Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
TOLEDO
Softball Escapes With 4-3 Win
May 01, 2001 | Softball
May 1, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Junior Renee Rosemeier's RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the Bowling Green State University softball team to a 4-3 victory over the University of Toledo. The Mid-American Conference game was held at the BGSU Softball Field Tuesday afternoon (May 1).
With the victory, the Falcons improve to 32-16 overall and 17-4 in MAC play. Toledo drops to 19-33 and 2-19, respectively.
BGSU leads the East Division by two games over second-place Kent State University (15-6 MAC) with three games to play, and the Golden Flashes will head to the BGSU Softball Field for a weekend series. BGSU and KSU will play a single game Friday (May 4), beginning at 3:00 p.m., before meeting in a 1:00 p.m. Saturday (May 5) doubleheader.
Bowling Green has clinched a spot in the six-team MAC Tournament, which will be held May 10-12, and the Falcons still have a chance to host the tourney, which will be held at the site of the team with the best regular-season record.
BGSU and Central Michigan each sport 17-4 conference records heading into the final weekend of the regular season. CMU hosts Eastern Michigan (8-13 MAC) for a three-game series. The Falcons need to finish ahead of the Chippewas to host, as CMU holds the tiebreaker by virtue of a sweep of the teams' three-game series.
In Friday's game, the Falcons started quickly, scoring a pair of runs in the first inning. UT starter Tracy Riepenhoff issued three walks to load the bases, and BGSU senior Lynsey Ebel's sharp single up the middle scored classmates Nikki Rouhana and Jen Domschot.
With the two RBI, Ebel has tied the school's single-season record with 35. Dena Romstadt set the record during the 1992 season.
The Rockets got a run back off BGSU sophomore McKenna Houle in the second. Deanna House hit a double that rolled almost to the wall in right-center, and Jenny Schaaf drilled a two-bagger off the wall in dead center to score House.
The game remained 2-1, Falcons, until the fifth. Junior Holly Frantz led off the bottom of that inning with a single, and moved to second on Rouhana's sacrifice bunt. Rocket pitcher Kristy Kassotis got sophomore Kandice Machain to hit a grounder to shortstop, but Machain beat the throw to first for a single, with Frantz taking third. Then, after Machain stole second, Jen Domschot singled through the left side of the infield to plate Frantz.
The Rockets threatened in the sixth, putting runners on second and third with one out. But, Houle induced the next batter to hit a grounder back to the pitching circle, with the runners holding their bases, then got an inning-ending strikeout.
UT got a pair of unearned runs in the top of the seventh, however. Danielle D'Amore had a leadoff single, but was erased on Laurie Linton's fielder's choice. Vicki Nelson singled to move Linton to second.
After Mary Freese was inserted as a pinch-runner for Nelson at first base, Kalika Stavroulakis moved the runners with a groundout to the right side of the infield. Houle induced Laurie Nagel to hit another grounder to the right side, but it was mishandled for a two-out error as Linton scored. Then, House singled up the middle, just under the glove of a diving Libby Voshell, to plate Freese with the tying run.
The Falcons quickly answered in the bottom of the frame. Rouhana led off by hitting a fly ball to right that the UT rightfielder could not handle. It bounced off her glove for a three-base error.
Machain came to the plate and lined the first pitch she saw to center, but the ball was caught, forcing Rouhana to hold. Jen Domschot reached on a grounder back toward Kassotis, who was more concerned with Rouhana. Rosemeier then came to the plate and ripped the first pitch from Kassotis into the gap in left-center, with Rouhana scoring easily.
The Rockets outhit the Falcons, 12-8, with Nelson and House each going 3-for-4. Jen Domschot was 2-for-3 for BG, as was Ebel. Rouhana scored a pair of runs in the win.
Houle got the win with a complete-game effort, improving to 11-6 on the year. She has matched her win total of last season.
Houle allowed 12 hits, but just one earned run, in her seven innings. She walked one batter and struck out five.
Kassotis suffered the loss to drop to 7-15, despite allowing just one earned run in five-and-a-third innings. She surrendered seven hits and two total runs, and did not walk or strike out a batter.
UT starter Riepenhoff pitched one inning, allowing two runs and one hit. She walked three Falcon batters.
BGSU will take a seven-game win streak into the KSU weekend series, and the Falcons have won 19 of the last 21 games, including 12-of-13 MAC contests during that time.
