Combs Pitches a Gem as BGSU Completes Sweep of IPFW

Tuesday, April 21

Bowling Green, Ohio

3:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

15-23

IPFW

3-38

IPFW

Bowling Green

Briana Combs - March 29 2015 - BGSU Softball

Briana Combs picked up the save in game one, then threw a one-hitter in game two on Tuesday

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

April 21, 2015 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Sophomore fires a complete-game one-hitter in back end of Tuesday twinbill

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Sophomore Briana Combs pitched a gem, firing a complete-game one-hitter as the Bowling Green State University softball team topped IPFW, 2-0, Tuesday (April 21) at Meserve Field. The Falcons swept the Mastodons in the non-conference doubleheader, with a 9-7 win in the first game.

Combs earned the save in the first game before mowing down the 'Dons in game two. She faced just one batter over the minimum, and had a perfect game until allowing a hit to Avery Nelson with two outs in the fifth inning.

Combs struck out nine batters, nearly double her previous season-high total, in her shutout win. She threw 95 pitches, including 63 for strikes.

"Bri pitched an outstanding game," said BGSU head coach Shannon Salsburg. "Even though we only scored two runs, we were putting the ball in play and hitting it hard, which I think is a good sign.

"At the end of the day, and we've talked about this over the last few weeks, we really dictate our outcomes. Today we dictated, even when it wasn't always great. Now, we've got to carry it over from that second game as we get ready for this weekend."

Junior Braiden Dillow earned the win in the first game, with four innings of one-run, four-hit relief. Dillow improved to 5-6 on the season, while Combs is now 4-6 with two saves in her first spring with the Falcons.

The two games, while each resulted in a two-run win for the Falcons, could not have unfolded more differently. The Falcons and 'Dons combined for 11 runs in a six-out span early in the opener, while the nightcap was scoreless until BG got a run in the fourth and added another in the fifth.

The Falcons pounded out 12 hits in the opener and 10 more in the second game, and junior Molly Holliday was a big part of BG's success. The centerfielder had five hits on the day, including a double in each game. She was 3-for-4 with four stolen bases in the opening game, then went 2-for-4 in game two. Holliday scored three runs in the twinbill.

The top-four hitters in the BG lineup combined for nine hits in the first game, as sophomore Aspen Searle, junior Marina Cobbs and senior Chloe Giordano each had two hits. Searle and Cobbs again had a pair of hits in the second game, as both players went 4-for-7 on the day, while senior Emily McClelland was 2-for-3 and drove in what proved to be the winning run.

Sophomore Haley Schrock had the game-winning RBI in the opener, with a single to right that drove in Giordano in the fifth inning. In the second game, McClelland's two-out single to right scored junior Marisa Shook from second base, breaking a scoreless tie in the fourth inning. One inning later, Giordano singled to left, plating Holliday for a two-run advantage.

"We made a change in the infield," said Salsburg. "Em was solid for us; we always know we can put her in and she will do her job. She's always excited to play, and she's always confident, so we put her in and she did an outstanding job today. She was a catalyst for us, and produced exactly what we expected of her. That consistency is a big deal for us.

"Shook is another kid who has had some success for us this season, and it was nice to see her have good at-bats today. She doesn't always get the opportunity to swing, but I thought she did a very good job in that circumstance today."

McClelland started both games on Tuesday, her first appearances in the starting lineup in over a month. Tuesday's second game marked her first two-hit game of the season.

"You've just got to stay ready," said McClelland. "I've been working hard, just as I have for the whole year, because you just have to be ready when your time comes.

"I was very confident today. I wasn't thinking a lot up there; I just felt like I was going to be successful. Our team was hitting the ball well all day, and you just have to go into it with confidence. Bri pitched awesome today, and our defense picked it up, especially in the second game."

For Combs, her game-one appearance was not without a few anxious moments. She entered a 9-6 game with runners at first and second and one out in the seventh, and was immediately called for an illegal pitch, putting both runners in scoring position. She got the first hitter she faced, Nelson, to hit a grounder for the second out, but a run scored. And, a walk was followed by a hit-by-pitch, and the bases were loaded. With the tying run at second base and the go-ahead run at first, however, Combs got Lindsay Burke to strike out. Then, of course, she retired 14-straight batters to begin game two, and after allowing her only hit, would set down seven consecutive hitters to end the game.

