Bowling Green State University Athletics
Rango, Johnson Sweep MAC Weekly Awards
March 22, 2004 | Softball
March 22, 2004
MAC Release (2 pages) in PDF Format
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Bowling Green State University sophomore Gina Rango and senior Jody Johnson have been honored by the Mid-American Conference as the league's Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. The announcement was made on Monday afternoon (March 22) by the conference office.
Johnson earns the league's pitcher-of-the-week award for the second time in her career, having also been honored on Feb. 24, 2003. Rango earns conference weekly honors for the first time in her career.
Johnson, a native of LaGrange, Ohio (Keystone HS), went 2-0 with an earned-run average of 0.00 at the Buzz Classic, hosted by Georgia Tech, last weekend. She picked up a win in the tourney opener vs. North Carolina State, allowing just four hits and no earned runs in a 6-2 win Friday (March 19).
Then, Johnson allowed only two hits in another complete-game win, this time a 12-0 shutout vs. Georgia State on Saturday (March 20). She walked two batters and struck out eight in that game.
Johnson allowed opponents to bat only .140 against her on the weekend. On the year, she leads the team in wins, with a 5-2 record, and has a 2.00 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .225 against her this season to date.
 Sophomore Gina Rango  |
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Rango had at least one hit in every game, with three multiple-hit games. She went 2-for-3 with a double, a homer, three runs scored and three RBI in the tourney's first game, the win over N.C. State.
On Saturday, she went a combined 7-for-8 in two games, including a 4-for-4 performance with another double and another homer, vs. Georgia State. That homer was a grand slam, as she again scored three runs and had six RBI. That performance came on the heels of a 3-for-4 game with another homer, two runs scored and two driven in vs. Eastern Illinois earlier Saturday.
On the weekend, Rango led the Falcons in nearly every category, including batting average, homers (three), runs scored (eight), RBI (11), total bases (22) and slugging pct.. On the season, she is batting a team-high .371 with a slugging pct. of .614. Rango, who raised her batting average 88 points last weekend, now has 17 RBI on the season. Just a sophomore, she already is tied for fifth in school history with eight career homers.
Johnson and Rango earned pitcher- and player-of-the-week honors for the West Division. Marshall's Sarah Wilson (player) and Buffalo's Stacey Evans (pitcher) earned the East Division awards.
The Falcons are 10-11 on the season, heading into Wednesday's (March 24) doubleheader vs. 12th-ranked Michigan. The first game of that DH is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Ann Arbor. Then, BGSU will head to Toledo for a three-game weekend series, with a Saturday (March 27) twinbill followed by a Sunday (March 28) single game. First pitch each day is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at UT's Scott Park.
