Bowling Green State University Athletics
Photo by: Larry Clapper
Kertes, Falcons Earn a Shutout Win on Senior Day
April 26, 2015 | Softball
But, Buffalo captures the nightcap for a split of Sunday's doubleheader
On Senior Day at Meserve Field, Bowling Green State University senior Jamie Kertes pitched the Falcons to a 1-0 victory over the University at Buffalo in game one of a Mid-American Conference doubleheader Sunday afternoon (April 26). The Bulls, however, rallied for a 3-1 win over the Brown and Orange in the nightcap.
BGSU-UB Photo Gallery - photos by Larry Clapper
The second-game loss leaves the Falcons (17-26, 6-12 MAC) with a steep hill to climb as the regular season winds down. BGSU will enter the final weekend of MAC regular-season play needing to win at least three of four games to qualify for the conference tournament.
BGSU pitchers combined to allow only four hits in each of Sunday's games. Kertes picked up her 50th career win in the opener, while sophomore Briana Combs pitched well enough to win in game two, allowing only four hits in five innings of work. Junior Braiden Dillow, who struggled in a game-one relief appearance, came on in the second game to retire six of the seven batters she faced.
The opener saw the home team get a second-inning run, and Kertes made it hold up in BG's shutout win. Errors were the Falcons' undoing in the nightcap, however, leading to a pair of unearned UB runs in the second inning as the Bulls took the lead for good. The Falcons got a run back in the bottom of the inning, but the Bulls scored in the fifth to take a two-run lead, and the UB defense turned double plays to help keep BG at bay.
"I thought Jamie threw well today," said BGSU head coach Shannon Salsburg. "She really had good command of her pitches and kept Buffalo off balance the whole game.
"Game two was a tough loss. Errors led to runs and we couldn't find the big hits when we needed them."
On Senior Day at Meserve Field, the four fourth-year Falcons -- Kertes, Shelby Fink, Chloe Giordano and Emily McClelland -- were recognized in ceremonies between games.
In the first game, the teams each got a first-inning baserunner, but could not take advantage. Buffalo's Hayley Barrow reached on a two-out error, the Falcons' only miscue of game one, but another infield grounder resulted in the third out.
In the bottom of the inning, sophomore Aspen Searle absolutely drilled a 1-1 pitch from UB starter Bobbi Langlois. The ball, however, was hit directly into the glove of third baseman Makayla Kowaliuk, who seemingly caught the liner before she realized what was happening. Instead of a leadoff baserunner, the Falcons had one out and no runners on base.
Junior Marina Cobbs reached on a bloop single with two down, but Langlois got out of the inning unscathed.
In the second inning, Kertes got the Bulls to hit three-straight grounders to second baseman Katee Hinkle, and the freshman made the play on each of the three occasions. Then, the Falcons scored the only run they would need in the bottom of the inning.
Freshman Morgan Evangelista, the Falcons' top hitter on the afternoon, began the inning with a line-drive single to right, and a groundout advanced pinch-runner Amanda Durham to second. Durham was caught between second and third on a pitch to freshman Lauren Newmark, but when the UB catcher threw to second, Durham took off for third and beat the throw. She then scored as Newmark's bloop single landed in shallow left. Hinkle drew a two-out walk to put two runners aboard, but a popup ended the inning.
Kertes and the Falcons worked around a one-out single by Leandra Jew in the third. UB's top hitter, Alexis Curtiss, hit a ball to the right side, but first baseman Newmark gloved it and threw to second to erase the lead runner. Then, Savanna Norcio grounded out to Searle at short.
Cobbs picked up her second hit of the game in the bottom of the inning, with a bouncer over the pitcher, but Langlois stranded the BG junior at first. After Kertes set down the Bulls in order in the fourth, sophomore Haley Schrock began the bottom of the inning by lining a ball off of the leg of Langlois. But, the ball caromed directly to Norcio at first base, who tagged Schrock for the first out. Langlois remained in the game and retired the next two batters as well.
In the fifth, Kertes worked her second consecutive one-two-three inning, striking out Karly Nevez and Nora McGuire for the final two outs. The bottom of the fifth saw Hinkle reach on an infield error, and junior Molly Holliday hit a blooper that landed in front of the charging centerfielder. But, a strikeout produced the second out of the inning, and rightfielder Ashton Earnhardt made a long run to catch a fly ball by Giordano in foul territory.
