Akron Sweeps Falcons in Saturday Twinbill

Saturday, April 18

Bowling Green, Ohio

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

14-22, 5-8

Akron

19-20, 6-6

Akron

Bowling Green

Sophomore Haley Schrock bats during game one of Saturday's DH

April 18, 2015 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BGSU's 12-game homestand continues Tuesday vs. IPFW

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The visiting University of Akron earned a doubleheader sweep of the Bowling Green State University softball team Saturday afternoon (April 18), downing the Falcons by scores of 6-1 and 8-0. The Mid-American Conference twinbill was held at Meserve Field.

The Zips (20-20, 7-6 MAC) got a pair of complete games from Erin Sieler in the circle en route to Saturday's sweep. After BG (14-23, 5-9) took a 1-0 first-inning lead in the opener, UA tied the score in the top of the second, then scored in each of the final four innings to slowly pull away.

BGSU-AKRON PHOTO GALLERY - Paul Duncan, BGSU Athletic Communications

In game two, a five-run first inning proved to be the Falcons' undoing, and the Zips added three more in the fourth on the way to a five-inning victory.

"It was a disappointing day," said BGSU head coach Shannon Salsburg. "We have put ourselves into a bit of a hole in MAC play, and we need to figure out where we stand and what we can do.

"At the end of the day, we've got to score runs, we've got to play solid defense and we've got to throw the ball better. We know we're capable of all of those things."

In game one, the Zips got a quick baserunner, as Chelsea Wildey reached on an error to begin the game. But, on the very next pitch, Wildey was picked off, as BG freshman catcher Morgan Evangelista fired the ball to classmate Lauren Newmark, who applied the tag. The visitors got another baserunner, but Falcon sophomore Briana Combs struck out Alyssa Nicholas, then got Taryn Allmon to foul out to left.

The Brown and Orange got on the board in the bottom of the inning. Junior Molly Holliday reached on a one-out single, as UA second baseman Kellie Roudabush made a diving effort but could not come up with the grounder. After Akron threw the ball back to Seiler in the infield, Holliday alertly went to second after seeing that no Zip player was in the vicinity.

Junior Marina Cobbs followed by lining a single off the glove of Seiler, putting runners at the corners, and after Cobbs stole second, Holliday tagged and scored on a fly ball to deep left by senior Chloe Giordano. Seiler got the third out, but the Falcons had the lead.

That lead didn't last long, however. In the second inning, Savannah Fruin led off by hitting a hard shot that went through the legs of not one, but two Falcons. The double error resulted in a runner at second base. Fruin took third on a sacrifice bunt by Taylor Kirian, then scored when Sara Pearson singled just under the glove of diving second baseman Aspen Searle.

The Zips took the lead with a two-out rally in the fourth. Pearson lined a ball that went all the way to the wall in left-centerfield, and wound up on second with a double. Then, McKenzie Rhodes singled to plate Pearson and give UA a 2-1 advantage. Junior Braiden Dillow replaced Combs and got the next hitter to ground out to end the inning.

Giordano singled in the bottom of the inning, but was stranded at first as Seiler struck out the next two hitters. Giordano's single came with one out, after leadoff hitter Cobbs was robbed of a hit by a great sliding catch by leftfielder Fruin.

In the fifth, Roudabusch singled with one out, and Nichols followed with a long homerun to left, giving the Zips a 4-1 lead. Fruin doubled with two outs in the inning, and Kirian was hit by a pitch, but with runners at the corners, Kirian was out attempting to steal, as Evangelista's throw to freshman shortstop Katee Hinkle was in plenty of time for Hinkle to apply the tag for out number three.

UA scored in the sixth after Rhodes singled with one out. Pinch-runner Kayla Schlosser stole second, took third on a grounder and scored when Wildey was safe on an error. The final run of the game came in the seventh, as Allmon singled up the middle and scored on a two-out double by Kirian. Sieler retired the Falcons in order in the bottom of the inning.

Seiler allowed one run and three hits in her game-one win, striking out seven. Combs gave up two runs (one earned) and five hits before giving way to Dillow with two outs in the fourth. None of the three pitchers issued a walk in the opening game.

At the plate, Roudabush went 3-for-4 to lead the Zips, while Pearson and Rhodes had two hits apiece.

In the second game, BG starting pitcher Jamie Kertes got Wildey to ground out to begin the game, and the senior struck out Roudabush. But, Roudabush reached on a passed ball, and the next two hitters would single. Nicholas advanced Roudabush to second with a hit up the middle, and the game's first run scored on an Allmon hit through the right side.

Fruin bunted, and reached base on a fielder's choice, as BG looked to hold the runners. Kirian singled through the left side of the Falcon infield, though, scoring two more runs. Then, with runners on first and third, Kirian stole second and Fruin came home on a BG error. The final run of the inning came on an infield single by Rhodes.

Working with a five-run lead from the outset, Seiler held the Falcons off the board. She allowed a leadoff single to Searle in the bottom of the first, and Searle advanced to third on a pair of grounders, but Seiler got the third out as Giordano's soft liner was caught in foul ground near the first-base bag.

In the second, what looked like it might be another big inning for the Zips turned into a scoreless frame. Roudabush was hit by a pitch, then advanced to second on a BG error. Nicholas reached on an infield hit, then stole second to put two runners in scoring position. But, Kertes proceeded to strike out the next three batters, getting all three to swing and miss for the third strike.

In the third, Kertes got two more strikeouts, giving her seven through three frames. The Falcons got back-to-back two-out hits in the fourth, as Searle beat out an infield single, and Holliday's bad-hop grounder caromed over UA shortstop Wildey at the last second. Holliday stole second, but Seiler got the third out on a grounder to third.

UA put three runs on the board in the fourth, as Wildey led off with a double, took third on a sac bunt and scored on a single by Nicholas. Fruin was hit by a pitch, and both runners would come around to score on a double by Kirian.

The Falcons went down in order in the fourth, and after sophomore Haley Schrock led off the bottom of the fifth with a single, Seiler sandwiched two strikeouts around a fielder's choice to clinch the win.

Seiler struck out seven batters without issuing a walk for the second-straight game. Kertes had eight strikeouts in her three-and-two-thirds innings of work, and did not walk a batter. Combs got the final four outs of the game, allowing one hit.

No batter reached via a walk for either team in either game of the doubleheader.

Nicholas was a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs scored for the Zips in game two, while Kirian was 2-for-3 with four RBI. Searle had a 2-for-3 game to lead the Falcons.

"We will get back to practice on Monday and figure this out," said Salsburg. "As I told the kids after the game, this program and this team has never quit, and we're not going to quit now. We've got seniors who deserve to go out in a better way, and we're going to work the next few weeks to make sure they do. We've also got young kids who will continue to grow. We've got two more weekends of MAC play, and we're going to battle until the very last pitch and see where that lands us."

The Falcons' 12-game homestand continues with a Tuesday (April 21) doubleheader vs. IPFW. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at Meserve Field.