Bowling Green State University Athletics
Softball Hosts Ball State Tuesday
April 23, 2001 | Softball
April 23, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
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FALCONS LOOK TO EXTEND NINE-GAME WINNING STREAK: The Bowling Green State University softball team, riding a nine-game winning streak, will look to continue that success this week. The Falcons (24-14 overall, 12-3 MAC) will begin the week with a Mid-American Conference home doubleheader against Ball State University Tuesday (April 24). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at the BGSU Softball Field.
Following the BSU doubleheader, the Brown and Orange will return to the road for a Wednesday (April 25) double-dip against Ohio State University. That twinbill is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. at OSU's Buckeye Field.
Then, the Falcons return home for a three-game weekend series with Miami University. The teams will play a Friday (April 27) single game, beginning at 3:00 p.m., followed by a Saturday (April 28) doubleheader at 1:00 p.m.
The Falcons have concluded the road portion of the conference schedule, and are slated to play the nine remaining MAC games at the BGSU Softball Field.
HEAD COACH LEIGH ROSS-SHAW: Leigh Ross-Shaw is in her third season as a collegiate head coach, and has an overall record of 78-59 (.569). Ross-Shaw has a Mid-American Conference mark of 40-21 (.656) 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, and pitched for the Akron Racers in each of the last two seasons.
THE OPPONENTS: Ball State will enter the BGSU twinbill with an overall record of 21-16, and the Cardinals are in second place in the MAC's West Division with a 10-6 league ledger. BSU was swept in a three-game series at Central Michigan over the weekend, and the Cards will be looking to reverse a four-game losing streak Tuesday. After reeling off 11 consecutive wins, Ball State has gone 3-6 over the last nine contests. Last season, BSU was 20-30 overall and 9-11 in MAC action. Head coach Terri Laux has a record of 127-127 in her fifth year in Muncie, and is 279-375-2 in her 14th year as a collegiate head coach. More information on the team can be accessed at www.bsu.edu/athletics.
Ohio State begins the week with a 36-13 overall record, and the Buckeyes sit in third place with a 10-4 Big Ten Conference record. Last weekend, OSU swept a doubleheader from Michigan State before splitting a pair of games with Michigan, dealing the Wolverines their first conference loss in 14 games this year. The Buckeyes, 18-4 this season, host Youngstown State for a Tuesday (April 24) doubleheader before welcoming the Falcons to town. Last year, OSU went 28-26 overall and 4-13 in the Big Ten. Head coach Linda Kalafatis, 137-125 in her fifth year in Columbus, is 410-240-2 in 11-plus years as a collegiate head coach. OSU's athletic web site is www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Miami begins the week with a 16-28 record, including a 6-12 MAC slate. The RedHawks are scheduled to play a Tuesday doubleheader at Indiana before coming to BG for weekend action. Last weekend, MU won a Friday game vs. Ohio, but dropped a doubleheader to the Bobcats on Saturday. Miami is 3-3 since snapping an eight-game losing streak. The RedHawks are 6-9 on the road this season. Last year, the team went 16-30 overall and 5-15 inside the league. Head coach Angie Jacobs has a record of 47-93 in her third year, all in Oxford. The school's athletic web site is www.muredhawks.com.
THE SERIES: The Falcons hold a 30-24 lead over Ball State in the all-time series, and BGSU has won the last three meetings. The Brown and Orange swept a twinbill by scores of 3-1 and 7-2 when the teams last met, at the BGSU Softball Field two years ago (April 30, 1999). The teams' scheduled twinbill in Muncie last year was cancelled due to inclement weather.
BGSU trails Ohio State by a 16-9-2 margin, and the Buckeyes won the last game between the schools, a 6-2 decision (in which all eight runs were unearned) in BG last year (April 11, 2000). The Falcons had downed the Buckeyes, 2-0, on an Andrea Genter one-hitter in Florida earlier in the season (March 5, 2000). OSU took a 9-1, five-inning decision in the last meeting at Buckeye Field two years ago (April 13, 1999), and the Buckeyes have won the last five games in Columbus.
The Falcons lead Miami, 37-27, and the Brown and Orange captured three of four games last season. BGSU swept a home doubleheader by scores of 2-1 and 12-1 in five innings (April 18, 2000), and the teams split a twinbill in Oxford on April 25. MU took the opener by a 4-3 score, while the Falcons rebounded for a 15-4, five-inning win. BGSU has won the last four home games vs. the RedHawks, and the Falcons have captured 16 of the last 17 contests at the BGSU Softball Field.
