Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Face Defending National Champs to Begin Busy Week
March 27, 2006 | Softball
March 27, 2006
BGSU Notes & Stats (10 pages) in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University softball team, having won seven consecutive games, will put that streak to the test in a big way this week ... the Falcons of eighth-year head coach Leigh Ross (17-8) will play the next eight games on the road, beginning with a game against the defending national champions ... BG will meet the University of Michigan in Tuesday (March 28) action, with the first pitch set for 4:00 p.m. at U-M's Alumni Field ... then, the Falcons will tangle with Notre Dame University in a Wednesday (March 29) game, starting at 5:00 p.m. at Ivy Field.
This weekend, the Brown and Orange will begin MAC play, heading to the league's "East Coast" for two games apiece vs. the University at Buffalo and Kent State University ... the Falcons will face the Bulls in a Friday (March 31) doubleheader, beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Nan Harvey Field ... then, BGSU will meet the Golden Flashes in a pair of single games ... Saturday's (April 1) game begins at 2:00 p.m., while Sunday's (April 2) contest starts at 1:00 p.m. at the Kent State Softball Field.
FALCONS SWEEP DETROIT TO OPEN HOME SCHEDULE
The Falcons pounded out a total of 26 hits in Saturday's (March 25) doubleheader sweep of Detroit at the BGSU Softball Field ... BG won by scores of 7-1 and 7-0, and UDM's lone run of the day was unearned ... all nine Falcon starters in the starting lineup had a hit in the first game, and eight of the nine BG starters had at least one hit in the nightcap.
VALLAS AT IT AGAIN VERSUS DETROIT
Sophomore Allison Vallas has enjoyed success, to say the least, against Detroit in her career ... on Saturday, Vallas hit .857 in the two games, with six hits in seven at-bats ... that included a career-high four hits in the second game ... in last year's twinbill vs. the Titans, Vallas reached base in seven of her eight plate appearances, going 4-for-5 ... in her four career games vs. UDM, Vallas is hitting .833 ... she has gone 10-for-12 with four runs scored, eight RBI, three doubles, a triple and three walks in those four games, with an on-base percentage of .867 and a slugging pct. of 1.250.
HOT START
The Falcons are off to a 17-8 start to the season, putting BG more than halfway to last year's win total ... the 2005 Falcons went 29-30 ... BGSU is eight games ahead of last year's pace, as the '05 team was 9-16 after 25 games.
HOT START II
The Falcons' 17-8 start is just one game shy of matching the best start in school history ... the 1993 BGSU team was 18-7 through 25 games, en route to a 34-18 finish and a MAC title ... the 1992 and 2000 teams, like the '06 squad, also were 17-8 through 25 games ... the '92 squad won a school-record 37 games and finished second in the MAC, while the 2000 team tied for the league's East Division crown and posted 33 total wins.
RANGO'S RAMPAGE THROUGH RECORD BOOKS
Senior Gina Rango already owns several BGSU career records, and is threatening to add to that list in the near future ... Rango, the 2005 MAC Player of the Year, is the school's all-time leader in homers (20), RBI (117) and total bases (340), and currently ranks first in career batting average (.370) and slugging percentage (.565) ... she could own five more BGSU career records before too long ... here are the other categories in which Rango is threatening to take over the top spot ...
CATEGORY RANGO'S TOTAL THE CURRENT RECORD ... Games Started 195, third 200, Colleen Bates (1997-2000) Hits 223, second 234, Amy Lienhardt (1985-88) Doubles 43, third 47, Dena Romstadt (1990-93) Walks 51, tie-sixth 65, Lienhardt At-Bats 602, fifth 642, Lienhardt
VRABEL LEAVING HER MARK, TOO
Gina Rango is not the only Falcon senior that won a major MAC award last spring, and she is not the lone player to be at or near the top of numerous career lists ... Liz Vrabel, the 2005 MAC Pitcher of the Year, is the BGSU career leader in victories (58) and strikeouts (661), and also ranks first in strikeouts per seven innings (7.27) ... Vrabel ranks among the top-three in no fewer than five other categories, and fourth in one additional pitching chart ... the list ...
