Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
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Falcons Win Two Saturday Games, Topping Maine and UAB to Move to 4-0
February 25, 2006 | Softball
Feb. 25, 2006
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Bowling Green State University softball team picked up two more wins at the Panera Bread Challenge Saturday (Feb. 25) to remain undefeated. The Falcons posted a 1-0 win over Maine, before downing UAB by a 6-3 count.
With the wins, BGSU improves to 4-0 on the season.
Sophomore Emily Gouge threw six innings of shutout ball vs. the Black Bears to earn the win, while freshman Hayley Wiemer worked a one-two-three seventh inning to pick up her first collegiate save.
Wiemer figured in the scoring of the game's only run as well, in the top of the second inning. She led off the inning with a single and scored on sophomore Dawnjene DeLong's one-out double down the line.
Gouge allowed only one runner past first base in the game, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out four. Wiemer struck out the first two batters she faced, then got a grounder to shortstop to end the game.
Wiemer had two of the Falcons' five hits in the game.
Senior Gina Rango and freshman Wendy Sheehan were the hitting heroes in the UAB game. Rango had two homeruns, giving her three in two days, while Sheehan had a three-run double.
The Falcons rallied from a 3-2 deficit with a four-run fifth inning in that game. All of the damage in that fifth frame came with two outs, as Rango clubbed her second solo homer of the game, while Sheehan cleared the bases and broke open a tie game just four batters later.
Wiemer picked up her first collegiate win in that game, entering the circle in the third inning and shutting down the Blazers.
"We are playing very well right now," said Falcon head coach Leigh Ross. "This is the Bowling Green team I was hoping to see.
"Everyone is playing well, and a lot of different people are contributing. It isn't just one or two kids; they are all getting the job done."
In the UAB contest, Rango got the Brown and Orange on the board with a two-out homer to left in the first. But, the Blazers would rally with two runs in the third on three singles off senior starter Lindsay Heimrich.
The Brown and Orange knotted the score with an unearned run off UAB's Kayla Harris in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Heimrich and Rango had back-to-back singles, and sophomore Allison Vallas walked to load the bases. Wiemer reached on an error by the UAB shortstop, with Heimrich scoring to tie the game.
The Blazers got a run off reliever Wiemer in the fifth, on a single, a sacrifice bunt and a one-out double by Andrea Rogers. Rogers was 2-for-2 with two RBI for UAB. After her double, however, Wiemer recovered to strike out the next two batters.
The Falcons responded with the four-run fifth, beginning with Rango's two-out homer off of reliever Brittany Hodge. Vallas followed by drawing her second walk of the day, and Wiemer singled to move her to second. DeLong was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Sheehan then cleared them with her double to right-center.
Wiemer picked up her first win in the game, allowing one run and four hits in four-plus innings of work. She walked one batter and struck out six.
Rango had a total of three hits in four appearances, including the two homers. She tied the school's single-game record for round-trippers, a record that she already had shared.
"We are getting good pitching, and also getting the key hits when we need them," said Ross. "Gina's one homer might have gone as far as any ball I have ever seen in all my years of playing and coaching softball; we are estimating that it went about 280 feet.
"We got good pitching performances again, and the nice thing is that we got contributions from three pitchers (Gouge, Wiemer and Heimrich) and were able to give Liz Vrabel the day off. We made a point of not even having Liz pick up a ball today, after her two solid pitching performances yesterday."
The Falcons conclude weekend action with a pair of Sunday (Feb. 26) games at the Panera Bread Challenge. BGSU will take on East Tennessee State and Belmont before returning home.
