Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Wrap Up 27 Game Road Stand
April 01, 2008 | Softball
April 1, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
Complete Release in PDF Format (17 Pages) 
The Falcons will finish their 27 game opening road trip this week as they take a quick break from Mid-American Conference play to face #5 Michigan in a weekday tilt Wednesday (April 2) in Ann Arbor, Michigan at 4:00 p.m. BG will return to MAC East division play on the road in a double-header against Miami on Friday (April 4) at 1:00 p.m. and match-up against their first MAC West division opponent in a two game series against Ball State on Saturday (April 5) at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday (April 6) at 1:00 p.m.
FALCONS LIVE ON THE ROAD
For all Falcon fans that can't make it to the live action on the road the Falcons will be live via the internet all weekend. Fans can watch or listen to the Falcons battle #5 Michigan via live stats and radio broadcasting by visiting www.MGoBlue.com. Falcon fans can keep up with the Falcons in MAC play by logging onto Gametracker by visiting www.MURedHawks.com to follow the Falcons during Friday's double-header against the RedHawks. Fan can also listen to the live double-header action via Miami Sports Network Internet Channel as available on the RedHawks website. Falcon fans can follow the two game series against the Cardinals via GameWatcher live stats by visiting www.BallStateSports.com.
MATCH-UPS ON THE DIAMOND
#5 University of Michigan - Wolverines - (4/2 - 4:00 p.m.)
The Falcons will take a quick break from league play to take on Big Ten regional opponent #5 Michigan ... the match-up between the Falcons and the Wolverines will be Michigan's home opener in the newly renovated Alumni Field in the Wilpon Baseball and Softball Complex ... the Wolverines are currently 29-3, on a seven game winning streak after posting a 4-0 record in opening weekend of Big Ten play ... the Wolverines swept Indiana (10-2, 8-0 - 6 inn.) and Purdue (8-0 - 5 inn., 3-0) ... Michigan leads the all-time series 5-25 ... the last meeting between the Falcons and the Wolverines (Mar. 28, 2006), BG fell to Michigan 0-3 in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Miami University - RedHawks - (4/4 - 1:00 p.m. - DH)
The Orange and Brown will return to MAC play on Friday as they match-up against East division foe Miami ... the Falcons are on a three game winning streak against the RedHawks ... the RedHawks are currently 12-14 overall and 4-0 in the MAC, leading the MAC East division ... in opening weekend of MAC play the RedHawks swept Akron (13-3, 4-1) and Ohio (2-1, 5-2) ... the Falcons own the all-time series 49-35, on a three game winning streak against the RedHawks ... the last meeting between the two teams took place at the BGSU softball field (April 13, 2007) where the Falcons swept the RedHawks in a double-header (2-1, 4-3).
Ball State University - Cardinals - (4/5 - 2:00 p.m. & 4/6 - 1:00 p.m.)
BG will face their first MAC West division opponent when they square off against Ball State ... the Falcons have won 17 of the last 20 meetings between the two teams and are on a 13 game winning streak against the Cardinals with their last loss to Ball State in 2002 ... the Cardinals are currently 20-16 overall and 2-2 in the MAC ... in the opening weekend of MAC play the Cardinals lost two games to Ohio (10-4, 2-0) and swept Akron (4-3, 9-1) ... the last meeting between the Falcons and the Cardinals was at the BGSU softball field (April 14 & 15, 2007) where the Falcons swept the Cardinals in a two game series (5-0, 7-3).
THE FALCON RALLY CAW
Most opponents think when they have two outs in an inning, the inning is just about over but when the Falcons are at the plate they are only getting started. The Falcons have scored over half of their RBIs this season on nine two-out rallies. The Falcons have score 25 of their 40 RBIs on two-out rallies.
ALL THINGS BIGGER IN TEXAS
Freshman Haleigh Bielstein, a native of Inez, Texas hit her first collegiate homer in the Falcons 8-5 win over Kent State. The three-run long ball to center field was the eighth for the Falcons as a team this season and tied junior Hayley Wiemer's three-run homer for the most RBIs on one hit.
THE M&M GIRLS
Most people think of the M&M Boys Mickey Mantle & Roger Maris, however the Falcons have their own M&M duo freshmen Melissa Bott and Missy Bowman are both on hitting streaks after the last two weekends of play. Bott is on a two game hitting streak after recording her first collegiate hit against Michigan State (Mar. 16) and then smashing her first career double against Eastern Michigan (Mar. 21). Bowman is on her second three game hitting streak of the season after her first multiple hit game of the season against Kent State (Mar. 28). She has recorded at least one hit in six of the last seven games.