CATEGORY VRABEL'S TOTAL THE CURRENT RECORD ... Shutouts * 22, second 24, Jennifer Wolf (1993-97) Appearances 119, third 136, Wolf Games Started 86, fourth 108, Wolf Complete Games 64, third 88, Wolf Innings Pitched 636 2/3, third 772 1/3, Wolf ERA 1.46, third 0.93, Vicki Miwa (1986-88) * includes combined shutouts
ABOUT THE FALCONS
The Falcons enter the week with a record of 17-8 on the season, and BG will put a seven-game winning streak on the line in Tuesday's U-M contest ... BGSU has participated in four tournaments this spring, winning two of them ... the most recent tourney title came at the USF Speedline Invitational in Tampa (March 17-19) ... BG 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 ... the next 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 .268 as a team, while allowing opponents to hit just .198 ... senior Gina Rango, the 2005 MAC Player of the Year, is hitting .392 this season to date ... Rango has a slugging percentage of .662, and has four homeruns and 17 runs batted in ... she leads the Falcons in six offensive categories ... sophomore Allison Vallas is batting .338 with 14 RBI and a team-best on-base percentage of .452, while junior Jeanine Baca is hitting .333 ... Baca paces the Falcons with 19 runs scored, and is second in slugging pct. (.481) ... freshman Desiree Miller is hitting .308 with 12 RBI, while junior Lauren Hoffman has a .350 average in 20 at-bats this year ... in the circle, sophomore Emily Gouge has a team-low 0.97 earned-run average and a record of 4-0, while freshman Hayley Wiemer is 4-4 with a 1.21 ERA and a team-high three saves ... senior Liz Vrabel, the reigning MAC Pitcher of the Year, has a BG-high nine wins (9-4) and a 1.51 ERA ... Vrabel has 86 strikeouts to pace BG in that category, and has allowed opponents to hit just .170 against her ... Wiemer has an opponent batting average of only .195 ... head coach Leigh Ross welcomed back 14 letterwinners, including a total of seven positional starters, from last year's team that went 29-30 and finished with a Mid-American Conference mark of 12-10.
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
Michigan has a record of 17-9 on the season, and the Wolverines are coming off a 4-0 weekend and a tournament title at the Louisville Classic ... senior Becky Marx is hitting .342 with seven homeruns and 24 RBI, while sophomore Alessandra Giampaolo is batting .325 ... senior Jennie Ritter is 9-4 in the circle, with an ERA of 0.95 and a whopping 159 strikeouts compared to just 13 walks ... U-M went 65-7 last season en route to winning the national championship ... Carol Hutchins is in her 22nd season at the helm of the Wolverines ... web: mgoblue.com.
Notre Dame enters the week with a record of 13-10, and the Fighting Irish bring a two-game winning streak into the BGSU game ... UND posted a doubleheader sweep of Western Michigan on Sunday ... junior Stephanie Brown leads the team with a .333 batting average ... senior Heather Booth has a team-low 1.70 ERA with a 6-7 record, while freshman Brittney Barger has a UND-best seven wins (7-3) and a 2.54 ERA ... a year ago, the Irish went 46-15 overall and won the Big East for coach Deanna Gumpf, who is in her fifth season at the helm ... web: www.und.com.
Buffalo enters the week with a record of 8-21, and the Bulls play a Wednesday doubleheader at Pittsburgh before hosting the Falcons two days later ... last weekend, UB struggled at the East Carolina Pirate Classic, losing four games by shutout ... freshman Erin Zilka has a team-best .297 batting average, while junior Sophie Barstad has a UB-high 21 RBI on the year ... Barstad is also the top UB hurler, with a team-low 3.15 ERA and a 7-11 record in the circle ... Marie Curran is in her seventh season at the UB helm ... web: www.buffalobulls.com.
