Bowling Green State University Athletics
Rango, Vrabel Earn MAC Weekly Honors
April 18, 2005 | Softball
April 18, 2005
CLEVELAND, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - Bowling Green State University juniors Gina Rango and Liz Vrabel have swept the Mid-American Conference weekly honors, as Rango was named MAC Player of the Week, while Vrabel picked up league pitcher-of-the-week honors. The announcement was made by the conference office Monday afternoon (April 18).
Vrabel earns the honor for the third time this season and the sixth time in her Falcon career. For Rango, the award is her first in 2005 and the second of her career.
Vrabel's honor marks the third consecutive week, and the fifth time this year, that a Falcon has captured the MAC Pitcher-of-the-Week award. Vrabel also won the award on Feb. 28 and April 4, while junior Lindsay Heimrich was recognized on March 14 and freshman Emily Gouge last week (April 11).
Rango, a native of North Lima, Ohio (Boardman HS), hit a team-high .667, going 10-of-15 at the plate, as the Falcons went 5-2 last week. She hit .444 in the Falcons' five MAC games.
Rango had a 20-game hitting streak, believed to be a school record, before going 0-for-3 in the team's final game of the week, vs. Eastern Michigan Sunday (April 17). Rango began the week by going 6-for-6 in a doubleheader sweep of Oakland, before the Golden Grizzlies issued her an intentional walk in her final plate appearance of the day.
Two days later, Rango was 1-for-1 with a three-run homer, a hit-by-pitch and two more walks in the Falcons' 9-0 win at Akron. She reached base in an incredible 13-straight plate appearances before finally making an out in the second UA game.
On Saturday (April 16), Rango had a two-run single in the opening game vs. EMU, giving the Falcons a lead they would not relinquish as BG triumphed, 4-1. In the second game of the day, she had a hit, a run and an RBI in an eight-run BG win.
On the week, Rango had a slugging percentage of .867 and an on-base pct. of .792. She walked eight times overall, including one intentional walk and several more of the 'unintentional-intentional walk' variety.
Rango is hitting a team- and league-leading .415 on the year, and also leads the MAC with a batting average of .432 in conference games. She became the BGSU career leader in RBI in the first Oakland game last Monday (April 11), and now has a total of 99 in her career.
Vrabel, a native of Allison Park, Pa. (North Allegheny HS), had a record of 4-0 and an earned-run average of just 0.31 last week. In MAC action, she was 3-0 with an ERA of 0.33.
In 22 2/3 innings of work last week, Vrabel surrendered just one run and allowed opponents to hit just .141 against her. She threw a pair of complete-game shutouts, both in MAC play.
On Saturday, Vrabel came within just one out of a perfect game vs. EMU, before allowing a two-out single in the Falcons' 8-0, five-inning win. That came in her second game of the day, after she had thrown a four-hitter, striking out 11, in the opening-game win.
Vrabel also threw a shutout at UA, allowing six hits and striking out 12. She also tossed two innings of no-hit relief vs. Eastern in the final game of the week.
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On the year, the junior is now 13-9 with a 2.02 ERA and 160 strikeouts, and she now owns three of the top-four single-season 'K' totals in BGSU history. In MAC games, Vrabel is 7-2 with an ERA of just 1.11 and an opponent batting average of only .154.
Rango and Vrabel, obviously, swept the Player- and Pitcher-of-the-Week honors for the West Division. Kent State's Jessica Toocheck was named the Player of the Week in the East Division, while Miami's Jackie Poggendorf earned the Pitcher-of-the-Week award.
The Falcons, 22-22 overall and 8-6 in MAC play, currently sit in second place in the league's West Division, one-half game ahead of Western Michigan (12-20, 7-6 MAC), and BG will open the week by taking on the Broncos. The Brown and Orange will travel to Kalamazoo for a Wednesday (April 20) doubleheader, beginning at 2:00 p.m.
Then, BGSU will head to Marshall for a single, non-conference game on Friday (April 22), before going to Athens for a Saturday (April 23) doubleheader vs. Ohio.
