Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
KENTUCKY
Kentucky Squeaks Past Falcons, 1-0
February 27, 2005 | Softball
Feb. 27, 2005
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The offensive struggles continued for the Bowling Green State University softball team Sunday morning (Feb. 27), as the University of Kentucky pushed an unearned run across the plate in the 10th inning for a 1-0 victory. The game was part of the Frost Classic.
The loss drops the Falcons to 0-5, both on the season and on the weekend. The Wildcats improve to 6-14 on the year.
Falcon junior Liz Vrabel took the loss despite allowing only six hits and an unearned run in her complete-game, 10-inning performance.
BGSU struggled at the plate in the first two days of the weekend tournament, totalling only three runs and 11 hits in the four games. On Sunday morning, BG had no trouble getting runners on base, but could not get the big hit to plate any of those runners.
BG outhit the 'Cats, 7-6, and the Falcons had at least one runner reach base in each of the first six innings. In five of those six innings, including each of the first four, a BG baserunner got as far as second.
UK starting pitcher Samantha Allen issued three walks in the game, all in the first two innings. In the first, sophomore Megan McPherson drew a free pass with one out, and stole second, but was stranded there.
In the second, junior Lindsay Heimrich and sophomore Angie Ortiz each reached via bases on balls, but Allen got a popup and a groundout to escape damage.
In the third frame, McPherson again reached base, on a one-out error. She was forced on a grounder by junior Gina Rango for the second out, but Rango promptly stole second and took third on senior Kristen Anderson's single to leftfield. But, Allen got an inning-ending strikeout.
Ortiz got as far as third base in the fourth, on a single, a groundout and a bunt single by sophomore Emmy Ramsey. Again, however, Allen thwarted the threat, getting a two-out popup.
Meanwhile, Vrabel got eight-straight outs before the Wildcats' Alli Eckman led off the sixth inning with a hit. A UK pinch-runner got as far as second on a wild pitch, but Vrabel got a fly ball for the third out.
In the BG half of the sixth, Ortiz singled down the left-field line, and a single down the right-field line by junior Abby Habicht advanced sophomore pinch-runner Kari Steigerwald to second. Ramsey's sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, respectively, but sophomore Jeanine Baca's two-out line-drive was hit right at the second baseman to retire the side.
The 'Cats got a runner as far as third base in the seventh, on a single, a sac bunt and a grounder to the right side. But, Vrabel again was equal to the task, inducing Jenny Sibert to hit a fly ball for the final out.
Beginning with the eighth inning, the 'international tiebreaker' rule was utilized, as a runner was placed on second base to start each half-inning. Vrabel got three-straight outs in the top of the eighth, and Heirich led off the bottom of the eighth with a single to move Anderson to third. Heimrich then stole second, but Allen got a grounder to third and two fly-ball outs to work out of that jam.
In the ninth, a leadoff walk and a sac bunt put runners on second and third, but Vrabel whiffed Megan Glenn, then got Brooke Marnitz to ground out to short.
A Ramsey sac bunt sent pinch-runner D.J. DeLong to third base to begin the Falcon half of the ninth, but two grounders left her stranded there.
UK finally broke through in the top of the 10th. A leadoff sac bunt advanced Marnitz to third base, and she scored the game's lone run when Meghan Cooper singled down the rightfield line.
In the bottom of the inning, McPherson was placed on second, and stole third -- her second steal of the game -- with one out. But, Allen got a strikeout and a fly ball to end the game.
Allen went all the way for the Wildcats, surrendering seven hits in the shutout. She had three walks and five strikeouts. Vrabel walked one batter and fanned three.
At the plate, Ortiz had two hits to pace BG's seven-hit attack. Six different UK players had one hit apiece, as all 13 hits were singles.
BG left 14 runners on base to the Wildcats' eight.
The Falcons were to return to the diamond almost immediately, closing the tournament with a Sunday afternoon (Feb. 27) game vs. Purdue.
