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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
MICHIGAN
Errors, Long Ball Spell Doom As U-M Sweeps Falcons
March 25, 2004 | Softball
March 25, 2004
Final Stats -- Game One
Final Stats -- Game Two
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The combination of Bowling Green errors and Michigan's Jessica Merchant proved lethal to the Falcon softball team Thursday afternoon (March 25), as the nationally-ranked Wolverines picked up a pair of home wins. U-M downed BGSU by scores of 8-0 (five innings) and 9-5 at Alumni Field.
With the wins, the Wolverines improved to 23-6 on the season, while the Falcons dropped to 10-13.
Merchant, a junior, had three homeruns and nine runs batted in on the day. She hit a grand slam in the opening game and went deep twice more in the second game, giving her 11 homers for the season.
Nine of Michigan's 17 runs, including six of the eight in the first game, were unearned.
It didn't help BGSU's cause that U-M pitcher Jennie Ritter was on her game in the opener. Ritter allowed only one hit in her five-inning shutout, improving to 9-3 on the season.
The Wolverines broke the first game open with seven second-inning runs -- six unearned -- off BG starter Jody Johnson. With one out, Nicole Motycka singled, and Grace Leutele reached on an error to put runners on second and third. A Courtney Betley single plated Motycka with the only run the hosts would need, and back-to-back infield hits each produced a run. Then, Merchant blew the game wide open with a two-out grand slam.
U-M scored another run in the third inning off sophomore Lindsay Heimrich. Leutele walked and came around to score on hits by Betley and Meghan Doe.
Meanwhile, BGSU's only hit had come on a leadoff double by senior Jenifer Kernahan in the second. Junior Kristen Anderson had sacrificed Kernahan to third, with Anderson reaching safely on the fielder's choice. But, Ritter then got three consecutive strikeouts.
U-M had eight hits in the game, with Betley and Doe each picking up a pair. In the circle, Ritter walked one and whiffed six en route to the win.
Johnson took the loss, allowing seven runs (only one earned) and six hits. Heimrich allowed a run and two hits in her two innings of work.
In the second game, the Wolverines again took an early lead due to some BGSU miscues. In the first inning, Doe led off with a bunt single, and took second on a Falcon error. The next batter, Rebekah Milian, executed a sacrifice bunt, and reached base on another BG error.
Another bunt moved the runners to second and third, before BG sophomore Liz Vrabel got an infield popup for the second out. Merchant, however, made the visitors pay for the errors, hitting a three-run homer.
The Falcons got a run back in the top of the third, as Baca singled up the middle and took second base on a Heimrich sacrifice. Sophomore Gina Rango followed with a run-scoring single for her team-best 18th RBI of the year.
But, the Wolverines scored twice in the bottom of the inning, on a Jennifer Olds single and a Merchant homer down the left-field line. Betley made the score 6-1 when she led off the fourth with a round-tripper of her own.
The Brown and Orange got a run in the fifth, with Baca again starting the rally. The freshman led off with a single, and took second on a Heimrich hit. Then, U-M hurler Lorilyn Wilson got a pair of outs, the second a fielder's choice that advanced Baca to third. She came in to score when Anderson singled with two down.
Michigan scored a run off Vrabel in the bottom of the fifth, and got another pair of runs on three hits off Heimrich in the sixth inning, making the score 0-2. But, the Falcons tried to mount a rally in the seventh.
Baca led off with her second homer of the season, scoring her third run of the game. With one out, Rango singled, and Kernahan drew a walk. The runners each moved up a base on a U-M passed ball, and both Rango and Kernahan came in to score on an Anderson single. But, BG could get no closer than four runs.
Four different players had two hits apiece as the Wolverines pounded out 12 safeties. Merchant had five RBI in the game to give her nine in the doubleheader. For the Falcons, Baca had three of the team's nine hits, scoring three times, while Anderson and Rango had two hits each. Anderson drove in three runs in the game.
Wilson picked up the victory for the Wolverines, improving to 5-0 despite allowing five runs (three earned), nine hits and four walks. She struck out eight BG batters. Vrabel took the loss, allowing seven runs (four earned).
BGSU returns to action with a three-game weekend series to open the Mid-American Conference schedule. The Falcons will meet arch-rival Toledo in the Glass City, with the teams playing a Saturday (March 27) doubleheader and a Sunday (March 28) single game. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. each day at UT's Scott Park.
