Falcons Suffer Sweep Against Central Michigan

Friday, April 25

Bowling Green, Ohio

3 P.M.

Bowling Green State University

20-26-1, 6-9

Central Michigan

30-15, 8-5

Central Michigan

Bowling Green

April 25, 2014 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

The Falcons dropped at pair of MAC games at Meserve Field Friday night.

By: by Jake Dorow, Athletic Communications

BOXSCORES (HTML): Game 1 | Game 2

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University dropped a pair of Mid-American Conference games on Friday (April 25) evening, falling to the visiting Central Michigan in two hard-fought games at Meserve Field. The Falcons (20-27-1, 6-10 MAC) fell to the Chippewas (31-13, 9-5 MAC) in the first game 6-5 before losing 5-3 to close out the evening.

"Today was disappointing in terms of outcome, Falcons head coach Shannon Salsburg said. "I thought overall we played really hard."

After a two hour delay due to rain on Friday morning, the Falcons and Chippewas wasted no time to score the game's first runs. The two teams scored 10 of the 11 total runs through the first three frames in game one, setting up a winner-take-all attitude heading to the final frame.

Central Michigan plated the first run in the game when Trista Cox hit a one-out RBI single against Falcons' junior Jamie Kertes through the left side to give the Chippewas an early 1-0 lead.

However, after Kertes worked out of a second inning jam, the Falcons took the lead thanks to a five-run second inning outburst. Senior Katie Yoho, who entered the day with five home runs over her last seven games, leadoff the home half of the inning with a solo homer just over the right field fence to tie the game at 1-1.

With the home run, Yoho set a new single-season career-best 11 home runs, breaking her previous-best of 10 set last season. The Grove City, Ohio native now trails Hannah Fulk by only five home runs to for the most career home runs in program's history.

The inning continued when senior Erika Stratton walked and eventually reached second on a sacrifice bunt by Madison Schrock. After freshman Trista Mokienko followed with a walk and a fly out, Chloe Giordano ripped a two-out RBI single to give the Orange and Brown a 2-1 lead. The Falcons continued the two-out rally when Aspen Searle recorded an RBI single to extend BGSU's lead to 3-1.

Lead by two in the inning, the Falcons got some help from the Central Michigan defense as an error allowed Bowling Green to plate two more runs to hand them their largest lead of the game.

In what became a back-and-forth game to start the day, the Chippewas came back to plate four more runs in the top half of the third inning with a pair of home runs. A three-run home run from Cox and a solo shot tied the game at 5-5.

Kertes, who made her 45th appearance in the circle with the start, settled down and found her rhythm by tossing 2.2 scoreless innings. For the game, the Carnegie, Pa. native surrendered two earned runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings of work to earn a no decision for the contest.

After three scoreless innings deadlocked at 5-5, the two teams headed to the final frame looking for the go-ahead run. The run was scored in the top of the seventh as Central Michigan's DeLamielleure hit a one-out double to left center field to score the game-winning run, handing CMU a 6-5 win.

In game two, it was the Falcons that crossed home plate first to hand them their first lead of the game. After starting pitch Braiden Dillow allowed just two hits through the first two frames, the Falcons took advantage and plated the game's first run when Searle double the left center to score Marisa Shook from first base.

However, much like the first game, Central Michigan answered with a single run in the fourth inning and a four-run eruption in the fifth to take a 5-1 lead.
Tied at 1-1 in the top of the fifth, the Falcons recorded a costly error that allowed the Chippewas to record four unearned runs in the frame—including a three-run homer to left field—to hand them a four-run lead that they never surrendered.

Trailing by four, the Orange and Brown's offense came alive in the home half of the fifth. BGSU's Searle started the frame with a leadoff single and scored on a RBI base-clearing triple by freshman Amanda Durham to cut the lead to 5-2. The inning continued when Chelsea Raker hit a sacrifice fly ball to right field, allowing Durham to score from third base to make it a 5-3 ballgame.

"We had a lot of kids step up in different situations." Salsburg said.

The two-run cushion proved to be enough, as CMU's Rachael Knapp picked up her second win of the day to hand BGSU their second loss.

"We realize our backs are against the wall and we are going to come out swinging," Salsburg said. "We believe we will find a way to the MAC tournament and we need to take of business over the last four games."

The Falcons will turn right around and continue their six-game home stand tomorrow (April 26) afternoon. Bowling Green will host Eastern Michigan at Meserve Field in the first of a two-game MAC weekend showdown. First pitch is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.