Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
TOLEDO
Falcons Sweep Toledo, 2-1 & 13-5
April 06, 2003 | Softball
April 6, 2003
Final Stats - Game One
Final Stats - Game Two
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University softball team and the University of Toledo played two very different types of games Sunday afternoon (April 6). In the end, however, it was the host Falcons who came away with a pair of wins. BGSU topped the Rockets by scores of 2-1 and 13-5 (six innings) in the Mid-American Conference doubleheader at a cold BGSU Softball Field.
With the victories, the Falcons improve to 13-17-1 overall and 4-5 in MAC play, and BGSU's four-game winning streak matches a season high. The Rockets dropped to 5-18 and 2-8, respectively.
The opening game was a low-scoring battle between the two pitchers, Falcon freshman Liz Vrabel and Toledo's Kim Pettitt. The two threw a pair of shutout innings each, before the Falcons broke through in the bottom of the third.
Freshman Lindsay Heimrich began the inning with a perfectly-placed fly ball that fell between three Rocket fielders in shallow right-centerfield. Then, senior Libby Voshell hit a grounder to the third baseman, who threw wide of second base in an attempt to get Heimrich. The Falcons had two runners on base with no outs.
The next batter, freshman Gina Rango, hit a grounder to shortstop, and Heimrich was forced at third for the first out. Then, junior Jenifer Kernahan came to the plate and clubbed a double to the wall in left-center to score both Voshell and Rango. That proved to be all the run support that Vrabel would need, although the Rockets would not go without a fight.
The visitors had baserunners in each of the first two innings, on a walk in the first and a strikeout and passed ball in the second, but neither runner advanced past second. In the fourth, Pettitt reached base on a two-out infield error, but was stranded there. Vrabel retired the side in order, and took a no-hitter into the sixth.
In that sixth inning, she got a leadoff groundout, before hitting Gina Muratori with a pitch. Then, Vicki Nelson hit a hard grounder just past the glove of third baseman Rango to end the no-hit bid. Then, the next hitter, Jessica Horn, reached on an infield error that loaded the bases, and the Rockets were threatening to erase the BG lead.
UT cut the lead in half as the next batter, Pettitt, helped her own cause. She hit a fly ball to centerfield, and Muratori scored on the sacrifice fly. Then, however, the Rockets attempted a double steal, but Falcon catcher Kernahan cut down the lead runner, Nelson, at third to end the inning. Kernahan threw out three of four UT would-be thieves in the twinbill.
The Rockets got one more hit, as Audrina Marler had a two-out single in the seventh, but Vrabel got a called third strike on Kate Moxim to end the game.
Vrabel went all the way for a two-hitter, improving her record to 8-6. She allowed only an unearned run, walking one batter and striking out seven, in her 10th complete game in 12 starts this year.
Pettitt took the loss, allowing two runs (one earned) and only five hits in her complete-game effort. She did not walk or strike out a BG batter in her six innings of work, as she fell to 1-11 on the season.
At the plate, five different Falcons had one hit apiece, with Kernahan's double the lone extra-base hit of the game.
While the first game was a pitchers' duel, the second game was a slugfest. The teams combined for 13 runs in the first two innings and 18 for the game.
The Rockets, after struggling at the plate in the first game, came alive in the opening inning of the second contest. Leadoff hitter Jenny Schaaf bunted and reached first on a Falcon error, and Nelson then had a bunt single off junior Jody Johnson. Then, Muratori walked, and the Rockets had the bases loaded with no outs.
Horn bunted and reached base, and everyone was safe as Schaaf scored ahead of the BG throw home. Johnson got a strikeout of Pettitt, but Heidi Smith hit a liner just over Johnson's head and into center for a two-run single.
After Toledo batted around and scored three times, in the top of the first, the Falcons batted around in the bottom of the inning, taking the lead for good.
