batted in last year, had six RBI in that game alone ... with BG down, 1-0, in the third inning, she slammed a two-run double to center ... then, in the fifth, she hit her first career homer, a grand slam, to lead the Brown and Orange to the win.
MILOSEK STARTS STRONG: Junior pitcher Jessie Milosek had a strong start to her 2001 season ... Milosek had a 1-1 record and a team-leading 1.97 ERA in Arizona ... she picked up a win in relief vs. Pacific, going three-and-two-thirds innings and allowing two runs and four hits ... then, after the rest of the BGSU staff allowed a combined 29 runs in the first four innings to #3 Arizona, she pitched a scoreless frame ... she was the hard-luck loser vs. Oklahoma State, despite throwing a complete-game five-hitter and allowing just one earned run ... but, the Falcon bats got just one hit and no runs in that 2-0 loss ... on the year, Milosek leads the team in ERA, strikeouts (10) and innings pitched (10.2).
FALCONS, FLYERS CANCELLED: Wednesday's (March 7) scheduled doubleheader vs. Dayton was cancelled due to weather and field conditions ... no make-up date has been set ... had the games been played, it would have marked the earliest home-opening date in school history ... the current mark remains the March 20, 1991, games vs. Notre Dame.
INJURY REPORT: Falcon freshman Marla Murphy broke her hand during BGSU's season-opening action at the Pepsi Arizona Classic ... Murphy, who was used as a pinch-runner in three games during that tournament (Feb. 16-18), was expected to be sidelined for 4-to-6 weeks.
TOUGH CROWD: The Falcons are slated to play a total of 10 games against seven different teams listed in the USA Today/NFCA preseason top-25 this year ... included among those opponents are Arizona (#3), Michigan (#11) and Notre Dame (#19) among the nation's top 25, as well as four teams listed under "also receiving votes."
