Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Chattanooga
Two More Fall to Bowling Green in Tournament Play
March 17, 2007 | Softball
March 17, 2007
TAMPA, Fla. - The Bowling Green State University Falcons have earned the top seed in Pool D of the USF Speedline tournament after downing each of their three pool opponents. BGSU beat Chattanooga (16-15) 7-1 and came back to beat FIU (11-19) 2-1. The Falcons will learn their opponent for tomorrow's bracket after the conclusion of the final games today. The last round of games is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m.
Under head coach Shannon Salsburg, the Falcons have won 13-of-16 games to date. BGSU has also blasted a money shot in 11 games, including junior Allison Vallas homerun against Chattanooga.
The Falcon pitching staff dismissed 19 batters while allowing eight hits today. Salsburg referred to the effort as "phenomenal overall."
More information regarding the Falcon's fate as far as opponents and playing times will be made available at GoUSFBulls.com.
To date Bowling Green has not lost more than one game in each tournament they have played and have gone on to be named champions of both tournaments.
The Falcons are averaging 4.6 runs per game. Today's seven run game was the eighth time this season for the BG offense to power in more than five runs.
Against Chattanooga
In true BGSU fashion this season, the Falcons scored early and often in their game two win over the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, 7-1. Junior Allison Vallas' leadoff homerun at the top of the second inning pushed the power hitter's stats to three diamond trots on the season and six in the Orange and Brown.
Senior slapper Emmy Ramsey's base hit down the left line scored senior Jeanine Baca and freshman Susan Sontag to extend the lead to 3-0.
Sontag traveled the bases again thanks to two passed balls and returned home on Baca's sacrifice fly. Although BGSU led 4-0, the Mocs utilized the fifth inning to score once on their three hits of the inning.
Hayley Wiemer's leadoff double at the top of the sixth jumpstarted the Falcon offense and was soon joined by Vallas who was placed on the first base bag a walk. Wiemer traded places with Ashley Zirkle whose double advanced Wiemer home and Vallas to third base. Vallas scored her second run of the day off sophomore Brittnay Hay's single through the left side.
The Falcons lead reached 7-1 in the seventh inning as Baca became the third Falcon to score a pair of runs.
"When a team scores in four innings, good things are going to happen to them," said Salsburg. The Mocs' bats were unable to stage the comeback as the final batters sandwiched a pair of grounders to short stop Dawnjene DeLong around a strike out that caught the batter looking.
"Chattanooga is a very good hitting team," stressed Salsburg whose pitchers Emily Gouge and Hayley Wiemer struck out eleven Mocs. Gouge, earning her fifth win of the season, lobbed six K's in 4.1 innings. Wiemer contributed an additional five K's and one hit in the 2.2 inning relief effort.
Against FIU
Bowling Green was placed in a somewhat unfamiliar position as FIU held a 1-0 lead after five complete innings. The Panthers' Ashley Falk hit her second homerun of the season in the bottom of the fifth inning to break the scoreless stalemate tie but the resilient Falcons offensive charge brought in two runs in the bottom of the sixth to give BGSU their 13th win of the season and remain unbeaten in pool play.
With two outs, Vallas' bunt brought the life back to the Falcon hitters who went on to strike for a Zirkle double and a Hay single scoring both Vallas and Zirkle.
"Vallas was already on her horse and had the momentum to score from first," said Salsburg. "They had been playing us deep all day and Ashley's hit really had to be chased down."
Zirkle scored the game winning run on Hay's single up the middle of the field to seal the game for the Falcons.
"This game was really a dogfight," said Salsburg. "I am so proud of these kids to bounce back from that homerun. In the end we shut them down when we needed to. This was an all-around team win."
