Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Fly South to the Sunshine State
March 13, 2008 | Softball
March 13, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Head Coach Shannon Salsburg and the Falcons will escape the wintry weather of Ohio and fly south to the Sunshine state this weekend to compete in the Stetson Spring Classic (Mar. 14-16). This will be the third consecutive southern road trip for the Falcons. The Falcons will open their stay in Florida on Friday (Mar. 14) against Elon at 11:00 a.m. and host Stetson at 4:00 p.m.. Day two, Saturday (Mar. 15) will pit the Falcons against Cornell at 8:00 a.m. and Iowa at 10:15 a.m.. BG will finish up their stay in the Sunshine state with a single game on Sunday (Mar. 16) against regional foe Michigan State at 9:30 a.m.
STETSON SPRING CLASSIC SCHEDULE UPDATES
Friday, March 14
11:00 a.m. Bowling Green vs. Elon
1:30 p.m. Elon vs. Iowa
4:00 p.m. Stetson vs. Bowling Green
6:30 p.m. Iowa vs. Stetson
Saturday, March 15
8:00 a.m. Cornell vs. Bowling Green
10:15 a.m. Bowling Green vs. Iowa
12:30 p.m. Iowa vs. Cornell
2:45 p.m. Elon vs. Michigan State
5:00 p.m. Michigan State vs. Stetson
7:15 p.m. Stetson vs. Elon
Sunday, March 16
9:30 a.m. Bowling Green vs. Michigan State
12:00 p.m. Michigan State vs. Elon
2:30 p.m. Cornell vs. Iowa
5:00 p.m. Stetson vs. Cornell
FALCONS LIVE FROM SUNNY DELAND, FLORIDA
For all Falcon fans that can't make it to the live action on the field in Deland, Florida the Falcons will be live on GameWatcher via the internet. Falcon fans can log onto GameWatcher Live Stats by visiting www.gohatters.com. Fans also have the option of following the Falcons live via audio and video available at www.gohatters.com for a one-time fee of $9.95 to watch all the games of the Stetson Spring Classic.
MATCH-UPS ON THE DIAMOND
Elon University - Phoenix - (3/14 - 11:00 a.m.)
The Falcon squad will open the Stetson Spring Classic on Friday (Mar. 14) against Elon ... this will be the first meeting between the Falcons and the Phoenix in program history ... the Phoenix are currently 8-7 overall ... after winning their last two games at the Phoenix Classic on Mar. 2, beating Seton Hall (12- 2 in 5 inn.) and Ohio (8-1) ... Elon was scheduled to compete in the Buzz Classic in Atlanta, Georgia (Mar. 8-9) but due to weather and poor field conditions the tournament was canceled.
Stetson University - Hatters - (3/14 - 4:00 p.m.)
BG will face off against host Stetson in their second game on Friday (Mar. 14) ... the Hatters are currently 20-8 on a seven game winning streak ... Stetson defeated Liberty in a double header on Mar. 11 (5-0, 2-1) ... the Falcons lead the Hatters 7-2 in the all time series ... the last meeting between the two was Mar. 11, 2000 where the Falcons split a double header against the Hatters, winning the first game 2-0 and losing the second game 0-3 ... the Orange and Brown are 6-2 against the Hatters on the road ... in 1992 the Falcons swept the Hatters at home in four game series.
Cornell University - Big Red - (3/15 - 8:00 a.m.)
The Orange and Brown will start off day two of the tournament against the Big Red ... this will be the first ever meeting between the two on the diamond ... the Big Red are currently 5-1 on a two game winning streak after defeating Delaware (8-2) and Norfolk (9-0) at the Spartan Classic on Mar. 9 ... the Big Red is led by Elise Menaker who was named the Ivy League Player of the Week.
University of Iowa - Hawkeyes - (3/15 - 10:15 a.m.)
Falcons will take on their first Big Ten opponent of the season with Iowa on day two of the tournament ... the Hawkeyes are currently 14-5 overall after posting a 4-0 record at the Amy S. Harrison Classic in Riverside, Calif. ... Iowa is one of the eight teams not in the USA Today/NFCA top 25 to receive votes ... the Hawkeyes defeated Utah Valley (6-0, 11-1 in 5 inn.), UC Riverside (4-0), Buffalo (11-0 in 6 inn.) ... the Hawkeyes lead the Falcons 1-7 in the all-time series ... the last meeting between the birds was on Mar. 26, 1997 in Sacramento, Calif. where the Falcon got their first win over the Hawkeyes, 1-0.
