Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
BUFFALO
Falcons Sweep Buffalo, 1-0 and 4-1, to Open MAC Season
March 31, 2006 | Softball
March 31, 2006
BGSU 1, Buffalo 0 -- Final Stats
BGSU 4, Buffalo 1 (6 inn.) -- Final Stats
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Bowling Green State University softball team got the Mid-American Conference portion of the schedule off to a successful start, posting a doubleheader sweep of the University at Buffalo Friday afternoon (March 31). The Falcons picked up wins by scores of 1-0 and 4-1 at Nan Harvey Field, with the second game shortened to six innings due to inclement weather.
With the wins, the Falcons are now 19-10 on the season, and 2-0 in MAC play. The host Bulls drop to 8-26 and 0-2, respectively. BGSU's total of 19 wins marks the most victories by the end of March in school history.
Senior Liz Vrabel picked up the win in the opener, firing a three-hit shutout. BG's run came in the fourth inning, when sophomore Allison Vallas successfully executed a squeeze play to score junior Jeanine Baca from third base.
In the nightcap, freshman Hayley Wiemer allowed just four hits, while junior Ashley Zirkle homered and drove in all four BGSU runs.
Wiemer was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate to help her own cause in the nightcap.
In the opener, Vrabel fired her fourth complete-game shutout of the season, striking out 11 UB batters. She retired the first seven batters she faced, and did not allow a hit until there were two outs in the fifth inning.
For her part, UB starter Sophie Barstad was nearly as effective. Barstad allowed only five hits on the day, and the lone run she surrendered was unearned.
The only baserunner of the first two innings was junior Megan McPherson, who reached on a one-out walk -- the lone free pass issued by Barstad -- in the opening inning. Baca moved McPherson to second with a sac bunt, but the Falcons could advance her no further.
The next baserunner, and the first hit, of the game for either team would come in the third. Sophomore Dawnjene DeLong reached on a two-out single, but Barstad was able to get the third out.
In the bottom of that inning, UB's Colleen Greene drew a one-out walk for the Bulls' first runner, but Vrabel got a fly-ball out, then struck out Mary Russell to retire the side.
In the fourth, Baca reached base on an error to start the inning, then stole second. Barstad got a popup for the first out, but Baca took off again, stealing third. Vallas and Baca then pulled off a squeeze play, with Vallas laying down a sacrifice bunt as the Bulls had no play at the plate. Vallas was retired at first base for the second out as Baca scored what would prove to be the game's lone run.
BGSU threatened to increase the lead, as Wiemer and senior Abby Habicht had back-to-back singles, and senior Lindsay Heimrich reached on catcher's interference to load the bases. But, Barstad was able to get an inning-ending strikeout.
UB went down in order in the fourth, but put two runners aboard with a single and a hit-by-pitch with two down in the fifth. But, Vrabel struck out Kerry Cafazzo to end that threat.
Vallas doubled in the sixth inning, but was stranded there. In the bottom of the inning, an Erin Zilka with two outs did not lead to amy damage, as Vrabel got the next hitter, Barstad, to fly out.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Bulls got a leadoff single from Lauren Kor, and a sac bunt by Lacy Schneider sent pinch-runner Jennifer Biernacki to second base. But, Vrabel got Dana Carter to swing and miss at a two-strike pitch for the second out, then induced Greene to pup up to shortstop DeLong to end the threat and the game.
Vrabel's win was her 10th of the season, against five losses. She had just one walk and the 11 strikeouts, her third double-digit strikeout effort of the season. Barstad walked just one hitter and struck out five, but dropped to 7-13 on the year.
Freshman Desiree Miller had a pinch-hit single in the game, joining DeLong, Habicht, Vallas and Wiemer on the hit list.
In the second game, BGSU pounded out 10 hits against Margo Schramm, but again could not get on the scoreboard until the fourth inning. Wiemer had a first-inning single, and BG loaded the bases in the second, but the Bulls got out of each inning unscathed.
For UB in the first, Zilka was hit by a Wiemer pitch, and Barstad followed with a single, but Wiemer then threw a called third strike past Kor to end the inning.
BGSU's second inning saw Vallas lead off with a single before stealing second. Miller drew a walk, and a McPherson walk loaded the bases with two outs, but Schramm got DeLong to fly out to center.
Wiemer retired the Bulls in order in the second and the third, and had a double of her own to lead off the top of the third, but the Falcons could not advance her past second. The teams went to the fourth inning still embroiled in a scoreless deadlock.
In that fourth frame, however, the Falcons strung together three consecutive hits to take a 2-0 lead before the rains came. Miller singled, and a Habicht double put runners on second and third for Zirkle. The Falcon junior responded with a single to score both Miller and Habicht, giving the Falcons the lead for good.
The teams waited out a rain delay of 1:16, before the Bulls got a runner to second in the bottom of the inning. But, Wiemer got Schneider to ground out to end that inning. Wiemer got another groundout to end the UB fifth, after Cafazzo and Russell had back-to-back singles with two outs, and the Falcons would double the lead in the sixth.
In what would prove to be the final inning of the day, Habicht led off with a single, then trotted home when Zirkle deposited a Schramm offering over the fence in leftfield. Zilka spoiled Wiemer's shutout bid in the bottom of the sixth, with a leadoff homer, but the BG freshman then got strikeouts of Barstad and Kor, before Schneider grounded out to end the game.
Wiemer, as mentioned, was a perfect 3-for-3, for her first career three-hit game. Habicht and Zirkle each had two-hit games, the first multiple-hit outing of the season for each. Habicht scored two runs in a game for the first time since her freshman year of 2003, and the second time in her BGSU career, while Zirkle had a career-high four RBI.
Four different Bulls had a hit apiece in the second game.
The Falcons now head to Northeast Ohio for a pair of games vs. Kent State University. BGSU and KSU will meet in single games on Saturday (April 1 -- 2:00 p.m.) and Sunday (April 2 -- 1:00 p.m.) at the Kent State Softball Field.
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