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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
It All Goes Sour for Falcons as Chippewas Sweep Friday Twinbill
April 21, 2006 | Softball
April 21, 2006
Central Michigan 3, BGSU 2 -- Final Stats
Central Michigan 10, BGSU 4 -- Final Stats
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Visiting Central Michigan University rode a late-game comeback to a game-one victory, then continued that momentum in a lopsided game-two win over the Bowling Green State University softball team Friday afternoon (April 21). The Chippewas posted triumphs by scores of 3-2 and 10-4 in the teams' Mid-American Conference doubleheader at the BGSU Softball Field.
With the wins, Central improves to 15-21 overall and 6-4 in MAC play, while the Falcons fall to 28-18 and 9-5, respectively.
 Lindsay Heimrich tags a Central Michigan runner during Friday's doubleheader (photo by Brad Phalin)  |
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The first game started well for the Chippewas, as Brittany Decker led off with a blooper to shallow centerfield. A retreating Falcon second baseman Megan McPherson appeared to lose the ball in the sun, and the ball glanced off the end of her glove for a double.
Senior starting pitcher Liz Vrabel rallied to get a strikeout of Suzie Giroux, but Amy Hudson was able to reach base on an infield error, putting runners at the corners with just one out. BGSU got out number two as a failed CMU squeeze attempt resulted in catcher Abby Habicht firing to shortstop Dawnjene DeLong to nail Decker for the second out. Then, Jacque Benedict's liner was right at rightfielder Hayley Wiemer for the third out.
After CMU starter Jill DeRoche set down the Falcons in order in the bottom of the first, the Chippewas' Christan Dhondt began the second inning by going the other way for an opposite-field double to left-centerfield. Vrabel got a strikeout and a fly-ball out, respectively, on the next two batters, with pinch-runner Katie Horvath tagging and taking third base on the latter play. The next hitter, Kim Cozat, battled Vrabel to a full count, before the senior got a called strike three to end the threat.
The Falcons got on the board with a contested run in the bottom of the second. Wiemer drew a leadoff walk and stole second, but was retired on a grounder by sophomore Allison Vallas. On a bizarre play, freshman Desiree Miller hit a hard shot to the right side of the infield. With Vallas running on the play, the ball and the runner were in the same general vicinity, before the ball continued on to rightfield for a double. Vallas came all the way around to score ahead of a tag attempt at the plate.
Central Michigan head coach Margo Jonker argued the call, perhaps with very good cause, stating that the ball had hit Vallas. But, it was to no avail, and the run was allowed to stand.
For the third time in as many innings, the Chippewas put the leadoff hitter on base, as Karen Hohs' hard shot off the glove of diving third baseman Gina Rango resulted in an infield single. Vrabel, though, got Decker to hit a foul pop that was caught by catcher Habicht on the next pitch, before Habicht nailed Hohs on a stolen-base attempt several pitches later. Vrabel then got a strikeout of Giroux to end the top of the third.
Heimrich began the bottom of the third by hitting a ball over the head of leftfielder Hohs for a leadoff double. DeLong moved pinch-runner Emmy Ramsey to third with a sacrifice bunt, and a two-out walk to junior Jeanine Baca put runners at the corners, but DeRoche got a grounder to shortstop for an inning-ending force play at second base.
In the top of the fourth, Hudson hit a smash off the left shin of Vrabel. The ball was hit so hard that it caromed nearly all the way to first base. Heimrich picked it up and tagged the sliding Hudson for the first out, and, after a brief consultation with head coach Leigh Ross, Vrabel was able to stay in the game.
Two pitches later, Vrabel called off her infielders and fielded a Benedict popup herself, before retiring the side on a Dhondt grounder.
In the fifth, the Chippewas once again mounted a threat, as Stephanie Crews singled with one out, and Cozat followed with a walk. Vrabel, however, was up to the challenge, striking out Hohs and getting Decker to hit a foul pop that Heimrich grabbed in front of the CMU dugout.
The Falcons got a baserunner in the bottom of the fifth, as McPherson hit a one-out grounder to the first-base side of the circle. DeRoche fielded the ball, but first baseman Dhondt had started for the ball as well, and McPherson was able to beat all CMU fielders to the bag for an infield hit.
McPherson took second base on a passed ball, but was forced to hold there as a grounder produced the second out. DeRoche got Baca to hit a grounder to short, but the throw to first was slightly off-line and trickled into shallow rightfield as McPherson came around to score.
The Chippewas, however, got on the board in the top of the sixth. Hudson worked Vrabel for a one-out walk, but the Falcon senior got Benedict on a swinging strikeout. Dhondt, however, followed with a double, her second of the game, that rolled to the wall in right-center, scoring Hudson to make it a 2-1 game.
Dhondt was able to take third when the BG throw home was off-line, and that proved to be crucial when the next batter, pinch-hitter Lindsey Calme, hit a grounder deep in the hole at shortstop. DeLong's hurried throw was slightly toward the home-plate side of first, and Calme ran into Heimrich as the ball bounded away, allowing Dhondt to score the tying run. Crews popped out on the next pitch, but the teams were deadlocked after yet another wacky play.
The Chippewas were at it again in the top of the seventh. After Vrabel got two quick outs, Decker drew a walk and Giroux banged a single through the right side of the BGSU infield. Then, Hudson came through with a two-out single that scored Decker and moved Giroux to third. Vrabel got a groundout on the next pitch, but the visitors had the lead.
DeRoche got the first out in the bottom of the seventh, but Heimrich laced a pitch to left-center for her second double of the contest. The CMU hurler, however, was up to the task, getting the final two outs to nail down the come-from-behind win.
