Searle, Falcons Walk Off with Sweep of Titans

Tuesday, March 31

Bowling Green, Ohio

4:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

10-13

Detroit

2-22

Detroit

Bowling Green

Jamie Kertes - March 29 2015 - BGSU Softball

Jamie Kertes picked up the win in both games of Tuesday's sweep of Detroit

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

March 31, 2015 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Sophomore homers to win game two as BG increases winning streak to four games

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Sophomore Aspen Searle homered to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Bowling Green State University softball team a 6-5 win over the University of Detroit Mercy and a sweep of the teams' Tuesday (March 31) doubleheader. The Falcons topped the Titans, 2-1, in the first game at Meserve Field.

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With the win, the Falcons are now 11-13 on the season, and BGSU has won four games in a row and six of the last seven contests.

"Detroit was ready to play today," said Falcon coach Shannon Salsburg. "They showed up, they fought and they never quit. We've talked about that when we've talked about our conference foes – in the MAC, no one is going to roll over and quit. I think today was another reminder that we have to play until the game is over.

"With that being said, I thought we fought through a lot of things ourselves. We got timely hitting, and we'll take it. Two W's are two W's, and we'll take it and get ready to return to MAC play this weekend."

Sophomore Trista Mokienko's two-run homer proved to be the difference in the first game, as senior Jamie Kertes and sophomore Briana Combs combined on a five-hitter. Kertes picked up the win in both games, coming on in relief in game two after pitching into the seventh inning in game one, while Combs recorded her first save of the year in Tuesday's first contest.

Mokienko had a total of four runs batted in, with two RBI in each game. She and junior Molly Holliday were the only two Falcons with more than one hit in the doublehader, as both players went 2-for-6 at the plate with a pair of runs scored.

Searle scored three runs on Tuesday, and her lone hit was a big one, as she teed off on a Hannah Leppek pitch in the ninth inning of game two, sending it into the darkness beyond the centerfield fence at Meserve Field.

"It was definitely a great feeling, that's for sure," said Searle of her game-winning blast. "(At the plate) I'm thinking 'base hit to the right side' every time, but it was great to see that ball go over the fence and great to have the support of my teammates during that at-bat and throughout the game."

Kertes struck out a season-high eight batters in the first game, allowing just one run before giving way to Combs. Combs got the last two outs of that game to pick up a save, then pitched into the fifth inning of game two before Kertes replaced her with the contest tied at 5-5. The senior allowed just one hit in four-and-two-thirds innings of relief, striking out seven without walking a batter.

On the day, Kertes allowed the Titans to hit just .171 against her, giving up only six hits in 11 innings of work. She struck out 15 batters, walking just two.

"Our pitchers got themselves in a little bit of trouble at times, but when one pitcher got into trouble, the other pitcher came in and got us out of it," said Salsburg. "Defensively, Chloe (Giordano), in particular, had an excellent day at third base. She did an outstanding job in the field today."

Detroit pitcher Christa McGahuey allowed only three hits in a complete-game effort in game one, but the Falcons made those hits count.

Tuesday's twinbill was originally scheduled to be played at Buysse Ballpark in the Motor City, but the games were moved to BGSU at the eleventh hour due to field conditions at the Titans' home complex.

After BGSU led from wire to wire in Sunday's (March 29) doubleheader sweep of Toledo at Meserve Field, the Titans took an early lead in both of Tuesday's games. In game one, UDM leadoff hitter Alex Astorga led off with a sharp single to left, and took second on a sacrifice bunt. Kayla Kostich's blooper to shallow centerfield dropped in for a base hit, but Astorga was forced to hold at second base on the play. The next hitter, though, was McGahuey, who singled to plate Astorga with the game's first run.

Kertes and the Falcons got out of the inning as the senior struck out Savanna Ferstle, and BG catcher Morgan Evangelista cut down Kostich attempting to steal third.

BG quickly erased that early deficit. With one out, Holliday reached base on a bunt single, and one out later, Mokienko turned on a pitch and deposited it over the fence in left. McGahuey would allow only one hit over the rest of the game, but Kertes matched her UDM counterpart shutout inning for shutout inning.

In the top of the second, sophomore Haley Schrock made a great diving catch of a fly ball to left-centerfield by Jennifer Cottle for the first out, and Kertes sandwiched a pair of strikeouts around a two-out walk.