Kent State has a record of 9-12, and the Golden Flashes play four games this week before meeting the Falcons ... KSU will play a Tuesday twinbill at North Carolina State before hosting Toledo for a pair of Friday games ... the Flashes, like Buffalo, were at East Carolina's tournament over the weekend, going 1-3 with a pair of extra-inning losses ... sophomore Jamie Fitzpatrick leads the team with a .333 batting average and six homeruns ... junior Brittney Robinson paces the KSU pitchers, with a record of 8-8 and a 1.21 ERA ... Robinson threw a no-hitter in the team's win over Coastal Carolina on Saturday ... Karen Linder is in her 10th season with the Flashes ... web: www.kentstatesports.com.
THE SERIES
BGSU trails Michigan, 24-5, in the all-time series between the teams, and the Wolverines have won the last three meetings, including a 6-0 decision at the BGSU Softball Field last March 30 ... BG's lone win in the last 13 meetings was a 3-1 triumph in the second game of a twinbill three years ago (March 25, 2003) ... the Falcons are 2-13 vs. the Wolverines in games in Ann Arbor, and U-M has won the last five meetings at Alumni Field since BG's last road win on May 10, 1989.
Notre Dame holds an 8-6 lead over the Falcons in that series, and the Fighting Irish have won the last three games, including an 8-5 decision in South Bend in the teams' last meeting four years ago (April 18, 2002) ... BG is 3-4 in road games vs. the Irish.
BGSU leads Buffalo, 10-3, in that series ... the Falcons have won four consecutive series meetings, including the most recent matchup in New York ... the teams split a 2004 doubleheader, with the Bulls capturing a 1-0 win and BG bouncing back for a 4-0 triumph in the nightcap (April 15, 2004) ... last season, the Falcons swept three games at home ... BGSU is 4-1 all-time in road games against the Bulls.
Kent State has a 45-38-1 lead over the Brown and Orange ... BG posted a 6-0 win in the 2004 MAC Tournament in the teams' last meeting ... that win snapped a KSU five-game series win streak ... the Flashes have won eight consecutive home games vs. the Falcons since BG's last road win, on May 1, 1998.
OLD HOME WEEK
The Falcons opened the home portion of the 2006 schedule with Saturday's (March 25) sweep of Detroit ... this week, BGSU will be the home-opening opponent for no fewer than three teams ... Michigan, Notre Dame and Buffalo all open the home schedule with the Falcons ... Kent State will host Toledo on Friday before meeting the Brown and Orange on Saturday.
HEAD COACH Leigh Ross
Leigh Ross, the winningest coach in school history, is in her eighth season as a collegiate head coach, all with the Falcons ... she currently has an overall record of 217-183-2 (.542) ... Ross is also the school's leader in MAC games, with a league mark of 98-66 (.598) ... she ranks first in BG history in conference winning percentage, and is second in overall win pct., trailing only Sandy Haines (.557; 57-45-3).
Ross, the 2001 MAC Coach of the Year, guided the Brown and Orange to a MAC East Division title that spring after a co-championship in 2000 ... she was the fastest coach in BG annals to 100 overall wins as well as 50 MAC victories ... Ross is the only head coach in school history with three 30-win seasons, and continues to set new school marks with each win.
Ross assumed the top job after two years as BG's assistant coach ... the Ottawa Lake, Mich., native came to the Falcon program in August of 1996 after serving as a high-school head coach, at Notre Dame Academy in Toledo, for four seasons ... Ross, a 1992 graduate of the Univ. of Toledo, still holds numerous UT and MAC records, and remains the all-time league leader in batting average (.398), at-bats and hits ... she hit a MAC-record .447 as a senior en route to All-America Second-Team honors ... in 2001, she was inducted into the UT Athletics Hall of Fame.
Kyle Jamieson is in his third season as an assistant coach with the Falcons, while Susan Sargent is in her first year on Ross's coaching staff.
