Kertes, Falcons Earn Split with Division-Leading Miami

Friday, April 10

Bowling Green, Ohio

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

12-17, 3-4

Miami

22-14, 6-1

Miami

Bowling Green

Jamie Kertes - April 10 2015 - BGSU Softball

Jamie Kertes picked up the MAC-record 16th save of her career on Friday

Photo by: Larry Clapper

April 10, 2015 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BGSU senior breaks MAC record for career saves

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Senior Jamie Kertes rebounded from a tough-luck loss in Friday's (April 10) opening game, locking down a win in the nightcap while setting a record in the process, as the Bowling Green State University softball team earned a split with Miami University. The Falcons fell to the RedHawks, 4-1, in the opener, but bounced back for a 4-3 win in game two of the Mid-American Conference doubleheader at Meserve Field.

BGSU-Miami Photo Gallery - photos by Larry Clapper

Kertes was saddled with the loss in Friday's first game, despite pitching six innings and giving up zero earned runs. In the second game, however, she entered the circle in relief of sophomore Briana Combs and – with BGSU leading by just one run – got the final four outs.

"You just have to put that behind you," said Kertes of the game-one decision. "Coming into the second game, you just have to keep your composure. I know my team will have my back in any situation, and you just have to go out there and get the job done."

For Kertes, the save was her first of the season and the 16th of her career, setting a new Mid-American Conference record. Kertes entered the 2015 campaign sharing the MAC career saves record with former Kent State hurler Kate Leary (15 saves from 2001-04).

The RedHawks got a complete-game two-hitter from starting pitcher Amber Logemann in the opener. Logemann allowed an unearned run in the third inning, but took a no-hitter into the sixth before allowing back-to-back singles by juniors Molly Holliday and Marina Cobbs.

Cobbs was 3-for-3 at the plate in the second game, for her first three-hit game as a Falcon, while senior Chloe Giordano had two of BG's eight hits in the nightcap. Freshman Morgan Evangelista clubbed a two-run homer in game two, her second round-tripper of the season.

Cobbs had nearly half of BGSU's total hits on the day, going 4-for-6 in the doubleheader. For the RedHawks, Tanya Busby went 2-for-4 at the plate in each game.

"Getting the split was important," said BGSU head coach Shannon Salsburg. "It keeps us at .500 in the conference, and it's important to continue to make sure that we get at least a split in each series. Our goal going into this weekend, though, was to win this weekend.

"I think in game one, we just struggled in the infield. Jamie made the pitches that she needed to make, and we just need to come up and make the plays. The good thing is, I think they settled in a little bit better in game two. As a staff, we have full confidence in this team and what each and every player can do."

Miami never trailed in Friday's first game, and BGSU never trailed in the second. In the opener, MU got a first-inning run, after Tiyona Marshall led off with a single and took second on Busby's grounder. Kertes got Eryn McCarver to hit an infield popup for the second out, but – in a harbinger of things to come – Marshall came around to score an unearned run as Taylor Shuey reached base on an error. All five runs in Friday's first game were unearned.

The RedHawks looked to add to the lead in the second, when Rylee Whispel drew a leadoff walk. After Kertes struck out Bree Lipscomb, Remy Edwards poked a single into shallow leftfield, putting two runners aboard. Kertes, though, got another strikeout, catching Kylie McChesney looking, and on the eighth pitch of Marshall's at-bat, the BG senior got Miami's top hitter to lift a lazy fly ball to Holliday in center. Marshall was hitting .463 on the season heading into that at-bat.

BG's first baserunner of the day came when Logemann hit sophomore Trista Mokienko with a pitch to begin the bottom of the second. A sacrifice bunt by Giordano moved pinch-runner Emily McClelland to second, but Logemann responded by getting a strikeout, then an infield grounder to retire the side.

Miami doubled the lead with another unearned run in the third inning. Busby beat out a slow roller to shortstop to begin the inning, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. She took third on a sacrifice bunt, then scored when Shuey's grounder was misplayed for an error. Kertes got the next two outs on a fly ball to center and a grounder to second.

