Softball Set To Play Five Games In Three Days

OLE MISS TOURNAMENT
Date	OPPONENT	TIME
2/21/14	Northern Colorado	1:30 p.m.
2/21/14	Ole Miss	6:00 p.m.
2/22/2014	Buffalo	11:15 a.m.
2/22/2014	Saint Louis	8:15 p.m.
2/23/2014	UT-Martin	11:15 a.m.

OXFORD, Miss -- The Bowling Green State University softball team will participate in its third tournament of the 2014 season this weekend, as the Falcons will head to Oxford, Miss. for the Ole Miss Tournament on Feb. 21-23. The Falcons (1-6-1) will take on five different teams in a three-day span over the weekend. The Orange and Brown will open their weekend on Friday, taking on Northern Colorado and Ole Miss in a doubleheader. It will mark the first time in program history the Falcons will take the field against the Bears and Rebels. Bowling Green's will then face Buffalo and Saint Louis on the second day of the Ole Miss Tournament in another doubleheader action-filled day. The Falcons are 19-8 all-time against the Bulls, and are a perfect 3-0 all-time against the Billikens in program history. The Orange and Brown will end their five-game stretch over the weekend in a rematch against the University of Tennessee at Martin. The Falcons and Skyhawks tied last weekend, 6-6, at the Panther Invitational after eight innings of play before calling the game due to travel plans.

LAST WEEKEND
Day One: Atlanta, Ga. – Freshman Amanda Durham's walk-off triple in the bottom of the seventh inning capped off the Bowling Green State University softball team's come-from-behind victory on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 15), stunning East Tennessee State University, 5-4, in their second game of the Falcons' doubleheader.

Playing in day one at the Panther Invitational, the Orange and Brown bounced back from an 11-1 defeat in game one to host Georgia State to earn their first victory of the 2014 season against ETSU. Bowling Green had a season-high seven hits and five runs in the game, as seven different Falcons had one hit in the game in the winning effort.

Day Two: Atlanta, Ga. – Bowling Green scored a season-high six runs, all coming after the third inning, as the BGSU Softball team rallied for a 6-6 tie with Tennessee Martin Sunday afternoon. Earlier in the day, the Falcons lost to Georgia Tech 3-0.

After starting the year with five consecutive losses, Bowling Green went 1-1-1 over the final three games of the weekend, scoring 11 runs to begin to round into form. The game with UT-Martin was called after eight innings due to travel plans.

Going, Going, GONE!
The Falcons hit four homers over a two-day stretch during the Panther Invitational, pushing their total to a MAC-leading seven home runs on the year. Senior captains Erika Stratton and Katie Yoho combined for three homers over the weekend, while freshman Chelsea Raker hit her second of the year. Stratton and Raker went back-to-back in the sixth inning against ETSU, marking the second time the Falcons have gone back-to-back in the same inning this season. Stratton leads the Falcons with three home runs after eight games this season, which already ties a career high. Below is a look at the current home run list for the teams in the MAC.

TEAM
1. Bowling Green	7
2. Western Michigan	5
Ball State	5
Ohio	5
5. Buffalo	4

Walk-Off Special
Freshman Amanda Durham pinch hit walk-off single in the bottom of the seven inning against East Tennessee State University not only gave the Falcons their first win on the season but marked her first collegiate hit. The single also marked Durham's first RBI in her young Falcon career.

Contributing Early And Often
Freshman Chelsea Raker and Aspen Searle each hit solo homers against Cleveland State University for their first hit and RBI of the season. The Falcons have had six freshmen contribute with at least one hit through eight games this season. The newcomers have accounted for 20 hits, one double, three home runs and nine RBI.

At-Bats
After scoring 11 runs over the final three games of the past weekend at the Panther Invitational, the Falcons seemed to find their comfort zone at the plate. The Orange and Brown combined for 15 hits, one double, and one home run for seven RBI and drew 15 walks over their final three games. Bowling Green is second overall in the MAC in total at-bats and total plate appearances, which are shown below.

AT-BATS
1. Ohio	210
2. Bowling Green	194
3. Ball State	160

TOTAL PLATE APPEARANCES
1. Ohio	260
2. Bowling Green	231
3. Buffalo	186

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Links to live stats can be found at BGSUFalcons.com for each contest throughout the season. Fans can follow the BGSU softball team through Twitter on the official team account @BGSUSoftball and through the official account of the Athletics Department @BGAthletics.

PRESEASON POLL
BGSU was picked to finish fourth in the MAC Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's coaches. The Falcons finished fourth in the East Division during the regular season a year ago. Kent State was tabbed to be the favorite in the MAC East Division in 2014, receiving seven first-place votes. Ohio and Miami each received two first place votes and was picked second and third in the East, respectively. After Bowling Green, Akron was selected fifth and, despite receiving a first-place vote; Buffalo was selected to finish last.

MAC East Preseason Poll
1.       Kent State (7 First Place Votes)
2.       Ohio (2)
3.       Miami (2)
4.       Bowling Green
5.       Akron
6.       Buffalo (1)

MAC West Preseason Poll
1.       Central Michigan (6)
2.       Ball State (6)
3.       Northern Illinois
4.       Western Michigan
5.       Eastern Michigan
6.       Toledo

Predicted 2014 MAC Tournament Champions
Central Michigan (4 Votes)
Ball State, Kent State, Ohio (2)
Buffalo, Northern Illinois (1)

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