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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
ILLINOIS STATE
Tipton, Houle, Vrabel Help Falcons Stop ISU, 2-0
March 08, 2003 | Softball
March 8, 2003
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Junior Valerie Tipton's two-run single in the top of the eighth inning lifted the Bowling Green State University softball team to a 2-0 win over Illinois State University Saturday (March 8). The game, the first for both teams in the Red and Black Classic, was held at Louisville's Ulmer Stadium.
With the victory, the Falcons improve to 3-4 on the season, while dropping the Redbirds to 6-9.
Tipton's offense was all that freshman pitcher Liz Vrabel would need. Vrabel, who pitched the final two innings in relief of senior McKenna Houle, picked up the win. Houle and Vrabel allowed only a combined four hits. The two did not allow a hit over the final five-plus innings, retiring 16 of the last 17 hitters they faced. ISU's only baserunner during that time, other than the runner placed on second (under the international tiebreaker rules) to start the eighth inning, reached on a two-out walk by Vrabel in that eighth frame.
ISU pitcher Audra Rast was just as successful as the BG pitchers for much of the game. The Falcons struggled at the plate in the game's early going, getting only a first-inning single by Candace Fenton over the first six innings. Rast, after allowing that single, saw another runner reach base via an error in the first inning, then retired 17 consecutive batters.
The Brown and Orange mounted a threat in the seventh, as senior Libby Voshell and freshman Gina Rango had one-out singles. Then, junior Jenifer Kernahan singled to load the bases, but Rast got Crystal Wilson and Liz Tuza on strikeouts to end the rally.
In the eighth, the Falcons finally broke through. Tuza began the inning on second base, and freshman Abby Habicht singled, with Tuza forced to hold. Marla Murphy grounded out, but both runners were able to advance. Rast got a strikeout of senior Kandice Machain, but Tipton followed with her two-run single, giving Houle a lead with which to work.
In the bottom of the eighth, with a runner starting the inning on second, a leadoff groundout moved the runner to third. The runner, Dominique Borba, was forced to hold on another groundout. Then, Vrabel issued BG's lone walk of the game, but, with runners on first and third, the senior hurler struck out Emily Krueger to end the game.
Falcon pitching, as mentioned, allowed only four hits, striking out six batters. Rast suffered the loss to drop to 3-5. She gave up six hits and one earned run in her complete-game effort, fanning five without issuing a walk.
Each team's pitchers got a great number of outs on ground balls. Falcon first baseman Fenton had 14 putouts in the game, while her ISU counterpart, Katie Shifflet, had 12.
Houle and Vrabel combined for the Falcons' third shutout this season, tripling the total for all of last year.
BGSU continues action in the Red and Black Classic with a pair of Sunday (March 9) games. The Falcons will take on Ohio University and host Louisville in final-day action at the four-team, round-robin tournament.