BG responded in kind, scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the third. Freshman Kayla Koch walked to begin the inning, and classmate Katee Hinkle attempted to slap the next pitch through the right side of the infield, but RedHawk first baseman Shanyn McIntyre grabbed the soft liner for the first out. Logemann then won a lengthy battle with Aspen Searle, getting a strikeout after a 10-pitch at-bat which saw the Falcon sophomore hit no fewer than eight foul balls. With two outs, however, Holliday walked to move Koch to second, and a grounder by Cobbs was booted by the Miami shortstop, caroming into centerfield as Koch scored. Logemann responded by getting an inning-ending strikeout.

But, the RedHawks came right back with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. The inning began innocently enough, as Lipscomb and Edwards grounded out. But, McChesney laced a double to right-center, then took third on a passed ball. Marshall reached on an infield single, and Busby followed with an infield hit of her own. Busby advanced to second when the throw to first base was low and skipped into foul territory.

Logeman retired the Falcons in order in the next two innings, with pinch-hitter Marisa Shook thrown out by a half step for the second out of the fifth. Kertes worked a one-two-three sixth inning, and the Falcons finally ended Logemann's no-hit bid in the bottom of the inning.

Holliday led off the sixth by lacing a single past diving MU shortstop McChesney. Then, Cobbs beat out an infield grounder, as second baseman McCarver gloved it just in front of the outfield grass, but had no play. But, Logemann got a strikeout, and Holliday was cut down on a BG double-steal attempt. Giordano drew a two-out walk to put two runners on base once again, but another strikeout ended the inning.

In the seventh, pinch-hitter Sami Parave worked Logemann for a two-out walk, but the MU hurler responded with a strikeout to end the game. Logemann allowed just two hits and one unearned run in her complete-game win. She did walk four batters, but struck out eight.

Kertes gave up four runs – all unearned – and seven hits in six innings of action, walking one batter and striking out three. Junior Braiden Dillow pitched the seventh inning, surrendering a hit and a walk, but three grounders to shortstop Hinkle resulted in all three outs in the half-inning.

Logemann threw 121 pitches, including 77 strikes, while Kertes had four more strikes (81) in four fewer pitches (117).

In the second game, Combs set down the RedHawks in order in the first, and BG took an early lead in the bottom of the inning. Searle looped a ball into shallow center for a leadoff single, then stole second. She took third on Holliday's grounder and scored on a Cobbs single up the middle.

"Aspen really sets the tone for us offensively," said Salsburg. "When she comes out aggressive, it sets the tone for the rest of the team. At the end of the day, we're good when we're aggressive. Aspen got us started in game two, getting on base and scoring a run right away, and her teammates followed her lead. We were much more aggressive in game two today."

After the Cobbs RBI single, Giordano followed by wristing a single down the leftfield line, and a grounder by Evangelista put runners at second and third, but MU starting pitcher Megan Mattera got Shook to hit a grounder back to the circle for the third out.

After getting a total of two hits in the entire first game, the Falcons had three hits in the first inning of the second contest on Friday.

In the second inning, Combs and Whispel engaged in a lengthy battle. With one out and one on after a walk, Whispel's 14-pitch at-bat finally came to an end when she hit a grounder to Giordano at third base for the second out. Then, Combs got Edwards looking to end the half inning.

Parave was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the second, and Koch's sacrifice bunt advanced her to second. Parave moved to third on a Hinkle grounder to the right side, but Searle's fly ball was caught by the MU rightfielder just in front of the warning track for the third out.

Mattera looked to help her own cause, lining a single to left on the first pitch of the third inning. McChesney bunted her to second on the next pitch, but Combs got Marshall to ground out to third on the next pitch after that, with the runner holding at second. Then, Combs fanned Busby on three pitches, changing speeds and completely baffling the MU batter on the last two of those pitches.