Kertes picked up her third-straight strikeout to begin the seventh, and leftfielder Schrock ran down a fly ball to left-center by Curtiss. Norcio singled up the middle to snap a streak of 10 consecutive batters retired by Kertes, but the senior responded by getting Barrow to hit a foul pop to Giordano at third.
Evangelista led off the Falcon sixth with her second hit of the game, a single through the left side, and Schrock's bunt moved pinch-runner Combs to second. Junior Marisa Shook drew a walk, but Langlois got a strikeout for the second out of the inning. Hinkle battled Langlois through a lengthy at-bat, fouling off six pitches. On the 11th pitch of the at-bat, Hinkle hit a liner, but it was right at Earnhardt in right, and the side was retired.
The Bulls made things interesting in the seventh. Kowaliuk, UB's cleanup hitter, led off with a seeing-eye single through the left side of the infield, and a sacrifice bunt by Lauren Gambone advanced the tying run, in the form of pinch-runner Kelsey Johnson, to second.
Dillow entered the game, but Earnhardt hit her first pitch through the left side of the infield to put runners at the corners with just one out. Earnhardt, however, was cut down attempting to steal second. Newmark, who had been moved to catcher prior to that seventh inning, fired a strike to shortstop Searle, who applied the tag for the second out.
With the Bulls down to their last out, Nevez drew a walk to put two runners aboard. Langlois came up to the plate, and Kertes re-entered the game. The battle of the starting pitchers went BG's way, as Kertes got Langlois to hit a grounder to Hinkle at second. She flipped the ball to freshman Kayla Koch at first, and the Falcons had the victory.
BG outhit the Bulls by a 6-4 margin in both games one and two. In the opener, Cobbs was 2-for-2 at the plate, while Evangelista also had a two-hit game, going 2-of-3. Newmark recorded the first game-winning RBI of her young career.
In the circle, Kertes allowed just three hits in six-and-two-thirds non-consecutive innings of work. She struck out three batters and did not issue a walk. Kertes threw 57 of her 88 pitches for strikes en route to the 50th victory of her Falcon career.
Langlois took the long despite allowing only one run and six hits in a complete-game effort. She walked two batters and struck out four.
In the second game, Curtiss gave UB an early baserunner, lining a ball off of the glove of a diving Searle for a single. Curtiss was erased on a ground ball, though, and when Barrow laid down a bunt, Giordano barehanded it and threw to second to get the lead runner. Then, starting pitcher Combs got Kowaliuk to hit a grounder to short to retire the side.
In the bottom of the inning, Holliday beat out a chopper to the pitcher's circle with one out, then stole second base on the very next pitch. She moved to third on a grounder by Cobbs, but a popup to short ended the inning.
A pair of BG errors led to a pair of UB runs in the second. With one out, Earnhardt reached on a BG miscue after hitting a tapper to the right side of the infield. Earnhardt was out at second on a bunt by Nevez, as Evangelista threw to second for the second out of the inning. But, Madison Vaught drew a walk, and a grounder by Jew resulted in another BG error as the BG throw went wide of first. Nevez scored on the play, with Vaught taking third, and Vaught would score on a single by Curtiss.
Evangelista began the home half of the second by lacing a single up the middle, and Combs pinch-ran for her and promptly stole second. From there, the BG pitcher scored standing up as Schrock lined a base hit to right. But, back-to-back ground balls resulted in three outs for the UB defense, on a force play at second and an inning-ending double play.
Combs retired the Bulls in order in the third, and Searle singled with one down in the bottom of the inning. Then, Holliday followed by perfectly placing a roller to the right side of the infield. With Searle running on the play, Holliday's grounder headed directly toward the spot that UB second baseman Curtiss had vacated. By the time Curtiss fielded the ball, she had no play at any base, and BG had runners at first and second.
A Cobbs grounder to the right side put those runners at second and third, but UB pitcher Charlotte Miller aided her own cause, leaping to grab a one-hopper by Giordano and throwing the ball to first for the third out.
