Falcons Doubles Up UND In Sweep

Monday, April 7

Bowling Green, Ohio

12 P.M.

Bowling Green State University

14-18-1

North Dakota

3-21

North Dakota

Bowling Green

Braiden Dilow (pictured) tossed her first collegiate complete game vs. UND.

April 07, 2014 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Overpowering pitching efforts from Jamie Kertes and Braiden Dillow propels BGSU to sweep.

By: by Jake Dorow, Athletic Communications

BOXSCORE: Game 1 | Game 2

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University softball showcased a complete team effort with overpowering pitching and a balanced offensive approach at the plate to earn two victories over visiting University of North Dakota on Monday (April 7) afternoon. The Falcons (15-18-1) shutout UND (3-22) in the first game, 3-0, before exploding offensively in an 8-0 run-rule shortened second game at Meserve Field.

"Today was a great sweep," Falcons head coach Shannon Salsburg said. "We focused a lot on playing hard in the first game and we came out and responded early."

GAME ONE: North Dakota 0, Bowling Green 3
In game one, the Orange and Brown responded from a gutsy pitching performance from junior Jamie Kertes. The Carnegie, Pa. native pitched seven resilient innings in the circle for the Falcons, allowing just four hits while striking out six UND batters to earn her 10th decision of the season.

Kertes retired the first seven batters she faced, forcing two fly outs, three ground outs and striking out a pair of North Dakota batters before allowing a single in the third inning to Kaylin VanDOMELEN for UND's first hit of the game. Kertes, however, got out of the inning by retiring the next two batters, keeping the game scoreless through three.

Deadlocked at 0-0, Bowling Green broke the scoreless tie with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Orange and Brown got on the board when freshman Madison Schrock hit a sharp ball back to the pitcher, allowing Emily McClelland to score from third base. The inning continued when Chloe Giordano hit an RBI double to left field to extend the Falcons' lead to 2-0.

Meanwhile, Kertes continued to roll along in the circle allowing just two hits for the remainder of the game to keep North Dakota scoreless.

"I thought our pitchers did a great job today," Salsburg said. "They mixed up their pitches well and got batters out today."

M. Schrock, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored in the game, led off the sixth inning with a single and eventually scored on an RBI double by Marisa Shook down the left field line to hand the Falcons a 3-0 lead.

"It was exciting to see a lot of different people contribute today, especially offensively."

For the game, Bowling Green had five players record at least one hit. Freshman Aspen Searle (2-for-3), M. Schrock, Erika Stratton (1-for-2), Chloe Giordano (1-for-3, one RBI) and Maria Shook (1-for-3, one RBI) led the team offensively in the game.

GAME TWO: North Dakota 0, Bowling Green 8
Bowling Green completed the two-game sweep with an 8-0 victory over UND in game two. The Falcons scored eight runs on 10 hits in five innings, while backing a complete game effort from sophomore pitcher Braiden Dillow in the win.

Dillow (5-5) threw her first complete game of her collegiate career, allowing just three hits for zero runs on two strikeouts in five innings of work in the circle. After allowing hits in back-to-back innings to UND, Dillow retired seven consecutive batters to keep North Dakota scoreless for the second straight game.

The offensive responded scoring at least one run in each of the five frames, as eight different players recorded at least one hit in the game.

The Orange and Brown were led offensively in the game by Searle, who went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and a solo homer in the third inning. On the day, Searle went 3-for-5 with two runs, four RBI and one home run.

The Falcons also had strong contributions at the plate from Haley Schrock, going 2-for-2 with two RBI and a home run. H. Schrock's homer marked her first collegiate home run of her career, as she went deep in the second frame.

"It's a great way to build and I look forward to getting back to practice and getting after it for this weekend." Salsburg said.

The Falcons get back to Mid-American Conference action this weekend (April 11-13), as Bowling Green takes on Akron in a twin bill on Friday afternoon before taking on Ohio on Saturday and Sunday. The next home games for the Orange and Brown will be held on April 16 against Detroit at Meserve Field.