Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
RUTGERS
Falcons Split Saturday
March 12, 2006 | Softball
March 11, 2006
BGSU 3, Rutgers 0 - Final Stats
Florida Atlantic 4, BGSU 1 - Final Stats
BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Bowling Green State University softball team split a pair of Saturday (March 11) games, beating Rutgers University by a 3-0 score, before falling to host Florida Atlantic University, 4-1. Both games were part of the Worth Classic, held at the FAU Softball Stadium.
The Falcons are now 3-1 in the tournament and 10-6 on the season.
BGSU will face Seton Hall on Sunday morning, beginning at 11:00 a.m., with the winner of that game meeting FAU in a game scheduled to start at approximately 1:00 p.m.
Sophomore Emily Gouge and senior Liz Vrabel combined on a six-hit shutout in the opening game, with Vrabel picking up the win in relief. Junior Megan McPherson paced the Brown and Orange at the plate vs. Rutgers, going 2-for-3 and scoring two of the Falcons' three runs.
Against FAU, freshman Hayley Wiemer allowed only five hits and two earned runs in her complete-game effort, but took the loss. BGSU was held to three hits in the game, with soph Allison Vallas collecting the Falcons' lone RBI.
BGSU got a runner as far as third base in each of the first two innings vs. Rutgers, before finally breaking through in the top of the third frame. McPherson led off the inning with a single up the middle, and took second on a grounder by sophomore Dawnjene DeLong. The next hitter, junior Jeanine Baca, ripped a triple into the gap in right-center to plate McPherson with the only run the Falcons would need.
Meanwhile, Gouge allowed a total of just one hit over the first three innings, before the Scarlet Knights threatened in the fourth. With two outs, back-to-back singles by Mallory Miller and Shantai Dixon put a pair of runners aboard, and a third consecutive base hit, by Kaitlyn Valiante, loaded the bases. Vrabel entered the game and struck out Kim Hodges to retire the side.
The Falcons added some insurance in the next half-inning. McPherson laced a one-out single to reach base for the third time in the game, then proceeded to steal second with two outs. After a Baca walk, the two Falcon runners pulled off a double steal to put a pair of runners in scoring position.
The hitter at the plate was senior Abby Habicht, who then singled to score McPherson and send Baca to third. Baca would come home on a hit by freshman Desiree Miller.
Vrabel worked out of a first-and-third, no-outs jam in the bottom of the sixth. She allowed a walk, and after a wild pitch and a fielder's choice, the Scarlet Knights had a pair of runners on base. But, Vrabel then got a pair of strikeouts sandwiched around a harmless fly ball to rightfield.
In the seventh, a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases for Rutgers with two outs, but Vrabel whiffed Kristin Madoch to end the game.
Vrabel allowed just two hits in her three-and-two-thirds innings of work, improving to 5-4 on the year. She walked two batters and struck out six. Gouge gave up four hits before leaving with two down in the fourth.
Christina Gillman took the loss for RU, allowing all three runs and six hits in four-plus innings of work. Nicole Freeman got the last seven outs, walking one without allowing a BG hit.
McPherson was the lone player on either team with a multiple-hit game.
In the FAU contest, the Owls snapped a one-all tie with three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Both starting pitchers, Wiemer and FAU's Kathryn Stauffer, were sharp through three innings, with Wiemer the only player to pick up a hit during that time. She had an infield single in the second inning, but was stranded at first.
Meanwhile, in the circle, Wiemer retired the first 10 hitters she faced before allowing a one-out hit to Jenna Lopez in the fourth. Lopez, however, was out trying for second, and Wiemer retired the next hitter to end the inning.
BGSU broke on top in the bottom of that fourth frame. DeLong led off with an infield single, and took second on Miller's sacrifice bunt. Vallas followed with a run-scoring single, and she took second on the FAU throw to the plate. But, she would advance no further as Stauffer recovered to get the third out.
In the top of the fifth, the Owls knotted the score. A one-out single by Becky Brandies was followed by a grounder that sent her to second, and Lauren Crandall plated Brandies with a double.
The Owls took the lead for good in the seventh. After the leadoff hitter reached on a BG error, the next batter, Brandies, was hit by a pitch. Another grounder resulted in a pair of BGSU errors on the same play, and when the smoke had cleared, one run was home and there were runners on second and third. Crandall followed with a two-run single, before Wiemer retired the next three batters.
In the bottom of the seventh, BGSU could manage only a one-out baserunner, as Vallas was hit by a Stauffer pitch. Stauffer got the next Falcon batter to pop up, and a fly ball to right-center ended the game.
Stauffer allowed just one run on three hits in the game, striking out four batters without issuing a walk.
For the Falcons, Wiemer allowed four runs (several unearned) in her complete-game five-hitter. She struck out five hitters, and -- like Stauffer -- did not give up a walk.
At the plate, only DeLong, Vallas and Wiemer could manage hits for the Falcons. Lopez and Crandall each had two hits for the Owls, with Crandall driving in three runs. Brandies scored a pair of runs in the game.
Following Saturday's action, the teams were seeded for Sunday play. BGSU, the second seed, will face third-seeded Seton Hall University at 11:00 a.m., with the winner getting a crack at top-seeded FAU. The latter game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.
WORTH CLASSIC -- Sunday Schedule
#5 Rutgers (1-3) vs. #4 Bethune-Cookman (1-3), 9:00 a.m.
#3 Seton Hall (2-2) vs. #2 Bowling Green (3-1), 11:00 a.m.
BGSU/SHU winner vs. #1 Florida Atlantic (3-1), 1:00 p.m.