Astorga singled to begin the third, but Kertes fanned Kat Hoffman, and Evangelista threw out her second runner of the day as Astorga was unsuccessful on a stolen-base attempt. Kertes issued a walk to Kostich, but got McGahuey to pop up to second baseman Searle to end the third.

That popup began a stretch of 10 consecutive batters retired by Kertes. UDM would not have another baserunner until the seventh. Kertes won an 11-pitch battle with Cottle in the fourth, catching the Detroit junior looking at a 2-2 pitch.

In the bottom of the fourth, Schrock was hit by a pitch with one out, and senior Chloe Giordano's fly ball to shallow center dropped for a base hit. But, McGahuey responded with a strikeout and an infield popup to retire the side.

Neither team would get a runner on base in the fifth or sixth inning, but Detroit looked to mount a rally in the top of the seventh. Ferstle led off the inning with a fly ball that landed just inside the foul line in left for a single. Cottle bunted pinch-runner Grace Schmeiser to second base, with Searle making a nice catch as she covered first base to prevent Cottle from reaching as well.

Combs replaced Kertes, but the BG soph walked Katy Severson on four pitches, then began Sam Henderson with a ball as well. But, she worked the count on Henderson to 1-2, then induced the Titan senior to hit a grounder to freshman Katee Hinkle at short. Hinkle fired to first base for the second out, but the runners advanced to second and third, respectively.

With the tying run just 60 feet away and the potential go-ahead run in scoring position as well, pinch-hitter Sarah Mauser got ahead of Combs with a 2-0 count. But, the Falcon sophomore threw a strike, then got Mauser to hit the next pitch to Giordano at third. When freshman first baseman Kayla Koch gloved Giordano's throw, game one belonged to the Falcons.

The Titans outhit the Falcons, 5-3, in the opener, with Astorga going 2-for-3 at the plate and scoring her team's only run. Kertes and McGahuey each faced only five batters over the minimum, with McGahuey pitching six innings and Kertes six and a third. McGahuey walked one batter and struck out seven.

The opener took almost two hours to play, and it would take nearly three hours to decide a winner in the nightcap. Detroit broke on top once again, scoring twice in the first inning. And, once again, the Falcons would double the Titans' run total in the bottom of the frame.

Astorga drew a walk against Combs to start game two, and Hoffman reached base on a fielder's choice, as Astorga was erased at second. The next batter, Kostich, drove a ball to left for a two-run homer.

The Falcons, however, batted around in the bottom of the inning. Searle reached when third baseman Ferstle couldn't handle her hard-hit ball. Holliday bunted the very next pitch to the right side, and reached base without a throw, putting runners at first and second. Then, BG loaded the bases when a blooper by junior Marina Cobbs dropped in for a hit, just in front of charging rightfielder Severson.

Mokienko hit a grounder to Ferstle at third base. Ferstle bobbled the ball, then was called for interference as she blocked Holliday's path to third base while attempting to pick it up. Everyone was safe as Searle crossed the plate with the Falcons' first run.

The next batter, Schrock, was hit by a pitch, with Holliday trotting home to tie the game at 2-2. Dayton Yingling replaced Leppek in the circle, and got a fly ball to shallow center for the first out. Marisa Shook entered the game as a pinch-hitter, though, and the junior lined a single up the middle to score Cobbs and give BG the lead. Mokienko scored the Falcons' fourth run on a sacrifice fly by Koch before the Titans finally got out of the inning.

After getting just three hits during the entire first game, the Falcons had three hits in the first inning of the second contest.

Combs struck out the side in the second inning, allowing only a two-out walk that proved to be harmless after Samantha Wolschleger swung and missed at an 0-2 pitch for the third out.

Searle drew a leadoff walk to start the second, then took second base on a passed ball. Yingling got Holliday to hit a popup that UDM first baseman Kostich gloved in front of her team's dugout, but Searle alertly tagged and advanced to third base. It appeared that Cobbs had given BG a 5-2 lead when she singled to center, but the BG junior was called out as it was ruled she had stepped on the plate before making contact with the pitch. With two outs, though, Mokienko ripped a Yingling pitch to the base of the wall in center, and Searle easily scored to give the Falcons that 5-2 advantage.

The score remained 5-2 until the fifth inning, when the visitors rallied to tie the game. With one out, Astorga reached on an infield single, as Hinkle made a nifty diving stop of her grounder, but had no play at first. Hoffman reached on an error, and a walk to Kostich loaded the bases. Then, McGahuey's soft liner to rightfield landed just inside the line and rolled all the way to the wall, clearing the bases. The three-run triple tied the contest at 5-all.