BGSU scored five times in the first, getting four hits, all of which were doubles. Senior Kandice Machain began with a two-base hit to left-center, and she took third on Heimrich's groundout. Then, Voshell doubled off the wall in centerfield to score Machain, and Rango switched places with Voshell, with a double of her own to left-center.
Rango took third base on a Kernahan groundout and scored on a wild pitch by Rocket starter Keri Perkins. Then, senior Crystal Wilson drew a walk, and sophomore Stephanie Finkel reached on a UT error. Another wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, and they scored on a line shot by freshman Abby Habicht. Habicht's hit caromed off the glove of third baseman Nelson and into foul ground down the left-field line. Perkins got the third out, but the Falcons led by a 5-3 count.
UT got a run back in the second on a two-base error and a Horn double, but BG responded in the bottom of the inning. Machain, leading off for the second consecutive inning, clubbed a homerun over the wall in right-center. The round-tripper was her second of the year and the fifth of her career.
Heimrich singled, and Rango had a one-out infield hit to send Heimrich to second. Kernahan reached on a sacrifice bunt when the UT throw to third base was late in an attempt to cut down Heimrich. Wilson followed with a grounder to second, and the throw home was wild, allowing both Heimrich and Rango to score. The next batter, Finkel, drove in BG's ninth run of the game as her grounder scored Kernahan.
The Rockets threatened in the fourth inning, as four consecutive batters reached base with one out. Muratori singled, and took third on Horn's double. Then, Pettitt drew a walk, and Tiffany Edgar hit a well-placed bleeder through the left side of the BG infield to cut the lead to 9-6. With the bases still loaded, Falcon coach Leigh Ross-Shaw made a pitching change, calling upon McKenna Houle.
Houle responded to the bases-loaded, one-out situation. The senior got a strikeout of Smith, and induced Marler to hit a grounder to third base for the third out.
After that inning, the Rockets would get only one more baserunner, and Kernahan would erase that threat by thwarting a UT stolen-base attempt.
The Falcons ended the contest in the sixth inning. Pettitt had replaced Perkins in the circle at the start of the third inning, and threw three shutout innings. But, the first four Falcon hitters reached base in the sixth.
Heimrich led off with a single to left, and Voshell drew a walk. Rango then singled to shallow center to load the bases, and Kernahan laced a two-run single to plate both Heimrich and Voshell. Pettitt got a grounder for the third out of the inning, as the runners moved to second and third base. Then, Finkel reached on a Rocket throwing error, as Rango scored from third. One out later, redshirt sophomore Marla Murphy singled to score Kernahan and give the Falcons an eight-run lead. The game was then halted due to the run rule.
Houle (1-6) got the win in relief, throwing two and two-thirds innings of one-hit shutout ball. She faced the minimum eight batters, and struck out three without issuing a walk. Johnson, the starter, allowed seven hits and five runs (just one earned) in her three-and-a-third innings. She walked four Rockets and struck out two.
Perkins (4-7) took the loss for the Rockets, allowing nine runs (four earned) and seven hits in two innings. She walked one BG batter. Pettitt surrendered seven hits and four runs (three earned) in three-and-two-thirds innings. She walked one batter and fanned two.
At the plate, the Falcons pounded out a season-high 14 hits, with both Machain and Rango going 3-for-4. Machain had a double and a homer, while Rango scored three runs and also had one of the Falcons' five doubles.
Heimrich and Murphy had two hits each. Kernahan had two runs and two RBI, while Machain, Heimrich and Voshell each scored twice as well. The top-five hitters in the Falcon batting order combined for 10 hits and 11 runs scored.
Both Finkel and Habicht had a pair of RBI in the game.
The Rockets had eight hits, with Horn getting two hits and two RBI. Smith also had a pair of RBI, while Muratori scored three of the visitors' five runs in the game.
BGSU is scheduled to conclude a six-game homestand Wednesday (April 9), hosting Miami in a doubleheader that begins at 2:00 p.m.
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