Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
MIAMI (OH)
FALCONS WIN MAC TOURNAMENT!
May 16, 2004 | Softball
May 16, 2004
AKRON, Ohio - Sophomore Abby Habicht's first collegiate homerun broke a sixth-inning deadlock and lifted the Bowling Green State University softball team to a 4-3 win over Miami University and the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship. The game was held at Firestone Stadium Sunday afternoon (May 16).
For the Falcons, now 34-28, the MAC Tournament title marked the first in school history. Miami's season comes to an end at 25-26-1.
The Falcons, seeded sixth for the six-team, double-elimination tournament, eliminated each of the tourney's top-four seeds en route to the title. BGSU now earns the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, and the Falcons will be placed in one of the eight regionals. The official NCAA announcement will come at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, and will be televised by ESPNews.
BGSU will make the fourth NCAA Regional appearance in school history, and the first since 1993. The 1982 and 1988 editions of the Falcons also advanced to national postseason play.
Falcon senior Jody Johnson was named the MAC Tournament MVP, while sophomores Habicht, Lindsay Heimrich and Gina Rango joined her on the all-tourney team.
 Sophomore Abby Habicht picked up her second game-winning RBI of the MAC Tournament, hitting her first collegiate homer vs. Miami  |
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Rango lined a Salmon offering to centerfield, with Ramsey scoring as the throw was cut off, and the Falcons had the lead.
In the bottom of the first, centerfielder Jeanine Baca picked up where her classmate, Kari Steigerwald, had left off in the first game. Steigerwald had made a diving catch to end the day's first contest, a 1-0 BG win, and Baca robbed MU leadoff hitter Jamie Carey with a sliding catch in right-center.
The next batter, Jackie Poggendorf, reached base on an infield single. Freshman Megan McPherson's diving stop behind the second-base bag kept the ball from leaving the infield, but Poggendorf reached base without a throw. McPherson then grabbed a sharp grounder by Bianca Paz and threw to shortstop Jenifer Kernahan to force Poggendorf for the second out, and Johnson got Becca Garcia to ground to first baseman Heimrich to retire the side.
The Falcons threatened again in the second. Kernahan lined a leadoff single through the left side of the RedHawk infield, and Steigerwald reached on a one-out drag bunt, as first baseman Poggendorf fielded, but had no play at any base.
Salmon got a strikeout for the second out, but Baca came through with a bloop double to plate Kernahan and double the BGSU lead. The Falcons, after totalling five hits in Sunday's first game, had five hits through the first two innings of game two.
BGSU threatened in the third, as Rango walked, stole second and continued on to third when the throw sailed past an uncovered second base into centerfield. But, with one out, the RedHawks snuffed out a suicide squeeze attempt by the Falcons, as junior Kristen Anderson was forced to try to bunt a 2-2 outside pitch with Rango starting for home. Anderson was out on strikes and Rango was out in a rundown to end the inning.
Miami looked to seize the momentum in the bottom of the third, as Jessica Zogaib worked Johnson for a one-out base on balls. Carey then reached on an infield hit, and Poggendorf walked to load the bases.
The Falcons made a pitching change, as sophomore Liz Vrabel made her first tournament appearance, facing the third hitter in the order with the bases loaded and no outs. Paz was hit by a pitch, forcing home a run, and Garcia then hit a sacrifice fly to plate Carey and tie the game. With two runners still in scoring position, though, Vrabel got Kristen Hays on a called third strike.
In the Falcon fourth, Habicht hit a ball just over the outstretched glove of first baseman Poggendorf, and Steigerwald's hot shot toward third went for a base hit, as third baseman Jacque Molinaro made a diving stop, but could not right herself in time for a throw. Then, McPherson's sac bunt sent Steigerwald to second and pinch-runner Marla Murphy to third with two outs.
On the very next pitch, with Baca at the plate, a passed ball brought Murphy sliding home with the go-ahead run.
Miami came right back in the bottom of the fourth, however, loading the bases with only one out. Chelsie McWhorter and Allison Maxey drew back-to-back walks, and Zogaib followed with a bunt single toward first base. But, with the top of the order coming up, Vrabel got Carey to pop up to shortstop, then got a strikeout of Poggendorf.
The RedHawks made a pitching change, bringing Poggendorf to the circle to begin the fifth inning, and she retired the Falcons in order.
Miami rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the inning, as Garcia reached on an error, then came home on a two-out single by Molinaro. The Falcons and RedHawks were deadlocked at 3-3 through five frames.
In the sixth, though, Habicht broke the tie, with a two-out homer just inside the left-field fair pole. The solo shot was the first of Habicht's career.
With six outs to go, Vrabel got Maxey to swing and miss for the first out, then did the same thing to Zogaib. Four outs remained. Leadoff hitter Carey's opposite-field liner was grabbed by Kernahan, and the teams headed to the seventh.
The Falcons looked to give Vrabel an insurance run or two, as McPherson reached base when her leadoff grounder was muffed by the second baseman. Baca's looping liner was caught in right, before Ramsey bunted McPherson into scoring position with two outs. But, Poggendorf got Heimrich to ground to short, and the Falcon sophomore was out by a step.
Vrabel took the field for the seventh inning, with Miami's two, three and four hitters due up. Poggendorf hit a sinking liner to shortstop, where Kernahan took it on the short hop, then threw to Heimrich, who also gloved it off the bounce for the first out.
With a 2-1 count, Vrabel's inside pitch to Paz hit the batter's hand. But, the home-plate umpire ruled that Paz made no effort to get out of the way of the pitch, and it was ruled a ball. With the count now 3-1, Paz swung and missed, then fouled off three consecutive offerings before Vrabel got her for a swinging strikeout.
Cleanup hitter Garcia then came to the plate, and hit a popup to second. When McPherson grabbed the ball at 4:16 p.m. Eastern Time, the Falcons had the first MAC Tournament title in school history.
Vrabel picked up the win in relief, evening her record at 15-15. She allowed just on unearned run in four and two-thirds innings, walking two batters and striking out five.
Johnson, pitching in her sixth game in four days, had allowed two runs and two hits before leaving with one out in the third. She walked a pair of hitters.
Poggendorf took the loss in relief to fall to 13-9. She allowed only one hit -- the homer by Habicht -- in her three innings of work. Salmon had surrendered three runs (two earned) and seven hits in four frames, walking one and fanning four.
The Falcons outhit the RedHawks by an 8-5 margin in the game, with Habicht and Steigerwald each going 2-for-3. Five different RedHawk players had one hit apiece.
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