"Physically, I felt pretty much the same in both games today," said Combs. "I think I was more relaxed in the second game. I felt like I was too tight in the first game, and that may have affected me, but I was much more relaxed in the second game.

"I have a really good defense behind me, and I think we showed today how good we can be."

With a wind advisory in effect in Northwest Ohio on Tuesday afternoon, and with Bowling Green notorious for wind even on a 'typical' day, conditions at Meserve Field were blustery, to say the least.

All four BGSU seniors were in the lineup together for the first time this season, as Shelby Fink made her first appearance of 2015 in the opener. The Mastodons took an early lead as Taylor Gordy Prescott singled and stole second, then moved to third when a Jenna Balthazor bunt was mishandled for a BG error. Balthazor stole second, and Gordy Prescott scored on a grounder by Miranda Marion. That was the first of three-straight groundouts as BG starter Jamie Kertes worked out of further danger.

The Falcons exploded for six runs in the second inning, sending 10 batters to the plate. Freshman Morgan Evangelista led off the inning with a single to right field, and when Schrock laid down a bunt, pinch-runner Katee Hinkle beat the throw to second base as IPFW unsuccessfully tried to cut down the lead runner.

Fink, in her first plate appearance of the season, executed a flawless sacrifice bunt, moving the runners to second and third. And, the Falcons took a 2-1 lead when freshman Lauren Newmark drove a ball over the head of the IPFW rightfielder for a double. It marked the first hit of Newmark's BG career.

McClelland's liner to right was caught for the first out of the inning, but Searle's single to shallow center scored Newmark, and Holliday beat out a bunt to put runners on first and second. Cobbs' sharp single loaded the bases, and all three runners scored as Giordano doubled to center, with her looping liner just out of the diving effort of centerfielder Gordy Prescott. The Falcons had a 6-1 lead.

But, back came the 'Dons. Gordy Prescott lined a ball off a BG infielder's glove for a leadoff hit, but the Falcons got the first out on a fielder's choice. The next two hitters, however, reached on BG infield errors, with the first miscue putting runners at the corners and the second scoring a run and leaving two runners in scoring position. Back-to-back singles by Kelly Pevely and Nelson each drove in a teammate, and suddenly, BG's lead was 6-4.

Dillow entered the game and got a grounder for the second out, but a walk to Prestlee Cooper loaded the bases, and Burke's single scored Pevely to make it a one-run game. With Gordy Prescott at the plate for the second time in the inning, a passed ball scored Nelson to tie the game. Dillow got Gordy Prescott to ground out to Searle at shortstop, but the 'Dons had tied the contest at 6-6. And, IPFW starter Kaitlyn Biere set down the Falcons in order in the bottom of the inning.

In the fourth, Schrock made a nice diving catch of a soft liner by Balthazor. McClelland made a nice pick of a hard grounder for the second out, and after a single, Dillow got a grounder to Searle that resulted in a fielder's choice and the third out.

The bottom of the inning saw Holliday reach second base on a blooper that landed on the grass just behind first base, and the junior promptly stole third, but Biere got out of the inning after shortstop Burke stayed with a hard-hit ball by Cobbs, bobbling it momentarily, but firing to first in time.

Dillow set down the 'Dons in order in the fifth, and Giordano singled up the middle on the first pitch of the bottom of the inning. With one out, Giordano stole second, and she scored when Schrock laced a single to right. That would prove to be the winning run.

Dillow again retired the Mastodons in order in the sixth, ending the inning with a strikeout of Balthazor, and BG increased the lead in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Searle singled to right, and after the 'Dons threw the ball back to the pitcher, Searle continued on to second when she alertly noticed that no IPFW player was covering the bag.

Holliday hit a blooper to shallow left, and after the ball dropped, Searle took off for third and beat the throw. Holliday stole second, and Searle scored on an infield single by Cobbs. The Cobbs hit rolled under the glove of Biere, and the BG junior beat the throw of second baseman Balthazor to first. With runners at the corners, a successful delayed double-steal resulted in another BG run and a 9-6 lead.

