Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU Heads to Tampa for USF Speedline Invitational
March 16, 2006 | Softball
March 16, 2006
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University softball team, for the fourth consecutive weekend, will head to an exotic locale to participate in a tournament ... the Falcons of eighth-year head coach Leigh Ross (10-7) will head to Tampa, Fla., to take part in the USF Speedline Invitational this Friday through Sunday (March 17-19) ... BGSU will face Troy and Towson on Friday (March 17) at 4:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively ... then, the Falcons will meet Winthrop in Saturday (March 18) action, beginning at 1:30 p.m. ... beginning Saturday at 4:00 p.m., the teams will be placed in the championship and consolation brackets, with championship play continuing through Sunday (March 19) ... other schools in the 16-team tourney - and therefore, other potential BGSU opponents - include Buffalo, Canisius, Dartmouth, Elon, Florida International, Fordham, George Mason, UIC, Maine, Ohio, Purdue and host South Florida.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
The Falcons enter the Speedline Invitational with a record of 10-7 on the season ... BGSU went 6-0 at the Panera Bread Challenge in Chattanooga, Tenn., in the season's opening weekend, then posted a 1-5 record at the Compass Bank Invitational in Waco, Texas, one week later ... the Compass Bank Invite pitted BGSU against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the national polls in all six games ... the Falcons picked up a win vs. #13/15 Washington in that tourney ... last weekend (March 10-12), BG went 3-2 at the Worth Classic, hosted by Florida Atlantic ... the Falcons downed Seton Hall, Campbell and Rutgers before losing to host FAU and to SHU in the rematch between the teams ... BGSU is hitting .230 as a team, while allowing opponents to hit just .207 ... senior Gina Rango, the 2005 MAC Player of the Year, is hitting .388 this season to date ... Rango has a slugging percentage of .735, and has four homeruns and 13 runs batted in ... she leads the Falcons in eight offensive categories ... junior Jeanine Baca is batting .291 with a team-high 10 runs scored, while freshman Hayley Wiemer is hitting .268 ... in the circle, sophomore Emily Gouge has a team-low 1.30 earned-run average and a record of 2-0, while Wiemer is 3-3 with a 1.74 ERA ... senior Liz Vrabel, the reigning MAC Pitcher of the Year, has a BG-high five wins (5-4) and a 2.64 ERA ... Vrabel has 56 strikeouts to pace BG in that category, and has allowed opponents to hit just .192 against her ... Wiemer has an opponent batting average of only .194 ... head coach Leigh Ross welecomed back 14 letterwinners, including a total of seven positional starters, from last year's team that went 29-30 and finished with a mark of 12-10 in Mid-American Conference play.
BGSU PICKED TO WIN EAST DIVISION
Bowling Green was picked to win the MAC's East Division in 2006 ... the poll is a result of voting by the league's 12 head coaches ... Central Michigan was the coaches' choice to win the West Division and the MAC Tournament ... with the departure of Marshall from the conference, the Falcons were moved from the West to the East Division prior to the 2005-06 academic year.
NOTING THE OPPONENTS
Troy has a record of 13-15 after a narrow loss to Auburn, 4-3, Tuesday ... five of the team's losses have come to nationally-ranked opponents, and the Trojans own a win over defending national champion Michigan ... Jessica Lyle is batting .313, while Brooke Powell is hitting .304 with team-high totals of four homers and 15 RBI ... in the circle, Angela Lopez is 6-4 with a team-low 3.05 ERA, while Laine Harcourt is 5-7 with a 3.33 ERA ... Troy went 47-21 last year, with a 17-3 Atlantic Sun Conference record and a league title ... Melanie Davis has been Troy's head coach since the program was started in 1994 ... web: www.troytrojans.com.
Towson is 8-9 after Tuesday's 2-0 win over Mount St. Mary's ... the team began the year at 0-5, but has won four of the last five games ... Jen Hastings is hitting .404 to lead the Tigers, while Emily Gould is batting .371 ... Jillian Kiley, one of five pitchers to see action this year to date, is 2-4 with a 2.14 ERA ... Jessica Fisher has a 5-4 record and a 2.21 ERA ... Towson went 38-19 last year, posting a CAA runner-up finish with a 13-2 league mark ... Lisa Costello is in her 11th year at the helm ... web: www.TowsonTigers.com.
Winthrop is 15-15 after a Wednesday (March 15) doubleheader sweep at the College of Charleston ... the Eagles have won seven-straight games and 10 of the last 12 contests after a 5-13 start ... Tessa Thomas is hitting .395 with five homers, while Sarah Magee owns a .342 batting average ... Julie Harvey is 6-6 with a team-leading 2.48 ERA, and Shahna Ashard has a WU-most eight wins ... head coach Mark Cooke is in his 18th year at the school ... the Eagles went 39-23-1 last year, with a 9-3 Big South Conference record.
THE SERIES
BGSU has never met Troy, Towson or Winthrop on the softball diamond.
UP NEXT
Northwest Ohio weather permitting, the Falcons will open the home portion of the schedule with a doubleheader vs. Detroit on Saturday, March 25 ... first pitch of the first game is scheduled for noon.