Evangelista's second hit of the game, and fourth of the day, came in the Falcon fourth. Schrock's bouncer up the middle, however, was grabbed by shortstop Barrow as she crossed in front of the second-base bag, and she was able to tag Evangelista for the first out of the inning. Then, a grounder to the second baseman resulted in a double play, as Curtiss tagged the runner and fired to first.
UB doubled the lead in the fifth, as Curtiss scored from first when Barrow doubled to the wall in center. Holliday very nearly made the catch at the fence, but the combination of the sun, the long run and Holliday's proximity to the fence resulted in a two-base hit and the Bulls' third run.
BG hit the ball hard off of Miller in the fifth, but Newmark's fly ball was tracked down in left center, Hinkle's liner was hit directly at the second baseman and Searle gave a ball a ride before it settled in the centerfielder's glove.
Dillow entered the game in the sixth and proceeded to whiff Gambone on three pitches and Earnhardt on four. Nevez grounded out to second on the third pitch of her at-bat, and Dillow was out of the inning. The Falcons, however, went down in order on three grounders in the bottom of the inning.
Back came Dillow in the seventh, striking out both Vaught and Jew on four pitches apiece. She walked Curtiss, and pinch-hitter Stephanie Beuther hit a soft liner to center, but the charging Holliday easily made the catch.
Evangelista led off the bottom of the seventh, and put a charge into a ball, but centerfielder Jew made the catch just in front of the warning track and just in front of the "220" sign in center. Schrock worked the count full before hitting a hard bouncer back to the pitcher for the second out.
Shook pinch-hit for the Falcons, and ripped a foul ball that knocked a fan's purse off the top row of the furthest set of bleachers down the left-field line. Eventually, however, Miller was able to get Shook to swing and miss at a 1-2 pitch to end the game.
Miller allowed one run and six hits in her complete-game win, while Curtiss led the Bulls with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate. Curtiss also walked, scored a run and drove in a teammate.
Both Evangelista and Holliday went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Brown and Orange in game two. Combs, as mentioned, gave up just four hits over five innings, while Dillow faced seven batters, and threw 19 of her 28 pitches for strikes. Dillow did not give up a hit, and four of her six outs were strikeouts.
"Today was bittersweet as we said thank you to four outstanding seniors," said Salsburg. "Each young lady has made a lasting impression in this program. I personally am proud to say that Jamie, Chloe, Shelby and Emily were all Falcons!"
The four seniors and their teammates have one more home date on the 2015 schedule, as the Falcons step outside of MAC play for a Wednesday (April 29) doubleheader vs. Valparaiso. First pitch of game one is set for 3:30 p.m.
Then, the Brown and Orange will hit the road for the final weekend of the regular season. BGSU will play a Friday (May 1) doubleheader at Eastern Michigan before facing Central Michigan in single games on both Saturday and Sunday (May 2-3).
Entering next weekend's play, the Falcons are ninth overall in the MAC standings, and only eight teams will qualify for the MAC Tournament. BGSU, as mentioned, is 6-12 in conference play to date, and the Falcons are looking to catch either seventh-place Ohio (7-9) or eighth-place Akron (7-10). Those two teams each have only two MAC games remaining, as the Bobcats host the Zips on Saturday and Sunday.
To qualify for the tournament, the Falcons need to win at least three of the four games vs. EMU and CMU, and have UA and Ohio split. If either Akron or Ohio sweeps their two-game set, BGSU could still qualify for the tournament by going 4-0 next weekend. Barring delays or cancellations due to weather, BG will have played three of those four games before the Zips and Bobcats have taken the field next weekend.
BGSU REMAINING REGULAR-SEASON SCHEDULE
Wed., April 29 - VALPARAISO (DH), 3:30 p.m.
Fri., May 1 - at Eastern Michigan (DH), 1:00 p.m.
Sat., May 2 - at Central Michigan, 2:00 p.m.
Sun., May 3 - at Central Michigan, 1:00 p.m.
BGSU-UB Photo Gallery - photos by Larry Clapper
The second-game loss leaves the Falcons (17-26, 6-12 MAC) with a steep hill to climb as the regular season winds down. BGSU will enter the final weekend of MAC regular-season play needing to win at least three of four games to qualify for the conference tournament.