With one out in the bottom of the third, Cobbs beat out a slow roller to the right side of the infield despite the best efforts of Mattera. The MU pitcher gloved the ball and flipped it toward first baseman McIntyre in one motion, but Cobbs reached the bag before the throw. Cobbs stole second, and she scored easily when Giordano roped a ball to right-center for an RBI single. The next batter, Evangelista, got a ball up into the jet stream for a two-run homer to right, giving the Falcons a 4-0 lead and prompting a Miami pitching change. Edwards moved from third base to the circle and retired the next two batters, but the damage had been done.

The fourth inning saw Combs and Whispel, incredibly, lock horns in another 14-pitch at-bat. Whispel fouled off 10 pitches, but on the 14th pitch, she lifted a fly ball to Holliday in center for the inning's third out.

In the fifth, Combs got Edwards and Kat Lee to hit grounders that resulted in outs. But, McChesney singled through the left side, then stole second. Marshall reached on an infield error, and the speedy MU leadoff hitter went all the way to third when the throw to first base was off the mark and went down the right-field line. McChesney scored on that play, and Marshall touched the plate on a Busby base hit. The Falcons' lead was down to two runs.

In the bottom of the fifth, Combs lined a shot off the third baseman's glove and into foul territory, and the BG junior reached second on the play. But, Edwards got a fly-ball out, then a strikeout, to end the inning.

MU scored again in the sixth, as McIntyre singled with one out, and – after Whispel was retired after a 12-pitch at-bat that featured seven foul balls – Edwards doubled to left-center. With Edwards at second and the Falcons' lead down to 4-3, Kertes entered the game and threw a called third strike past Mattera for the third out.

In the bottom of the sixth, Shook crushed a pitch past a helpless MU third baseman for a leadoff single, and Parave reached when pinch-runner Amanda Durham was forced at second on Parave's grounder. Koch's second sac bunt of the game moved Parave to second, and she advanced to third on a wild pitch, but a grounder to third ended the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, McChesney was out on a bunt attempt, as Kertes fielded the ball and fired to Searle covering first. Marshall was retired on a grounder to Kertes in the circle for the second out, but Busby battled back from an 0-2 count to a full count, then singled past lunging third baseman Giordano. Hinkle grabbed the ball deep in the hole, but had no play. But, the next batter, pinch-hitter Hailey Reed, hit another grounder to the circle, and Kertes gloved it and fired to first for the final out and her MAC-record 16th career save.

Cobbs, as mentioned, was 3-for-3 at the plate in the second game. Giordano had two hits in four at-bats, and both players scored a run and had one RBI. Evangelista's homer was her second of the season, and she was the only player to have a multiple-RBI game.

Combs allowed three runs (one earned) and six hits before giving way to Kertes with two out in the sixth. Combs walked one batter and struck out four. Kertes gave up one hit in getting the final four outs of the game. She struck out one batter and did not issue a walk in the nightcap.

"Jamie pitched well all day," said Salsburg. "Coming into MAC play, I think she has turned the corner with a few of her pitches. She and (assistant coach) Monica (Wright) made a few adjustments, and it has made a big difference. Jamie has been our horse for the last few years, and she knows how to pitch in both games of a doubleheader. That doesn't mean it's easy, but she knows how to get it done.

"I'm really proud of her, and the way she is fighting through. Following Bri (Combs) in game two is beneficial for us. They are so different in how they approach hitters. But, it definitely helps. Bri sets Jamie up very nicely. They both did a nice job today, and at the end of the day, it's going to take everybody, and we all know that."

"We have had our ups and downs, but I think we are starting to click very well together," said Kertes. "We are taking it one pitch at a time, one out at a time. We are taking the process slow, and getting it done together, as a team."

The Falcons return to Meserve Field on Saturday (April 11), taking on Ball State University in a single game beginning at 2:00 p.m. Friday's Miami doubleheader began a 17-game stretch which will see BGSU play 16 games at home.