DeRoche moved to 6-9 with her complete-game win. She allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits, walking three Falcon batters and striking out five.
Vrabel suffered the loss to fall to 14-9 on the spring. The senior threw a complete-game seven-hitter, allowing two earned runs. Vrabel had three walks and whiffed seven CMU batters in the opener.
At the plate, Heimrich had two doubles to comprise half of BG's hitting total, while Miller and McPherson had a hit apiece. Wiemer was officially 0-for-0 in the game, but reached base three times on two walks and a hit-by-pitch.
For the visitors, Dhondt was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles in the opening game.
In the second game, starters Wiemer and Jessica Garvin each put a zero on the board in the first inning, before the Maroon and Gold mounted a second-inning threat. Dhondt drew a walk, and pinch-runner Horvath took second on a passed ball.
A Benedict sac bunt moved the runner to third base with one out, but Horvath was cut down at the plate when the next batter, Calme, hit a one-hopper to Rango at third. With Horvath running on the play, Rango's throw to Habicht was in plenty of time for the senior catcher to apply the tag. Rightfielder Ashley Zirkle then made a long run to grab a Crews fly ball in foul ground for the third out.
DeLong ripped a Garvin offering to the fence in right-center for a leadoff double in the bottom of the inning, and a Habicht sac bunt moved her to third, but Garvin got an infield grounder for the second out, with DeLong forced to hold at third. Heimrich, however, brought DeLong home with a grounder up the middle that was just out of the reach of diving second baseman Cozat. Baca then hit a hard liner, but right at centerfielder Giroux to end the inning.
In the next half-inning, however, the Chippewas would answer, putting a crooked number on the scoreboard for the first of four consecutive innings (actually, the BGSU Softball Field does not have an inning-by-inning scoreboard, but you get the point). Hohs was hit by a pitch, and Decker followed with a homer to left for a 2-1 CMU lead. Then, Giroux reached when her bad-hop grounder nearly went over second baseman McPherson's head. Hudson was then hit by a pitch, but Wiemer struck out Dhondt on three pitches for the second out. Benedict, however, singled to left to score Giroux with the visitors' third run of the frame, before Wiemer whiffed Calme.
The Falcons put the first two hitters on base in the bottom of the third, as Wiemer blooped a single down the left-field line and Rango was hit in the foot by a Garvin pitch. That prompted the Chippewas to make a pitching change, but Miller greeted reliever Ali Pettit with a chopper over her head and up the middle to score Wiemer.
Pettit, however, was able to escape the inning without further damage, sandwiching a pair of fielder's choice grounders around a strikeout.
Another long drive to left by Decker, this time a double, restored the Chippewas' two-run lead. Her hit scored Crews, who had singled, taken second on a Cozat sac bunt and advanced to third on a Hohs grounder to the right side. After Decker's two-bagger, a single to rightfield by Giroux gave the visitors a 5-2 advantage.
That lead increased to 6-2 when Hudson singled to plate Giroux, who had stolen second. Sophomore Emily Gouge entered the game at that point, and got Dhondt to ground out to end the inning.
Gouge led off the next half-inning, and battled Pettit through a seven-pitch at-bat that culminated in ball four. Then, Heimrich bunted back toward the circle, and both runners were safe when Pettit's throw to second was wide of the bag. But, Pettit got three consecutive grounders to the left side of the infield to atone for her fielding miscue.
The Chippewas added to the lead in the fifth, scoring twice before Baca stopped the madness with a nifty diving catch in left-center, robbing Giroux of a hit. The big hit in that half-inning was an RBI double by Crews, while Hohs had a run-scoring single.
CMU crossed the plate two more times in the sixth inning, with Dhondt doubling with one out, Calme drawing a two-out walk and Crews again providing an extra-base hit. This time, that hit was a two-run triple into the right-field corner for a 10-2 lead.
BGSU put a pair of sixth-inning runs on the board, beginning with Habicht's single up the middle. Then, pinch-hitter Natalie Armintrout hit a grounder to short, and both runners were safe when Crews could not come up with the ball cleanly. The next hitter, Heimrich, ripped a Pettit pitch to rightfield for her third double of the day, scoring Habicht and moving Armintrout to third. Armintrout would score on a two-out single by Rango.
Pettit allowed the Falcons one baserunner in the seventh inning, hitting DeLong with a pitch with one out, but recovered for a strikeout and a grounder to end the game.
Pettit improved to 3-4 with the win in relief, throwing five innings of two-run (one earned), four-hit relief. She walked one batter and had three strikeouts. Garvin allowed two runs and three hits before leaving after facing two batters in the third. She had one walk and did not strike out a batter.
Wiemer took the loss to drop to 7-9. She allowed six runs on seven hits, walking one and fanning three in her three-and-two-thirds innings of action. Gouge pitched two-and-a-third innings, giving up four runs on six hits, with a walk and a pair of Ks. Vrabel pitched a one-two-three seventh, getting two more strikeouts.
At the plate, Crews and Decker led the CMU hit parade with two extra-base hits apiece. Crews was 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs. She had a single, double and triple in the game.
Decker also had two runs and three RBI, and was 2-for-4 with a double and a homer. Giroux and Benedict each had two hits as the Chippewas pounded out 13.
For the Falcons, Heimrich again was the hitting leader, going 2-for-3 with a double and a pair of RBI.
BGSU remains at home for a two-game weekend series against Eastern Michigan University, with Saturday's (April 22) single game beginning at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday's (April 23) start time set for 1:00 p.m.