Giordano made a leaping catch of a line drive by Marion to begin the seventh, but Morghyn Neal singled through the left side of the BG infield, and Pevely singled to left as a diving effort by Searle came up just short.

With the tying run at the plate, Combs entered the game and, as mentioned earlier, got the save after allowing a walk and hitting a batter.

Both Dillow and Combs walked one batter and struck out one batter in the game. Kertes gave up five hits and six runs in her two-and-a-third innings of work, but only one of those six runs was earned.

In the second game, Combs got the first two hitters to hit harmless grounders back to the circle, then struck out Marion. The Falcons threatened in the first inning, as Searle walked and Holliday doubled to put runners at second and third. But, when a pitch by IPFW starter Sarah Lazarowich was wide of the plate, Searle started for home, then headed back to third. Searle slid in safely when a throw from the catcher caromed off the glove of an IPFW fielder and rolled into left field. But, leftfielder Pevely picked up the ball and fired it to second in time to cut down Holliday attempting to scramble back to the bag.

The next batter, Cobbs, hit a fly ball to Gordy Prescott, and Searle was forced to hold at third base after the IPFW centerfielder quickly fired a throw to the plate. A grounder ended the inning and kept the game scoreless.

Combs got two strikeouts followed by a groundout in both the second and third innings, and the Falcons looked to break through in the bottom of the third. With one out, McClelland lined a single up the middle, and Searle singled through the left side of the infield. But, as Holliday fouled off a pitch, it was ruled that she made contact with the ball while standing on home plate, and she was called out. Cobbs singled up the middle to load the bases, but Lazarowich got a grounder to short to end the inning.

Once again, Combs set down the 'Dons in order in the fourth, and BG indeed broke through. Evangelista's soft liner was caught in rightfield, but Shook placed a looper between two IPFW outfielders for a single. One out later, Newmark walked to send Shook to second, and Shook scored when McClelland lined a Lazarowich pitch to right.

In the fifth, Neal led off by getting ahead in the count, 3-0, but Combs threw a strike, then got the IPFW hitter to ground out to Searle. Pevely worked the count full before hitting a one-hopper to Giordano at third for the second out. But, Nelson lined a ball to the right side of the infield. Second baseman McClelland extended her body with a dive to her right, but the hard smash glanced off the end of her glove and rolled into centerfield for a base hit. But, Combs came right back to strikeout Hailey Gukeisen and end the inning.

Holliday led off the bottom of the fifth with an infield single. Cobbs hit a grounder to the second baseman, who lunged to try and tag Holliday, then threw to first. It was ruled she missed the tag, however, and Cobbs beat the throw to first, putting two runners aboard. Then, Giordano lined a pitch to left, and Holliday came around to score.

Evangelista battled through a lengthy at-bat, fouling off seven pitches before being retired on a grounder to short. Shook hit a looper that second baseman Balthazor caught behind the second-base bag, and Lazarowich got another grounder to short for the third out.

In the sixth, Combs struck out both Cooper and Burke, and Shook grabbed Gordy Prescott's fly ball in shallow left for the third out. The top of the seventh saw Searle made a nice play to grab a Balthazor grounder and fire to first, and after Combs whiffed Marion, another grounder to Searle ended the game.

"At the end of the day, we need people who are going to step in and be confident in whatever role we give them, and are willing to go for it," said Salsburg. "That's really what we are looking for. We know our backs are against the wall (in the MAC race), so we need to come out swinging in everything we do, and those kids did a great job of that today."

Combs' complete game was her third of the season, and the shutout was her second of the spring.

"Bri had a bunch of strikeouts today, but that's not necessarily her game, nor is it Jamie's game or Braiden's game," said Salsburg. "We know we have to play defense. So, for us to be as solid as we were behind her today – I thought Aspen had a nice day today at shortstop – it makes a big difference. This weekend, that's going to be a big piece for us. We have to play defense; I think our defense sets the tone for the rest of our game."

The Falcons will return to Meserve Field for four Mid-American Conference games this weekend, beginning with a Friday (April 24) doubleheader vs. Kent State University. First pitch of the first game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. BGSU then will play single games vs. the University at Buffalo on Saturday and Sunday (April 25-26).