With just one out in the inning, Kertes entered the game in relief. The Falcons nearly picked off pinch-runner Mauser as an attempted squeeze play went awry for the Titans, but Mauser scrambled back to third base just in the nick of time. Kertes, though, struck out Schmeiser for the second out, then got Henderson to hit a grounder to Koch at first base to strand Mauser at third.

Schrock led off the bottom of the fifth by lining a ball off of third baseman Schmeiser, but the BG sophomore was cut down attempting to stretch the single into a double. Evangelista singled with one out, but pinch-runner Emily McClelland was stranded at first base as Yingling caught the outside corner of the plate for an inning-ending strikeout.

Giordano made a nifty pick of a hard-hit ball by Yingling to begin the sixth, and Kertes struck out the next two batters. Leppek returned to the game for the Titans, and worked a one-two-three half-inning in the bottom of the sixth, aided by Severson's nifty catch of a Searle fly ball to right.

Kertes again retired the Titans in order in the seventh, striking out the last two hitters, and Mokienko drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the inning. But, Leppek got two strikeouts of her own, and pinch-runner Sami Parave could not advance into scoring position. The game went to extra innings.

The visitors went down in order, as Kertes retired her ninth, tenth and 11th consecutive hitters. Leppek matched her batter for batter in the bottom of the eighth, though, retiring the Falcons one-two-three. Then, Leppek aided her own cause, lacing a ball to right-centerfield for a leadoff double in the ninth.

The next batter, Severson, hit a tapper back to the circle, and Kertes threw to first base for the out. Leppek, however, took third on the play. The next hitter, Wolscheleger, hit a liner to left, but Schrock caught the ball near the line for the second out, and Leppek was forced to hold at third. Then, Kertes got Astorga to swing and miss at a 1-2 pitch to end the threat and the half-inning.

In the bottom of the inning, Searle hit a long drive to left, but the ball hit at the base of the fence several feet into foul territory. With the count 2-2, however, the sophomore blasted a ball to center, and when it cleared the fence at 9:21 p.m., the Falcons had the win and the doubleheader sweep.

Kertes improved to 6-4 on the season with Tuesday's two wins. She threw 47 of her 67 pitches for strikes in the nightcap, retiring 14 of the 15 batters she faced.

Leppek took the loss for the Titans, allowing five runs (just two earned) and three hits in three innings. Yingling gave up a run and four hits in five innings of work. The UDM hurlers combined to walk three batters and strike out 11 in Tuesday's second game.

Seven different Falcons had one hit apiece in that second game. No Titan had more than one hit in the contest, but McGahuey drove in three runs and Kostich two.

"We stayed confident today when things weren't going our way," said Salsburg. "We have had some similar games during the preseason schedule. We didn't panic, and we stayed confident in what we had to do. At the end of the day, you just have to learn how to win, and you have to learn how to win in a lot of different ways.

"Everyone stayed very composed today, and games like that will pay dividends as we head back into the MAC."

The Falcons now prepare for a weekend trip to the Mid-American Conference's "West Coast," as BGSU faces Northern Illinois University in a Friday (April 3) doubleheader. Then, the Brown and Orange will play single games at Western Michigan University on Saturday and Sunday (April 4-5). BG's next home date is scheduled for Friday, April 10, when the Falcons face Miami in the original 2015 home opener.

FALCON NOTES
* The Falcons, who originally were scheduled to open the home portion of the season on April 10, are now 4-0 at Meserve Field this year ... BG's Mid-American Conference-opening series at Toledo last weekend was moved to Bowling Green due to field conditions at the Rockets' Scott Park, and the Falcons swept a Sunday (March 29) twinbill with the Rockets ... Tuesday's DH, as mentioned, was slated to be held at UDM's Buysse Ballpark before being moved to BG.

* Sophomore Aspen Searle's home run to complete the sweep was her sixth of the season ... she has doubled her total from a year ago ... Searle now has 17 RBI on the season, topping her total for all of 2014 (16) in that category as well.

* Searle has a total of 15 extra-base hits this season, after registering nine during her freshman season.

* Sophomore Trista Mokienko's homer during Tuesday's first game was her fourth of the season, topping her total for all of last year (three) ... Mokienko has nearly doubled her RBI total from a year ago, with 12 this season after recording seven as a freshman.

* BGSU scored a total of six runs in the first inning of Tuesday's two games ... the Falcons have scored 42 first-rinning runs in 24 games this season to date.