RECAPPING LAST WEEK: The Falcons won all seven games last week, including five in MAC play ... all five MAC games were on the road ... the Brown and Orange swept a home doubleheader from Detroit Monday (April 16), winning by identical 6-2 scores ... BGSU swept a Wednesday (April 18) twinbill at Akron, winning an 8-5, eight-inning game before taking a 7-0 decision ... the Falcons swept a three-game series at Buffalo over the weekend, including a 4-1 win Friday (April 20) and 3-0 and 5-1 results Saturday (April 21).
JEN DOMSCHOT SETS NEW HR RECORD: For the third consecutive week, the BGSU career record for homeruns has been matched or broken ... senior Jen Domschot hit a three-run shot in the eighth inning of Wednesday's (April 18) win at Akron ... that homer was the 12th of her career, setting a new record ... Domschot had tied the record on April 10 vs. Ohio, just six days after senior Lynsey Ebel had tied the school record with her 11th career blast, vs. Michigan ... Ebel now shares second place with Colleen Bates (1997-2000).
BGSU TIES BEST LEAGUE START: The Falcons have matched the best MAC start in school history, with a 12-3 mark heading into Tuesday's (April 24) Ball State games ... the 1993 Falcons also began the league slate with a 12-3 mark, en route to a 26-9 conference record and a MAC title.
FALCONS BY THE NUMBERS: The Falcons are hitting .263 as a team this year, while the opponents are hitting .252 ... BGSU has a team ERA of 1.91, while the foes have a 3.53 ERA ... when the Falcons' 29-0 loss to nationally-ranked Arizona is taken out of the equation, BGSU is hitting .267 to the opponents' .241, and the team ERA drops to 1.30 ... seniors Nikki Rouhana (.395) and Jen Domschot (.330) and freshman Jenifer Kernahan (.282) are the team's top-three in batting ... Jen Domschot leads the Falcons with 30 runs scored, 21 walks and a .566 slugging percentage, while Rouhana paces the Brown and Orange in hits (45), total bases (64) and on-base pct. (448) ... junior Renee Rosemeier leads BG with 28 runs batted in ... Rosemeier and Jen Domschot have four homers each on the year ... sophomore McKenna Houle paces the pitchers with nine wins, a 1.42 earned-run average, eight complete games and three shutouts ... junior Jessie Milosek has a 1.55 ERA ... Houle has a 9-5 record, while Milosek is 7-5 ... junior Andrea Genter is 5-2 with a 1.74 ERA ... Milosek and Houle have 43 and 42 strikeouts, respectively, on the year, while Genter has 38.
HOME COOKIN': With the sweep of Detroit last Monday (April 16), the Falcons improved to 6-1 in home games this season ... BGSU is 4-0 vs. MAC opponents at home, and the Falcons have won 11 consecutive home games vs. league foes ... in Leigh Ross-Shaw's head-coaching tenure, the Falcons have a record of 29-8 at the BGSU Softball Field, including a 23-6 mark against the MAC.
THEY'RE NOT EARNING ANY RUNS: BGSU pitching has surrendered a total of just eight earned runs in the 15 MAC games this year ... in fact, the Falcons have not allowed an earned run in the last seven conference contests ... BG has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of the last 20 games.
N. ROUHANA IS "N. FUEGO": Senior Nikki Rouhana has been, to steal an overused phrase from ESPN's Dan Patrick, en fuego over the past few weeks ... she hit .571 in the Falcons' seven games, all wins, last week, and hit .667 (14-of-21) in the five MAC games ... in those five games, Rouhana led the Falcons in hits (14), runs (nine), doubles (three), slugging percentage (.952), on-base pct. (.667) and total bases (20), in addition to batting average ... she has at least two hits in each of the last six games ... Rouhana went 7-for-9 in the doubleheader sweep at Akron, and she was 7-for-12 in the three games at Buffalo ... at UA, she had her first career four-hit game in the opener, and led off the second game with a homerun that gave BG the lead for good ... she also had a pair of doubles in that game ... on the week, Rouhana raised her season batting average 58 points, from .337 to .395 ... she is hitting a whopping .473 (26-of-55) in MAC games, with 10 multiple-hit games in the 15 league contests.