FALCONS UPSET KENT STATE TO PICK UP IN FIRST WIN
Head Coach Shannon Salsburg and the Falcons opened BG's 26th season of Mid-American Conference play with a decisive 8-5 win over East division rival Kent State in game one of the double-header and falling to the Golden Flashes in game two in a one run battle that was decided in the bottom of the seventh, 3-2. Kent State was picked as the favorite to win the MAC East division, finishing ahead of the Falcons, and to win the MAC Tournament. The win for Salsburg and company marks the first win of the season and the first victory for Salsburg against her former team.
ROOKIE BATS ON HOT STREAK
The Falcon rookies' bats have gotten hot as seven of the eight freshman have recorded at least one hit while combined they have totaled 39 of the Falcons' 99 hits. The seniors are the only class to have more hits than rookies as they have combined for 42 of the Falcons hits.
CAREER HOME RUN RACE
Falcon big guns Allison Vallas and Hayley Wiemer were neck-in-neck last season as they were in the race for the BGSU single season home run record, which Wiemer now holds. Both veterans are now in the race for the BGSU career home run record. The record is currently held by Gina Rango with 26 career homers. Wiemer now has the second most career long balls (15) after her third homer of the season against Kent State. Vallas is tied for the third most homers with 14, she has two homers on the season.
FALCONS AT THE TOP OF THE MAC
As the month of March comes to a close the Falcons remain in the Mid-American Conference leader boards. The Falcons have one or more players in the top ten of the MAC in nine of the twelve hitting categories. Senior Allison Vallas is in the top ten of the MAC in seven categories. She leads the Falcons and is sixth in the MAC in batting average (.358), third in slugging percentage (.604), fourth in RBIs (13, .72 per game) and total bases (32, 1.78 per game), fifth in hits (19, 1.06 per game) and doubles (5, .28 per game), and tied for sixth in on base percentage (.452). Junior Hayley Wiemer can be found in the top ten on the offense and defensive leader boards. Wiemer is the second most walked player in the MAC (15, .83 per game), fifth in home runs (3, .17 per game), tied for sixth in on base percentage (.452) and 10th in slugging percentage (.522). On the defensive end Wiemer's 2.60 ERA is the ninth best in the MAC. The Falcon pitching staff is the only team to have three pitchers in the top ten for strikeouts with Emily Gouge at third (48, 7.41 per game), Melissa Bott at seventh (24, 6.22 per game) and Wiemer at 10th (35, 5.70 per game).
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 #24 Ohio State, #5 Michigan, Iowa, who is one of the 13 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 Ann Arbor, Michigan to play the Wolverines on April 2. Due to weather the Falcons will now finish up their series against the Big Ten taking on the Spartans for the second time this season in East Lansing, Michigan on April 22.
MICHIGAN STATE GAME RESCHEDULED FOR APRIL 22
The battle between the Falcons and the Spartans has been rescheduled for Wednesday, April 22 at Old College Field in East Lansing, Michigan with the first pitch being thrown at 4:00 p.m.
FALCONS AGAINST THE MAC EAST
The Falcons have dominated their MAC East division foes as they own all but one all-time series record. The Falcons lead Akron (39-20-1), Buffalo (14-3), Miami (49-35) and Ohio (49-32). The only team in the MAC East division to lead the Falcons is Kent State (41-49-1). In the MAC West division the Falcons lead four out of the six opponents in the all-time series. The Orange and Brown lead Ball State (44-27), Eastern Michigan (44-34), Northern Illinois (18-12) and arch-rival Toledo (52-33). The only two west teams to lead the Falcons are Central Michigan (15-63) and Western Michigan (26-40).
SALSBURG AGAINST THE MAC
As Head Coach Shannon Salsburg and the Falcons enter the 2008 MAC schedule, Salsburg holds a record of 14-6 in league play. In only one season at the helm of the Falcons Salsburg owns or has tied nine of the 11 series in MAC. Salsburg and company lead Akron (1-0), Ball State (2-0), Buffalo (2-0), Miami (3-0), Northern Illinois (2-0), Ohio (2-0) and Toledo (2-0) and are tied with Central Michigan (1-1) and Western Michigan (1-1). The only two teams to lead the Salsburg's squad are Eastern Michigan (0-3) and Kent State (1-4).
FALCONS DOUBLE UP ON DAY TWO OF STETSON SPRING CLASSIC
The Falcons doubled up on day two of the Stetson Spring Classic against Cornell and Iowa hitting five doubles in 11 hits over two games. The Orange and Brown's first three hits against Cornell were doubles to right center by three different Falcons, Emily Gouge, Zada Lines and Missy Bowman each recording their first career double. In the second game of the double-header the Falcons hit two more doubles from Hayley Wiemer and Gouge, each recording their second double of the season and for Gouge her second double of the day. Gouge tied a career high two hits against Cornell with her first multiple hit game of the season, while Lines had her second multiple hit game of the season. Wiemer had her third multiple hit game of the season against Iowa.
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).
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).
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.
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. head coach in BGSU softball history.