Michigan State University - Spartans - (3/16 - 9:30 a.m.)
The Falcons will match-up against regional foe Michigan State to finish up the Stetson Spring Classic ... the Spartans are currently 10-10 after posting a 5-1 record at the USF Under Armor Invitational ... the Spartans defeated East Tennessee (12-0 in 5 inn.), Baylor (6-1 in 8 inn.), Coastal Carolina (8-0 in 6 inn.) and Illinois-Chicago (7-1) before falling to Hofstra (0-2) ... the Falcons lead the all-time series 11-6 over the Spartans ... last meeting between the regional foes took place on last year on Mar. 28th where the Falcons crushed the Spartans 11-1 in six innings.
VALLAS CONTINES TO PICK-UP HONORS
Allison Vallas picked-up MAC East Player of the Week honors (Mar. 12) for her performance at the War Eagle Classic where she was named to the All-Tournament team. Vallas opened the 2008 season with an eight game hitting streak and has record at least one hit in eight of the nine games for the Falcons with a season high three hits and three RBIs against Lipscomb (Mar. 7). She is currently second on the team in batting average (.414), third in slugging percentage (.655) and tied for the team best in hits (12) and RBIs (7).
FREQUENT FALCON MILES
The Falcons opened the 2008 season like every other season in program history on the road. However, the difference this year is that the Falcons will play 27 road games before their season opener on the BGSU softball field, which is the longest opening road trip in program history. The Falcons will rack up an estimated 7,022 miles to compete in seven different states, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Michigan, New York, Indiana, and in other areas of Ohio before returning to Bowling Green April 11 for their home opener.
FALCONS BATTLE THE BIG TEN
The Falcons will match-up against four of the 11 Big Ten teams this season, including three of the top four teams, 2007 Big Ten Champions and current #19 Ohio State, #9 Michigan, Iowa, who is one of the eight teams receiving votes not in the top 25, and Michigan State. In the next four weeks the Falcons will take on one or more Big Ten team each week. BG will start their battle against the Big Ten at the Stetson Spring Classic taking on Iowa on Mar. 15 and Michigan State on Mar. 16. The following weekend the Orange and Brown will match-up against state rival Ohio State at the Buckeye Invitational on Mar. 22. Salsburg and company will make a trip up to East Lansing to play the Spartans on their home field on Mar. 25. The Falcons will finish up their series against the Big Ten taking on the Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Michigan on April 2.
FALCON TOURNAMENT HISTORY IN FLORIDA
The Orange and Brown have competed in 12 tournaments in the state of Florida in program history posting an overall record of 47-33-1. With Salsburg at the helm of the last year's Falcon squad the Falcons took second place in the USF Speedline Tournament in Tampa, Fla.
VALLAS NAMED TO WAR EAGLE CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Senior Allison Vallas was named to the War Eagle Classic All-Tournament team after posting .417 batting average and .667 slugging percentage for the weekend. Vallas tallied five hits in 12 at-bats, including a double, a triple and three RBIs. She currently second on the team in batting average (.414), third in slugging percentage (.655) and tied for the team best in hits (12) and RBIs (7).
DELONG LEADS THE WAY FOR THE FALCONS
Senior Dawnjene DeLong is not only the lead-off batter for the Falcons but she is leading the Falcons with .444 batting average. DeLong also leads the team in runs scored (6) and is tied with fellow senior Allison Vallas for hits (12) and total bases (19). She started off the season going a perfect three-for-three at the plate, a homer shy of a cycle, scoring three runs in the season opener. DeLong has recorded at least one hit in seven of the Falcon's nine games thus far, including four multiple hit games.
LINES DRIVES THROUGH THE INFIELD
Freshman Zada Lines has been driving the ball right through the infield. Lines is on a two game hitting streaking and has tallied at least one hit in six of the nine games this season thus far. She had her best game offensively thus far against the East Tennessee State going two-for-three with one RBI.
VALLAS NAMED LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST
Senior tri-captain Allison Vallas was named one of the top thirty softball senior student-athletes in the nation. Vallas, a Perrysburg, Ohio native, is the first Falcon to receive this honor and was one of the three Mid-American Conference student-athletes to be named to this prestigious list. She is an exercise science major with a 3.95 GPA and a two-time All-MAC selection, a two-time Academic All-MAC honoree and has been named to the ESPN the Magazine All-District Team.