A HOULE LOT OF ZEROES: Sophomore McKenna Houle had a solid week as well, going 2-0 with an ERA of 0.00 ... Houle threw a complete-game shutout at Buffalo, allowing just five hits ... she had gone all eight innings in a win over Akron, allowing no earned runs ... on the year, Houle is 9-5 with a team-best 1.42 ERA ... in MAC games, she is 6-1 with an ERA of just 0.64 ... Houle has half of the Falcons' 12 MAC wins this year.
WINNING STREAKS: The Falcons have won the last nine games ... the school record for consecutive wins is 10, set by the 1993 team and matched last year ... BGSU currently has a seven-game MAC win streak ... the school record for consecutive league wins is 12, as the 1988 team closed the league schedule with nine wins and the 1989 team began 3-0 in the MAC.
HOMER HAPPY: Entering the Leigh Ross-Shaw (head-coaching) Era, the BGSU single-season record for homers was eight ... Ross-Shaw's first team obliterated that mark by hitting 19 round-trippers in 1999 ... not to be outdone, the 2000 squad matched that record ... this year, BGSU has a total of 16 homers in 38 games.
ANGIE DOMSCHOT MOVES UP: Senior Angie Domschot is making her presence felt on the BGSU career records lists ... in fact, she is ranked on every school batting list ... Domschot is in sole possession of second place in runs scored, with 98 in her BGSU tenure ... she is the BGSU career leader with 19 triples, and ranks third in doubles, with 36 ... additionally, Domschot is on the BG career lists for walks (48, fifth), hits (173, seventh), RBI (71, tied for sixth), at-bats (588, tied for eighth), batting average (.294, 11th) and homeruns (three, tied for 14th).
CAREER RECORDS WATCH: In addition to Angie Domschot, a number of other Falcons are moving up the school's career lists ... seniors Jen Domschot and Lynsey Ebel, as mentioned, are first and tied for second, respectively, with 12 and 11 homeruns ... Jen Domschot is second in batting average, with a career percentage of .330 ... senior Nikki Rouhana is 10th on that list at .295 ... Ebel has 66 RBI to rank ninth on that list, while Jen Domschot is 12th with 63 ... Rouhana and Jen Domschot each have 51 walks, tied for third in BG history ... sophomore Libby Voshell has five career homers to tie her for eighth on that list, while Rouhana and junior Renee Rosemeier have four apiece to deadlock for 11th ... sophomore McKenna Houle has nine shutouts to rank fifth, while junior Jessie Milosek is tied for sixth with eight ... Houle's 20 wins rank her 10th on that list, with Milosek right behind at 19 ... Milosek's career ERA of 1.93 ranks her seventh in school annals.
NOTING THE FALCONS: BGSU currently has a MAC winning percentage of .800 ... the best league winning pct. in school history is .750, set by the 1998 team (24-8) ... senior Jen Domschot hit .524 (11-of-21) last week, with eight RBI ... she also had seven walks in the seven games, for an on-base percentage of .643 ... Wednesday's (April 18) 8-5 win at Akron marked the first time the Falcons have played an extra-inning game this year ... senior Angie Domschot hit her 19th career triple in Monday's (April 16) game-one win over Detroit, extending her own school record ... she is now batting .524 (11-of-21) in home games this season ... in the second Detroit game, the first six BG batters got hits in the first inning, leading to a five-run frame ... freshman Jenifer Kernahan had her first career homerun in the opening win at Akron ... that homer tied the game at 5-5 in the sixth inning ... the Falcons outscored opponents by a 39-11 margin last week, including a 27-7 advantage in the five MAC games ... BG hit .355 as a team to the opponents' .154 in those five league tilts ... junior Andrea Genter was 1-0 with an ERA of 0.00 in 9 2/3 innings last week ... six of the nine BGSU regulars are hitting .300 or better in league games, led by senior Nikki Rouhana's .395 average ... sophomore Kandice Machain is hitting .395 (15-of-38) with a .500 slugging percentage in league contests, while Jen Domschot is batting .356 ... Angie Domschot is hitting .320 vs. the MAC, while junior Renee Rosemeier is hitting .308 with team bests of three homeruns and 16 RBI ... Falcon pitchers have combined for an ERA of 0.55 vs. the MAC, with four shutouts ... junior Andrea Genter is 2-1 with a microscopic 0.30 ERA in the league, while classmate Jessie Milosek is 3-1 with an 0.95 ERA ... the Falcons are 23-5 vs. MAC East Division opponents since the beginning of the 2000 conference season ... BGSU is 11-2 in games decided by five or more runs this year.
