Bowling Green State University Athletics
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WESTERN MICHIGAN
Broncos Knock Falcons Out of MAC Tournament, 2-1
May 12, 2006 | Softball
May 12, 2006
MIDLAND, Mich. - A pair of Western Michigan University pitchers combined on a two-hitter as the Broncos posted a 2-1 win over the Bowling Green State University softball team Friday evening (May 12). The game, a Mid-American Conference Tournament contest, was held at Currie Stadium.
With the win, the top-seeded Broncos improve to 34-13 on the year, while third-seeded BGSU bows out of the tournament, ending the season with a 37-23 mark. The 2006 edition of the Falcons tied the school record for victories.
Sophomore Dawnjene DeLong plated the Falcons' lone run with a third-inning homer.
"We had a great season, and we can't let this loss affect how we look at the entire year," said BGSU head coach Leigh Ross. "We had 37 wins this year, and did a lot of good things. Unfortunately, sometimes if you don't have that (championship) trophy, you feel like a failure, and we shouldn't feel that way.
"As disappointed as we all are right now in this ending to our season, I'm still very satisfied with the effort this team put forth. To tie the school record for wins in a season, while playing as tough of a schedule as we played, is pretty amazing."
The game's first batter, junior Jeanine Baca, saw seven pitches from WMU starter Tricia VanDerSlik, and drew a leadoff walk. DeLong moved her to second base with a sacrifice bunt back toward the circle, but VanDerSlik got a grounder for the second out, with Baca forced to hold at second. Then, another infield ground ball retired the side.
The Broncos' portion of the first inning began just as the Falcons' had, with a leadoff baserunner and a sac bunt. Katie Niemi blooped a ball down the left-field line for a single, and Danielle Daughtry advanced her to second. Kristi Strange followed with a grounder into the hole at short. DeLong, heading toward third base, had no play at first base as Niemi held her position on the infield hit.
BG starter Emily Gouge got cleanup hitter Amanda Heckaman to ground out to the right side of the infield, with the runners moving to second and third, respectively. Lauren Fuller walked on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases for VanDerSlik, who reached on an infield error to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead. Gouge responded, however, by getting a strikeout of Connie Kolokithas to end the inning.
The Falcons' first hit of the game came off the bat of senior catcher Abby Habicht, who blooped a two-out single over the head of Bronco shortstop Mandi Sayres in the top of the second. Then, senior Lindsay Heimrich was hit in the back by a pitch for the second-straight game, putting two runners on base. But, VanDerSlik was able to get an inning-ending strikeout.
In the top of the third, DeLong got the Falcons on the board with a one-out homerun to right-centerfield, knotting the score. Strange, however, gave the Broncos the lead once again with a solo homer to center to lead off the bottom of the inning.
After both teams went down in order in the fourth inning, Heimrich drew a leadoff walk. Junior Emmy Ramsey followed by pushing a bunt to the third-base edge of the circle. VanDerSlik made a diving attempt, but could not come up with the ball. Pinch-runner Lauren Hoffman had to hold up to see if the ball would be caught, and Western third baseman Daughtry was able to grab the ball and fire to second base in time to force Hoffman.
Baca then hit a grounder to second, but Amanda McBride's throw to shortstop Sayres was high, and Sayres' foot came off the bag as she lunged to grab the ball. A grounder to the right side produced the second out, but moved the runners into scoring position. Senior Gina Rango was issued a four-pitch walk of the `unintentional-intentional' variety, but VanDerSlik was able to induce a chopper back to the circle, and threw to first for the final out of the half-inning.
Freshman Hayley Wiemer, who had entered the game in the fourth, allowed her first baserunner on a Daughtry single to begin the bottom of the fifth, and Daughtry then took second on a rare BGSU passed ball. Wiemer responded, through, by getting a strikeout of Strange.
As the rain began to fall, Heckaman hit a liner, but it was right at shortstop DeLong for the second out. A walk to Fuller put Broncos at first and second, but Wiemer struck out VanDerSlik to keep the Falcons' deficit at a single run.
Western made a pitching change as the game headed to the sixth inning, bringing Krysten Shumaker into the contest. Sophomore Allison Vallas hit her third pitch on a frozen rope, but centerfielder Kolokithas was able to reach up and grab the liner. Shumaker then got a strikeout and another fly ball to center to conclude the half-inning.
Wiemer retired the Broncos in order in the bottom of the sixth, and the Falcons hit the ball relatively hard in the seventh, but all three resulted in outs. Heimrich hit a ball down the left-field line that Strange was able to track down in foul territory, and Ramsey's liner was right at third baseman Daughtry. Baca then hit a liner of her own, but Shumaker was able to spear it for the final out.
VanDerSlik picked up the victory for the Broncos, improving to 8-6 on the year. She allowed a run and two hits in her five innings of work, walking three batters and striking out five. Shumaker retired all six batters she faced, with one strikeout. The two combined for 131 pitches, including 76 strikes (VanDerSlik 99/57, Shumaker 32/19).
Gouge took the loss to finish her sophomore season with a mark of 9-2. She allowed two runs (one earned) and four hits in her three innings of action. Gouge issued two walks and had two strikeouts, throwing 35 strikes among 62 total pitches.
Wiemer allowed just one hit in her three scoreless innings, walking one Bronco batter and whiffing three. She threw 50 pitches, with 31 strikes.
At the plate, Niemi and Strange each had two hits to combine for 80 percent of Western's offensive attack. DeLong, of course, had the homerun for the Falcons, while Habicht had BG's other hit in her final collegiate game.
"We are really going to miss all five of our seniors, and everything that they brought us," said Ross. "They set a lot of records during their careers, but it's not just about putting your name in the record books; it's about making the program and the people around you better.
"These seniors definitely leave the program in better shape than when they got here, and they will be sorely missed."
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