Falcons Jump on Top Early in Sunday Sweep of UT

Sunday, March 29

Bowling Green, Ohio

12:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

8-13, 1-0

Toledo

12-17, 0-1

Bowling Green

Toledo

Aspen Searle homer - March 29 2015 - BGSU Softball

Aspen Searle completes her trip around the bases after homering in Sunday's first game

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

March 29, 2015 | Softball, The Battle Of I-75

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BGSU gets contributions from a multitude of players en route to 2-0 start in the MAC

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University softball team jumped on top early in each of Sunday's (March 29) games, leading from wire to wire in a doubleheader sweep of the University of Toledo. The Falcons downed the Rockets by scores of 7-3 and 4-0 at Meserve Field.

PHOTO GALLERY

With the 'home' wins, the Falcons improve to 9-13 on the season, and BGSU is off to a 2-0 start in Mid-American Conference play. The Rockets drop to 12-18 and 0-2, respectively.

"We know that it's important to get every win you possibly can," said Falcon head coach Shannon Salsburg. "We learned that lesson the hard way last year. Our returners have talked to our newbies about making sure that when we get the opportunity, we take care of business in each and every game."

The top third of the BGSU batting order combined for 11 hits in the sweep. Junior transfers Marina Cobbs and Molly Holliday had four hits apiece, while sophomore Aspen Searle had three hits, three runs scored and three runs batted in.

Senior Chloe Giordano had three hits, all doubles, in the twinbill, and BG pitching kept the Rockets off the scoreboard in all but one of Sunday's 14 innings.

BGSU, the visiting team on that scoreboard, scored two runs in the top of the first inning in each of Sunday's games. The BG-UT series was originally scheduled to be hosted by the Rockets, but was moved to BG due to field conditions at UT's Scott Park.

"I was really pleased with how the team played," said Salsburg. "I thought our pitching was outstanding, and I thought our defense was solid behind the pitchers. Offensively, we were aggressive. Even when we weren't getting hits, we were putting the ball in play. And, paid off for us, as there were a couple errors that helped us score some runs early."

Senior Jamie Kertes struck out a season-high seven batters in Sunday's opener, blanking the Rockets through six innings en route to the win. Sophomore Briana Combs, who got the final two outs of that win, fired the first complete-game shutout of her collegiate career in the nightcap, scattering five hits and striking out five.

Searle reached base to lead off each game, coming around to score both times, and BG never trailed in the remainder of each contest. BGSU has scored a whopping 36 runs in the first inning this season to date.

"We talked about, if we're going to be the away team, let's do this the right way," said Salsburg. "Let's try to score first, because when we do that, it has boded well for us this year. At the end of the day, when we are aggressive hitters, we are a very solid offense from top to bottom."

On the very first pitch of game one, Searle lined a sharp single to left field off of UT starter Marla Gooding. Gooding struck out the next batter, but a flare by Cobbs was just out of the reach of UT third baseman Allissa Turkovich, putting runners on first and second. Gooding got another strikeout, and sophomore Haley Schrock then hit a liner to left. UT leftfielder Jessica Lemieux drifted toward the ball, but saw it carom off of the top of her glove and go all the way to the fence. Searle and Cobbs scored easily, and the Falcons had a two-run lead.

Kertes worked a one-two-three inning in the bottom of the first, and the Falcons were at it again in the second. Freshman Morgan Evangelista drew a leadoff walk, and classmate Kayla Koch's fly ball to left was dropped by Lemieux, her second error in as many innings, as pinch-runner Emily McClelland advanced to second base. Another Falcon freshman, Katee Hinkle, laid down a sacrifice bunt to put two runners in scoring position. Hinkle was seeing her first action since the season's opening weekend after missing the Falcons' last 16 games due to injury.

Gooding got two strikes on the next batter, Searle, but the sophomore slugger turned on the next pitch and lined it over the left-field fence for her fifth home run of the year and a five-run Falcon lead.

Emily Anderson replaced Gooding in the circle, and allowed only four BGSU hits the rest of the game, but the damage had been done.

UT's first hit of the day came in the bottom of the second inning, on a one-out double by Chandler Rice. Samantha Showalter drew a walk, putting a pair of runners aboard with one out, but Kertes got Turkovich to swing and miss at an 0-2 pitch, then induced Ashley Maynard to lift a fly ball to rightfielder Cobbs for the third out.

The lone runner in the next two innings was UT's Ashley Rausch, who reached on a bunt single in the third inning. She stole second with two outs, but was stranded there. Each team had a two-out hit in the fifth frame, but Anderson got an inning-ending strikeout in the top of the inning, while Falcon catcher Evangelista threw out a would-be base-stealer to end the bottom of the frame.

BG added to the lead in the sixth. Giordano's hard-hit ball was just beyond the reach of Rausch, who had replaced Lemieux in left field several innings earlier. Giordano wound up on third after Rausch's throw toward second base was high. Evangelista's liner back to the circle was snagged by Anderson for the second out of the inning, but Koch blooped a run-scoring single just past third base for a 6-0 BG advantage.

The Rockets got a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the inning, on a single and a wild pitch, but Kertes struck out Celeste Fidge, UT's leading hitter, for the third out. Fidge, hitting .439 entering Sunday's action, was 0-for-3 in game one. With the count full, a Kertes offering caught the outside corner of the plate to end the inning.

