Falcons Outduels Miami, 9-5, In Extra Innings To Earn Split

Sunday, April 6

Oxford, Ohio

1 P.M.

Bowling Green State University

13-18-1, 3-3

Miami (OH)

16-17, 4-2

Bowling Green

Miami

Trista Mokeinko (pictured) hit a solo home run in the 10th inning.

April 06, 2014 | Softball

Box Score

Chelsea Raker's go-ahead two-run homer in the 10th inning propelled BGSU to victory.

By: by Jake Dorow, Athletic Communications

BOXSCORE (HTML)

OXFORD, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University softball team defeated Miami University on Sunday (April 6) afternoon, outlasting the Redhawks by a score of 9-5 in 10 innings at the Miami Softball Complex. With the win, the Falcons (13-18-1, 3-3 MAC) got back to .500 in Mid-American Conference play, and earned a weekend series split with the Redhawks (16-17, 4-2 MAC).

The Orange and Brown's four-run 10th inning, led by home runs by freshman Chelsea Raker and Trista Mokienko, propelled Bowling Green to their third victory in the MAC of the 2014 campaign. The Falcons went into extra innings for the second time in three games, staying unbeaten this season when forced to play extra frames.

"I am so proud of our teams fight today," Falcons head coach Shannon Salsburg said. "We had so many people step up in a variety of ways."

The Orange and Brown totaled nine runs on eleven hits throughout the game. Bowling Green was led offensively by Raker, who went 3-for-5 with a career-high four RBI and a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the 10th inning. BGSU also had strong contributions at the plate from Katie Yoho (2-for-6, two runs), Trista Mokienko (2-for-5, one RBI), Madison Schrock (2-for-4, two runs), Erika Stratton (1-for-3, one RBI) and Aspen Searle (1-for-5).

Meanwhile, the Falcons got a steady performance in the circle from junior Jamie Kertes and sophomore Braiden Dillow to claw themselves back to .500 in the MAC. Kertes (9-13), who started her 19th game of the season, was credited with the win after allowing two earned runs on eight hits in 8.1 innings of work. Dillow allowed two runs on five hits in 1.2 innings in-between the chalk, marking her 27th appearance of the season.

The Falcons jumped out to a 5-0 lead by scoring four runs in the fourth inning and a single run in the top of the fifth. However, the Redhawks forced extra innings after scoring five runs in three consecutive frames, including the game-tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs.

Scoreless after the ninth inning, the Falcons finally broke the tie when Raker sent a pitch over the left field fence, giving the Orange and Brown a 7-5 lead. The go-ahead homer marked Raker's fourth long ball of the year and her 16 RBI in 32 games. The inning continued when Mokienko hit a solo home run over the left field fence to extend the Falcons' lead to 8-5. It marked the third home run of the year for the freshman, and her sixth RBI in 26 games. The Orange and Brown extended their lead to four when M. Schrock scored from third base when Searle ground out to third base.

"The MAC conference is full of parity and finding a way to win this game was huge!"

Kertes, meanwhile, worked three scoreless innings to shut down the Redhawks in three extra innings. The junior allowed just one walk during the stretch to help the Falcons earn a split in a hard-fought extra innings victory.

Bowling Green will be right back in action tomorrow afternoon (April 7), taking on the University of North Dakota at Meserve Field. The twin bill is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Make sure to follow all of the up-to-the-minute updates on BGSU softball's official Twitter account @BGSUSoftball all season long.