Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
DePaul
DePaul Defeats DeFalcons, 8-0 and 1-0
April 26, 2006 | Softball
April 26, 2006
CHICAGO, Ill. - The Bowling Green State University softball team's bats were quieted by DePaul University pitcher Stephanie Blagaich Wednesday afternoon (April 26). Blagaich fired a pair of shutouts as the host Blue Demons posted wins over the Falcons by scores of 8-0 (six innings) and 1-0. The non-conference doubleheader was held at Cacciatore Stadium.
With the wins, the Blue Demons improve to 27-15, while the Falcons fall to 30-20. DePaul was one of eight teams to qualify for the Women's College World Series in 2005.
Senior Liz Vrabel pitched well in defeat in the second game, allowing just a run on three hits. A DU homerun in each game proved to be key in the sweep.
In the opener, the Blue Demons put five runs on the board in the second inning and were never headed. DU centerfielder Linda Secka's three-run homer to rightfield broke a scoreless tie, scoring Kate Sheaks and Blagaich ahead of her. Two more singles and a double steal aided in the remaining two runs that inning.
The hosts scored two more runs in the fifth inning, on a Blagaich double and a BGSU error. The game-ending run came on a Marcy Wilus single in the sixth inning, plating pinch-runner Kate Hanson.
The game marked the first time the Falcons had lost a 'run-rule' contest in over two years, since a 10-1 loss vs. Marshall on March 31, 2004.
Blagaich scattered four hits in six innings to pick up the win, while Leslie Scott threw the final inning of the opener. Sophomore Emily Gouge suffered her first loss of the season for the Falcons, falling to 7-1 on the year.
Wilus was 3-for-4 for the hosts in the opener, with a run scored and a pair of RBI. Secka had two hits in three at-bats, scoring once and driving in three runs. Blagaich had two runs scored.
Seniors Abby Habicht and Gina Rango and juniors Jeanine Baca and Ashley Zirkle had one hit apiece for the Brown and Orange.
Vrabel and Blagaich hooked up in a pitchers' duel in the nightcap, allowing a total of just five hits in the game. Vrabel struck out the side in the opening inning, while Blagaich took a perfect game into the fifth.
Vrabel allowed just one hit and one walk during the first three innings, but DU looked to mount a rally in the fourth. Secka drew a one-out walk and stole second, and Sheaks also got a base on balls.
Secka stole third to put runners at the corners, before Vrabel got Blagaich to hit a ground ball back to the circle. The 2005 MAC Pitcher of the Year threw out her counterpart, with Secka forced to hold at third. Then, Vrabel got Jessica Evans to hit an inning-ending grounder to second baseman Megan McPherson.
Blagiach mowed down the first 13 BGSU batters of the game, before sophomore Allison Vallas ripped a one-out single to break up her bid for a perfect game. But, Blagaich got a double-play ball to erase the baserunner.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Blue Demons got a solo homer to left off the bat of Jackie Tarulli-Fisher for what would prove to be the game's lone run.
Baca got a leadoff single in the seventh, but again, a double-play ball wiped out the baserunner, and Blagaich got a grounder to third to end the game.
Blagaich improved to 11-3 on the year, allowing just three baserunners on two hits and a walk. Blagaich had three strikeouts in the win.
Vrabel, for her part, allowed only three hits, including two to Tarulli-Fisher. Vrabel walked three batters and fanned six, but dropped to 16-10.
The games marked just the fifth and sixth shutout losses suffered by the Falcons this season. BGSU has posted 14 shutouts this season to date.
The Falcons return to Northwest Ohio to close the home portion of the 2006 schedule this weekend. BGSU will face arch-rival Toledo in a pair of games, with the first beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday (April 29). On Sunday (April 30), the teams will meet in a 1:00 p.m. start, in a game that will be preceded by 'Senior Day' ceremonies. Both games are scheduled to be televised in the Toledo area by BCSN.
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