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Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU Begins 2007 In Chattanooga
February 21, 2007 | Softball
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Feb. 21, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Bowling Green State University (0-0) will face off against Eastern Kentucky University (1-3) to open the 2007 season on Friday, February 23 in Chattanooga, Tenn. ... the Falcons are one of eight teams participating in the Panera Bread Challenge hosted by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga ... the Challenge will run from February 23-25 and will be played at the Frost & Hargraves Stadium.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Bowling Green, the defending Panera Bread Challenge Champions, will match up with five opponents while in Tennessee ... Friday (2/23) Eastern Kentucky (1-3) will challenge the Falcons at 10:00 a.m. ... BGSU will finish the day against the University of Maine (0-0) with the first pitch being thrown at 2:30 p.m. ... day two action will include games against the University of St. Francis (10:00 a.m.) and a non-conference game against Miami (1-4) (2:30 p.m.) ... the Orange and Brown will close the tournament with an additional non-conference meeting with Akron (0-0) late Sunday morning (11:00 a.m.).
LET THEM EAT BREAD!
Official information regarding the 2007 Panera Bread Challenge can be
found by clicking HERE ... ticketing prices as well as a complete schedule may be accessed.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
Bowling Green is led by first year head coach Shannon Salsburg and second year assistant coach Susan Sargent ... the Falcons return eight letterwinners from last year's squad that tied the school record of 37 victories ... the Falcons ended their season with a 37-23 overall record after going 16-6 in MAC play ... Bowling Green finished in second place in the MAC East at a half game out of first and were 2-2 in the MAC tournament ... BGSU won both the Panera Bread Challenge and the USF Speedline Invitational tournaments ... last season, the Falcons were undefeated in six games in February ... the complete 2007 outlook can be accessed through the university's athletic website.
DOWNLOADABLE MEDIA GUIDE AVAILABLE
The 2007 BGSU Softball Media Guide is available to be downloaded
via the university's athletic website by clicking HERE ... bound copies will be available by mid-March ... public sale copies are $10.00 ... please contact Erin Schorr for more information.
INSIDE THE BATTERS BOX
Eastern Kentucky Colonels (2/23, 10:00 a.m.)
EKU posted a 1-3 record while competing in the Green and White Classic ... the Colonels split a pair with Bucknell after dropping decisions to North Carolina A&T and host Charlotte ... EKU has posted 34 runs in four games while allowing 39 ... this is the first meeting between the squads.
Univ. of Maine Black Bears (2/23, 2:30 p.m.)
Maine will enter the match highly untested ... the Black Bears pre-tournament series with the University of Kentucky was cancelled due to field conditions ... in their olny meeting, the Falcons beat the Black Bears in 2006.
Univ. of St. Francis RedFlash (2/24, 10:00 a.m.)
St. Francis will enter the game even with the Falcons with just one day of play under their belt ... BGSU will be the second MAC opponent to contest the Red Flash in as many days ... this is the first meeting between the squads.
Miami University RedHawks (2/24, 2:30 p.m.)
The RedHawks (3-6) opened the season on Feb. 9 in the FAU Miken Invitational ... despite posting a 1-4 record with the lone win coming on the last day against Pittsburgh, MU took both North Florida and
South Carolina to extra innings ... MU has also participated in the Kennesaw State Owl Classic splitting two wins and two losses ... after being run-ruled by both Evansville and Georgia Tech on the first day, they rebounded to beat Georgetown and Kennesaw State ... the Falcons lead the series 46-35 since first meeting in 1979.
University of Akron Zips (2-25, 11:00 p.m.)
The Zips were scheduled to open the season at the University
of Tennessee-Martin Hospitality House Classic but due to poor weather conditions ... the Panera Bread Challenge will now serve as the season opener for Akron ... the Zips lead the all-time series 38-20-1 since first meeting in 1981.
FEBRUARY FOES
The Falcons have never faced a Mid-American Conference opponent in the month of February ... February 24, 2007 will be the earliest match-up between the Orange and Brown and a conference foe when they take on Miami ... the next day they will face Akron.
NEW TO THE STARTING LINE-UP
Of the starting nine, three will be making their spring debut appearance in Orange and Brown ... Brittnay Hay, Susan Sontag, and Jocelyn Gray will make their first collegiate start against the
Colonels.
BACA, WIEMER AND ZIRKLE NAMED CAPTAINS
Seniors Jeanine Baca and Ashley Zirkle and sophomore Hayley
Wiemer have been named the 2006-07 Falcon softball captains ... the trio was elected by a team vote ... Sr.Lauren Hoffman, Jr. Emily Gouge, So. Brittnay Hay and Fr. Sharon Palma were also chosen to serve as class representatives ... the four student-athletes will be involved in decision-making situations involving their class and the team.
QUOTING THE CAPTAINS
Hayley Wiemer, sophomore, pitcher
On strength of team...
"The biggest strength of our team is how hard we have been working. Every single day, all of us are being pushed harder than we think is possible, and we are always getting faster and stronger. Also, another strength of the team this year is how close we are off the fi eld. We are always together outside of practice and workouts, and we really are each others best friends. This builds trust and support that will be obvious on the field. Since there are only 15 of us, though, it is necessary that we stay healthy so that all of us can carry out our roles."
Ashley Zirkle, senior, catcher
On excitement for her senior season...
"I am so excited! We have worked so hard the past five months and to see it all put together on the field is very exciting! This is my last year so of course it is bittersweet but I can't imagine playing with a better bunch of girls who are so determined and I can't wait to see how far are hardwork is going to take us!
HEAD COACH Shannon Salsburg
Shannon Salsburg is entering her first season as the head coach of the BGSU softball program ... She was named the seventh head coach in the
history of the program on Sept. 25, 2006, and began her duties two days later ... Salsburg spent the previous two seasons (2005 and `06) on the staff at Kent State University, helping the Golden Flashes to the Mid-American Conference East Division (one-half game ahead of BGSU) and MAC Tournament titles in 2006 ... prior to her two seasons at KSU, Salsburg served three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas, helping the Razorbacks post two of the top-three batting averages in school history during her time in Fayetteville ... a native of Navarre, Ohio, Salsburg is a 1998 graduate of Penn State University, where she was a four-year starter at first base ... she captained the Nittany Lions in three of those seasons, and still holds the school career records for homeruns (34), runs batted in (118) and walks (99) ... a two-time All-Big Ten selection, she earned All-Great
Lakes Region First-Team honors in 1995.
QUOTING COACH
Shannon Salsburg, Head Coach
On starting the season...
"We are eagerly anticipating getting on to the dirt in Tennessee.
The team has been working non-stop in practice and they are ready for live game action to showcase their efforts."