BGSU pitchers combined to allow only four hits in each of Sunday's games. Kertes picked up her 50th career win in the opener, while sophomore Briana Combs pitched well enough to win in game two, allowing only four hits in five innings of work. Junior Braiden Dillow, who struggled in a game-one relief appearance, came on in the second game to retire six of the seven batters she faced.
The opener saw the home team get a second-inning run, and Kertes made it hold up in BG's shutout win. Errors were the Falcons' undoing in the nightcap, however, leading to a pair of unearned UB runs in the second inning as the Bulls took the lead for good. The Falcons got a run back in the bottom of the inning, but the Bulls scored in the fifth to take a two-run lead, and the UB defense turned double plays to help keep BG at bay.
"I thought Jamie threw well today," said BGSU head coach Shannon Salsburg. "She really had good command of her pitches and kept Buffalo off balance the whole game.
"Game two was a tough loss. Errors led to runs and we couldn't find the big hits when we needed them."
On Senior Day at Meserve Field, the four fourth-year Falcons -- Kertes, Shelby Fink, Chloe Giordano and Emily McClelland -- were recognized in ceremonies between games.
In the first game, the teams each got a first-inning baserunner, but could not take advantage. Buffalo's Hayley Barrow reached on a two-out error, the Falcons' only miscue of game one, but another infield grounder resulted in the third out.
In the bottom of the inning, sophomore Aspen Searle absolutely drilled a 1-1 pitch from UB starter Bobbi Langlois. The ball, however, was hit directly into the glove of third baseman Makayla Kowaliuk, who seemingly caught the liner before she realized what was happening. Instead of a leadoff baserunner, the Falcons had one out and no runners on base.
Junior Marina Cobbs reached on a bloop single with two down, but Langlois got out of the inning unscathed.
In the second inning, Kertes got the Bulls to hit three-straight grounders to second baseman Katee Hinkle, and the freshman made the play on each of the three occasions. Then, the Falcons scored the only run they would need in the bottom of the inning.
Freshman Morgan Evangelista, the Falcons' top hitter on the afternoon, began the inning with a line-drive single to right, and a groundout advanced pinch-runner Amanda Durham to second. Durham was caught between second and third on a pitch to freshman Lauren Newmark, but when the UB catcher threw to second, Durham took off for third and beat the throw. She then scored as Newmark's bloop single landed in shallow left. Hinkle drew a two-out walk to put two runners aboard, but a popup ended the inning.
Kertes and the Falcons worked around a one-out single by Leandra Jew in the third. UB's top hitter, Alexis Curtiss, hit a ball to the right side, but first baseman Newmark gloved it and threw to second to erase the lead runner. Then, Savanna Norcio grounded out to Searle at short.
Cobbs picked up her second hit of the game in the bottom of the inning, with a bouncer over the pitcher, but Langlois stranded the BG junior at first. After Kertes set down the Bulls in order in the fourth, sophomore Haley Schrock began the bottom of the inning by lining a ball off of the leg of Langlois. But, the ball caromed directly to Norcio at first base, who tagged Schrock for the first out. Langlois remained in the game and retired the next two batters as well.
In the fifth, Kertes worked her second consecutive one-two-three inning, striking out Karly Nevez and Nora McGuire for the final two outs. The bottom of the fifth saw Hinkle reach on an infield error, and junior Molly Holliday hit a blooper that landed in front of the charging centerfielder. But, a strikeout produced the second out of the inning, and rightfielder Ashton Earnhardt made a long run to catch a fly ball by Giordano in foul territory.
Kertes picked up her third-straight strikeout to begin the seventh, and leftfielder Schrock ran down a fly ball to left-center by Curtiss. Norcio singled up the middle to snap a streak of 10 consecutive batters retired by Kertes, but the senior responded by getting Barrow to hit a foul pop to Giordano at third.
Evangelista led off the Falcon sixth with her second hit of the game, a single through the left side, and Schrock's bunt moved pinch-runner Combs to second. Junior Marisa Shook drew a walk, but Langlois got a strikeout for the second out of the inning. Hinkle battled Langlois through a lengthy at-bat, fouling off six pitches. On the 11th pitch of the at-bat, Hinkle hit a liner, but it was right at Earnhardt in right, and the side was retired.
