Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
MICHIGAN STATE
Spartans Squeak Past Falcons, 2-1
April 11, 2006 | Softball
April 11, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Back-to-back errors in the third inning proved to be the Bowling Green State University softball team's undoing Tuesday afternoon (April 11), as host Michigan State University scored a pair of unearned runs in that frame for a 2-1 victory over the Falcons. The non-conference game was held at Old College Field.
With the win, the Spartans improve to 28-11 on the year, while the Falcons drop to 23-15.
The loss was not indicative of the performance by BGSU's Hayley Wiemer. The Falcon freshman threw a complete-game three-hitter against the Spartans, the top-hitting team in the Big Ten Conference, and did not allow an earned run. At the plate, Wiemer scorched a double to drive in the Falcons' lone run.
BGSU outhit the hosts by a 6-3 margin.
Sophomore Dawnjene DeLong began the game by hitting MSU starter Megan Hair's first pitch for a single to leftfield. DeLong took second on Wiemer's groundout, but she was stranded there.
Wiemer set the Spartans down in order in the bottom of the first. The opening inning took a total of nine minutes, as the two pitchers combined to throw 20 pitches.
Wiemer retired the first five Spartans, before allowing a two-out walk to Kara Weigle, but the senior combo of catcher Abby Habicht and first baseman Lindsay Heimrich combined to get a pickoff of Weigle two pitches later.
Wiemer helped her own cause in the top of the third inning, picking up the game's first run batted in. Junior Megan McPherson singled up the middle with one out, and stole second with Wiemer at bat. Wiemer fouled off four pitches, and hit the ninth pitch of her at-bat past centerfielder Nikki Nicosia for a line-drive double, with McPherson scoring easily.
The Spartans got their first hit of the day when Traci Nicosia, Nikki's twin sister, lined Wiemer's first pitch of the inning back up the middle. Dana Rosenblatt drew a walk, putting two runners aboard with no outs.
The situation became more dire for the Falcons when the next batter, Gina Mondo, reached on an error, loading the bases. Then, Nikki Nicosia hit a grounder to second, but the home-plate umpire ruled that Traci Nicosia was safe as Habicht did not touch the plate on the force attempt. That ruling made it a 1-1 game, with still no outs.
Wiemer responded after the back-to-back errors, however, to get a ground ball back to the circle, and the BG freshman threw home to record the first out. The next hitter, Meghan Darhower, lined a one-hopper that shortstop DeLong knocked down, but her only play was to third base as Mondo scored to give the Spartans the lead. Wiemer then got Dayna Feenstra to hit yet another grounder, and DeLong ranged toward second to glove the ball and throw to first for the final out.
The Spartans got a leadoff double by Caitlin Mahoney to start the fourth, but Wiemer got a strikeout of Weigle, then induced Traci Nicosia to hit a grounder to third baseman Gina Rango. Rango looked pinch-runner Abby Lincoln back to second before firing to first base for the second out. Then, Wiemer got Rosenblatt to swing at strike three to retire the side.
In the sixth, Rango reached base with one out, but was erased on a fielder's choice grounder for the second out of the inning. And, Spartan reliever Lesley Noel got a strikeout to end the inning.
In the Spartan half of the sixth, Feenstra had a soft single to right with one out, and a Mahoney fielder's choice resulted in a Falcon error and runners at first and second. Wiemer rebounded to strike out Weigle for the second time on the day, and the BG freshman then got Traci Nicosia to ground out to shortstop.
Habicht lined a Noel offering to the base of the wall in right-center for a one-out double in the top of the seventh, but the Spartan pitcher got a foul pop for the second out, then picked up the game-ending strikeout.
Hair got the win for the Spartans, improving to 7-3 on the season. She allowed one run and four hits in four innings of work. Noel picked up the save with three innings of two-hit shutout ball, striking out two.
Wiemer took the hard-luck loss, dropping to 7-7 on the year. The freshman allowed just three hits and two runs - both unearned - in her complete-game performance, walking two batters and striking out five.
At the plate, Rango had two of BG's six hits, while Wiemer and Habicht each doubled.
The Falcons, 6-2 in Mid-American Conference play and tied for the East Division lead, will return to league action with four games this weekend. BGSU will head to Muncie, Ind., for a Friday (April 14) doubleheader vs. Ball State University, beginning at 1:00 p.m. Then, the Falcons will face Miami University in single games on Saturday and Sunday (April 15-16) in Oxford, Ohio.