The Falcons increased the lead to seven runs in the top of the seventh. Holliday reached on an error and advanced to second on a passed ball. The next hitter, Cobbs, traded places with Holliday, driving her classmate home on a double to left.

In the bottom of the seventh, though, the Rocket bats came alive. UT had only four hits through the first six innings, but doubled that total in the seventh to make the game interesting.

A leadoff homer by Rice ended the Falcons' shutout bid, and Showalter followed with a double. Junior Braiden Dillow replaced Kertes, but pinch-hitter Kaitlyn Bergman greeted her with an opposite-field homer. The two-run shot made it a 7-3 game.

Dillow struck out Maynard for the first out of the inning, but Sammy Emery walked, prompting Salsburg to summon Combs from the bullpen. The sophomore was greeted by a seeing-eye base hit from Rausch, who placed a grounder between the first and second basemen. Nichole Toven hit a soft liner just to the left of second base, where shortstop Hinkle made a diving grab for the second out. Then, Combs whiffed Lemieux to end the threat and the game.

Kertes threw 92 pitches, including 63 strikes, in improving to 4-4 on the season. She allowed two runs and six hits, walking one batter while striking out seven.

Gooding allowed five runs (only two earned) and three hits in one-and-a-third innings of work. Anderson threw five-and-two-thirds innings of relief, surrendering a pair of runs (both unearned) and four hits. In all, Anderson pitched 12 2/3 innings on Sunday, as she went all the way in the second game.

Searle was 2-for-4 at the plate in the opener, scoring two runs and driving in three. Cobbs went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

After coming up with eight hits in the first game, the Falcons pounded out 10 hits in the second. BG had three extra-base hits in the first game and four in the second.

Searle, who had singled on the first pitch of the opener, hit the second pitch of the nightcap to the fence in right field for a game-opening triple. She trotted home easily as Holliday singled through the left side. Four pitches into the game, the Falcons had the lead.

BG scored again before the inning was over, as Schrock walked on four pitches, advancing Holliday to second. Then, Giordano's blooper landed between three charging Rockets in shallow right, scoring Holliday for a 2-0 lead.

Combs retired the side in order in the UT half of the first, before allowing a leadoff single to Fidge in the second. Scott, pinch-running for Fidge, was caught stealing before Combs whiffed Showalter for the third out.

In the third, the Rockets got a runner to second on a Bergman single and a wild pitch, before Combs got Alyssa Smith to hit an inning-ending grounder to second.

Anderson and the Rockets had flirted with danger in the second and third innings, before the Falcons finally increased the lead in the fourth. In the second, BG had two hits after a leadoff walk by Koch. Those hits included a perfectly-placed bunt by Hinkle, who beat the UT second baseman to the first-base bag for a single. But, a BG runner was called out for leaving second base early, and despite Holliday's single off the pitcher's glove, the Rockets got out of the inning.

In the third, Schrock's sharp single was followed by a Giordano double. The senior's third two-base hit of the day put runners in scoring position, but Anderson got an infield popup and a fly ball to shallow right to end the threat.

The fourth inning, however, saw BG manufacture a two-out rally. Anderson got a strikeout and a popup for two quick outs, but Holliday singled to left, and Cobbs beat out a slow roller past the lunging effort of the UT pitcher. Then, sophomore Trista Mokienko smashed a double over the leftfielder's head to plate both baserunners and double BG's lead.

After Combs retired the side in order in the bottom of the fourth, the Rockets looked to cut into the lead in the fifth. Showalter singled with one out, and Emery reached on an infield error, putting two runners aboard with one out. But, Combs got Bergman to swing and miss at a 1-2 pitch, and Hinkle fielders a Turkovich grounder and fired to first for the third out.

In the sixth, Nichole Tovan doubled with one out, and continued to third when the throw from the outfield got away. But, Rice struck out swinging, and Combs induced Fidge to hit a grounder to Koch at first, retiring the side.

Lemieux began the UT half of the seventh with a bloop single to center, but Combs gloved Showalter's grounder on the very next pitch, firing to first for the first out. Then, she got pinch-hitter Kylie Gross to hit a foul pop that Koch grabbed near first base after an eight-pitch at-bat. The game came to an end when Bergman's grounder to second was fielded by Searle, who tossed the ball to Koch to complete the sweep.

For Combs, the complete-game shutout was the first of her collegiate career. The sophomore transfer from the University of Evansville has both of BGSU's complete games this season to date. She threw 112 pitches in Sunday's second game, including 74 strikes. Combs, as mentioned, scattered five hits and struck out five. She did not walk a batter.

Holliday led the BG attack in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader, with three hits and two runs scored. Giordano went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI, while Mokienko drove in a pair of runs.

"I have been pleased with how we have been approaching our at-bats," said Salsburg. "Our goal is to see our approach continue to improve from week to week, and another one of our goals, of course, is a MAC championship. We have talked about championship intent from the beginning of the season, and it doesn't matter where we started, it is where we are heading. I am happy right now with where we are heading.

"We have a long way to go. There are still some things in terms of execution that need to get better. But, I was pleased with our overall approach and our aggressiveness. I thought we were the more aggressive team today, and that's our goal every day."

The Falcons return to action on Tuesday (March 31), heading to the Motor City for a non-conference doubleheader vs. the University of Detroit Mercy. Tuesday's first game begins at 2:30 p.m.