FALCONS AT THE TOP OF THE MAC
In only one weekend of play the Falcons smashed their way into the Mid-American Conference leaders with their big sticks. The Falcons have one or more players in the top ten of the MAC in every hitting category. Junior Hayley Wiemer is tied as the best hitter in the MAC with .500 batting average. Wiemer also leads the MAC in RBIs (1.40 RBIs per game), slugging percentage (1.000) and on base percentage (.632). Senior Dawnjene DeLong is third in the MAC in batting average (.438), hits (7) and slugging percentage (.875). Senior Allison Vallas tied for third in the MAC in hits (7), sixth in on base percentage (.474) and seventh in hitting percentage (.412).
FALCON BATS OPEN SEASON WITH A BANG
The Falcons opened the 2008 season hitting .394 batting average as a team, with six players hitting .500 batting average or better, including three players hitting a perfect 1.000.
Senior Dawnjene DeLong went a perfect three-for-three a homer shy of a cycle, with a single, double and triple scoring three runs for the Orange and Brown.
Junior Hayley Wiemer opened the 2008 with bang totaling two homers, a double and a career high seven RBIs in the first game of the season. In her first appearance at the plate of the season Wiemer blasted a two-run homer over the center field wall. In her third at-bat of the game she knocked a double off the left-center field wall. Wiemer's final at bat of the 2008 season opener was a smashing three-run homer over the center field wall.
Freshman Rachel Delp also hit her first career long ball over the left field wall in the Falcons season opener.
SALSBURG FIRST HEAD COACH IN OPENING SEASON TO ...
In her first season at the helm of the Falcons head coach Shannon Salsburg recorded the most wins and fewest losses of any head coach in their first season with a 33-12 record ... she is the only first year head coach to lead her team to more than 25 wins ... the first head coach to post a winning record at the end of her first opening weekend, with a 4-1 record and being crowned the back-to-back champions of the Panera Bread Challenge ... her team is the only team to hit more than 40 homeruns in a single season ... she is the most efficient first year head coach posting on overall winning percentage of .733 with a record of 33-12 and a MAC winning percentage of .700 with a conference record of 14-6 ... Salsburg's .733 overall winning percentage also makes her the most efficient head coach in BGSU softball history.
FALCONS ALL OVER FINAL NATIONAL STATISTICS
The Orange and Brown had one of the most successful seasons in BGSU softball history, which was evident as both the team and individual players were ranked in the final 2007 national statistics ... as a team the Falcons were ranked in the top 50 in four categories and in the top 100 in seven categories ... the team was ranked 10th in the nation in ERA (1.54), 17th in win-loss percentage (.733), 26th in the country in homers per game, blasting 47 homers in 45 games (1.04 homers per game), 47th in slugging percentage (.449) ... they were also ranked in the top 100 in scoring (66th, 4.67 runs per game), fielding percentage (86th, .962) and doubles (98th, 1.18 per game) ... Falcon standouts Hayley Wiemer, Emily Gouge and Jeanine Baca represented BGSU in the individual categories ... Wiemer was ranked no fewer than eight times in the final rankings ... at the plate she was 33rd in batting average (.413), which was good for sixth nationally among sophomores, 26th in slugging percentage (.746), 43rd in walks per game (0.62), 58th in RBIs per game (0.87) and 62nd in homeruns per game (0.24 -- a BGSU record of 11 in 45 games) ... on the mound Wiemer ranked 29th in earned-run average (1.45 ERA), 98th in victories (17) and tied for 82nd in saves (2) ... the Falcons were only one of six teams to have two hurlers rank in the top 20 in ERA as Gouge was ranked 48th (1.59 ERA), 61st in strikeouts per seven innings (7.6) and tied for 82nd in saves (2) ... Baca finished her career as a Falcon ranked seventh on the `toughest to strike out' list only whiffing once per 29.4 at-bats (striking out only five time in 147 AB0, was ranked 30th in runs scored (0.96) and 69th in doubles per game (0.27).
`07 FALCONS MOST EFFICIENT TEAM IN PROGRAM HISTORY
The Orange and Brown of 2007 became the most efficient team in BGSU softball program history recording a .733 winning percentage with a record of 33-12 in Salsburg's first year at helm ... `07 squad surpassed the mark of .698 winning percentage set by head coach Jacquie Joseph and the 1992 team with a record of 37-16.
