Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
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Softball Heads To Florida To Play Seven Games In Five Days
March 05, 2014 | Softball
The Falcons will play in the UCF Spring Fling and then take on North Florida in a mid-week battle.
| UCF SPRING FLING | ||
| Date | OPPONENT | TIME |
| 3/7/14 | Colgate | 9 a.m. |
| 3/7/14 | Troy | 11 a.m. |
| 3/814 | Western Carolina | 3:30 p.m. |
| 3/8/14 | Pennsylvania | 8 p.m. |
| 3/9/14 | Central Florida | 3:30 p.m. |
| NORTH FLORIDA DOUBLEHEADER | ||
| Date | OPPONENT | TIME |
| 3/11/14 | North Florida | 4 p.m. & 6 p.m. |
ORLANDO, Fla.-- The Bowling Green State University softball team will participate in its fourth tournament of the 2014 season this weekend, as the Falcons will head to Orlando, Fla. for the UCF Knight Spring Fling. The Falcons (4-8-1) 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 Colgate and Troy in a doubleheader throughout the day. BGSU will then be back in action on Saturday, taking the field against Western Carolina and Pennsylvania in an action-packed day. The Falcons will then conclude the 2014 Spring Fling against host Central Florida on Sunday afternoon in their first-ever meeting in programs' history. Below is a table that shows the all-time series' against all five opponents.
All-Time Versus The Field:
| DATE | OPPONENT | ALL-TIME |
| 3/7/14 | Colgate | First-Ever Meeting |
| 3/7/14 | Troy | 0-1 |
| 3/8/14 | Western Carolina | 1-0 |
| 3/8/14 | Pennsylvania | 0-1 |
| 3/9/14 | Central Florida | First-Ever Meeting |
| 3/11/14 | North Florida | 1-1 |
Ole Miss Tournament (Feb. 21-23)
Day One: OXFORD, Miss –  The Bowling Green State University softball team exploded for a season-high 12 hits, including at least one hit in every inning, as the Falcons (2-6-1) defeated the University of Northern Colorado, 6-2, in game one at the Red and Blue Classic.
After starting the year with five consecutive losses, Bowling Green have gone 2-1-1 since, scoring 17 runs and totaling 32 hits for a .265 batting average for their best stretch of the early 2014 season.
Day Two: OXFORD, Miss. – The Bowling Green State University softball team jumped out to a 3-1 lead and never looked back against the University at Buffalo on Saturday night, eventually pulling off a hard-fought 4-2 victory in their second game of the night cap at the Red and Blue Classic. Earlier in the day, the Falcons (3-8-1) lost to Saint Louis University 11-1 in five innings.
The Orange and Brown rebounded in the second game of their doubleheader, totaling four runs on five hits in the game. Five different Orange and Brown members recorded a hit in the game. Senior captains Erika Stratton (1-for-2, RBI) and Katie Yoho (1-for-3, RBI) combined for two of the Falcons' four RBI in the contest.  Freshmen Chelsea Raker (1-for-3), Trista Mokienko (1-for-3) and Sami Parave (1-for-2) accounted for the remainder of Bowling Green's hits in the contest.
Day Three: OXFORD, Miss. – The Bowling Green State University softball team defeated the University of Tennessee at Martin Sunday afternoon (Feb. 23), defeating the Skyhawks 2-0 in the Falcons' final game of the Red and Blue Classic at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. The Falcons (4-8-1) finished the tournament going 3-2 over the weekend, closing with a .267 batting average and a 2.84 ERA as a team.
Senior captain Katie Yoho led the Falcons offensively, going 2-for-4 with two RBI. Freshman Chelsea Raker continued her hot hitting at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a double in the game. Raker batted a team-high .429 (6-for-14) at the Red and Blue Classic, including a double and a home run with two RBI over the tournament
SENIOR CONTRIBUTION
Seniors Erika Stratton and Katie Yoho have made an early statement offensively for the Falcons. The two senior captains have combined for 25 hits, four doubles, one triple, four home runs and 14 RBI in 13 games. Stratton (.353) leads the team in batting average and eight RBI, while Yoho went on a five-game hitting streak (Feb. 15- Feb. 21) to boost her average to .317 on the year.
RAKER'S POWER
Freshman Chelsea Raker had arguably her best weekend as a Falcon at the Red and Blue Classic at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. The freshman continued her hot hitting throughout the weekend, totaling at least one hit in four of the Falcons' five games. Raker finished the weekend 6-for-14 (.429) with one home run and two RBI as the Orange and Brown went 3-2. Overall, Raker is batting .333 on the year with 13 hits and seven RBI. The freshman has totaled 23 bases with three homers and one double in 13 games for the Orange and Brown.
KERTES' SOLID WEEKEND
Junior pitcher Jamie Kertes had her best weekend in Oxford, Miss. Kertes made five appearances at the Red and Blue Classic, posting a solid 2-2 record with a 2.06 ERA. Overall, Kertes is 2-6 with a team's best 3.17 ERA in 13 appearances in the circle.
DILLOW'S NEW CAREER HIGH
Sophomore pitcher Braiden Dillow (2-2) posted a career-best six strikeouts during the Falcons' 6-2 win over Northern Colorado on Feb. 21. Dillow tossed 6.1 innings, allowing six hits for one earned run.
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)
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MAC West Preseason Poll
1.      Central Michigan (6)
2.      Ball State (6)
3.      Northern Illinois
4.      Western Michigan
5.      Eastern Michigan
6.      Toledo
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Predicted 2014 MAC Tournament Champions
Central Michigan (4 Votes)
Ball State, Kent State, Ohio (2)
Buffalo, Northern Illinois (1)