The Bulls made things interesting in the seventh. Kowaliuk, UB's cleanup hitter, led off with a seeing-eye single through the left side of the infield, and a sacrifice bunt by Lauren Gambone advanced the tying run, in the form of pinch-runner Kelsey Johnson, to second.
Dillow entered the game, but Earnhardt hit her first pitch through the left side of the infield to put runners at the corners with just one out. Earnhardt, however, was cut down attempting to steal second. Newmark, who had been moved to catcher prior to that seventh inning, fired a strike to shortstop Searle, who applied the tag for the second out.
With the Bulls down to their last out, Nevez drew a walk to put two runners aboard. Langlois came up to the plate, and Kertes re-entered the game. The battle of the starting pitchers went BG's way, as Kertes got Langlois to hit a grounder to Hinkle at second. She flipped the ball to freshman Kayla Koch at first, and the Falcons had the victory.
BG outhit the Bulls by a 6-4 margin in both games one and two. In the opener, Cobbs was 2-for-2 at the plate, while Evangelista also had a two-hit game, going 2-of-3. Newmark recorded the first game-winning RBI of her young career.
In the circle, Kertes allowed just three hits in six-and-two-thirds non-consecutive innings of work. She struck out three batters and did not issue a walk. Kertes threw 57 of her 88 pitches for strikes en route to the 50th victory of her Falcon career.
Langlois took the long despite allowing only one run and six hits in a complete-game effort. She walked two batters and struck out four.
In the second game, Curtiss gave UB an early baserunner, lining a ball off of the glove of a diving Searle for a single. Curtiss was erased on a ground ball, though, and when Barrow laid down a bunt, Giordano barehanded it and threw to second to get the lead runner. Then, starting pitcher Combs got Kowaliuk to hit a grounder to short to retire the side.
In the bottom of the inning, Holliday beat out a chopper to the pitcher's circle with one out, then stole second base on the very next pitch. She moved to third on a grounder by Cobbs, but a popup to short ended the inning.
A pair of BG errors led to a pair of UB runs in the second. With one out, Earnhardt reached on a BG miscue after hitting a tapper to the right side of the infield. Earnhardt was out at second on a bunt by Nevez, as Evangelista threw to second for the second out of the inning. But, Madison Vaught drew a walk, and a grounder by Jew resulted in another BG error as the BG throw went wide of first. Nevez scored on the play, with Vaught taking third, and Vaught would score on a single by Curtiss.
Evangelista began the home half of the second by lacing a single up the middle, and Combs pinch-ran for her and promptly stole second. From there, the BG pitcher scored standing up as Schrock lined a base hit to right. But, back-to-back ground balls resulted in three outs for the UB defense, on a force play at second and an inning-ending double play.
Combs retired the Bulls in order in the third, and Searle singled with one down in the bottom of the inning. Then, Holliday followed by perfectly placing a roller to the right side of the infield. With Searle running on the play, Holliday's grounder headed directly toward the spot that UB second baseman Curtiss had vacated. By the time Curtiss fielded the ball, she had no play at any base, and BG had runners at first and second.
A Cobbs grounder to the right side put those runners at second and third, but UB pitcher Charlotte Miller aided her own cause, leaping to grab a one-hopper by Giordano and throwing the ball to first for the third out.
Evangelista's second hit of the game, and fourth of the day, came in the Falcon fourth. Schrock's bouncer up the middle, however, was grabbed by shortstop Barrow as she crossed in front of the second-base bag, and she was able to tag Evangelista for the first out of the inning. Then, a grounder to the second baseman resulted in a double play, as Curtiss tagged the runner and fired to first.
UB doubled the lead in the fifth, as Curtiss scored from first when Barrow doubled to the wall in center. Holliday very nearly made the catch at the fence, but the combination of the sun, the long run and Holliday's proximity to the fence resulted in a two-base hit and the Bulls' third run.
BG hit the ball hard off of Miller in the fifth, but Newmark's fly ball was tracked down in left center, Hinkle's liner was hit directly at the second baseman and Searle gave a ball a ride before it settled in the centerfielder's glove.
Dillow entered the game in the sixth and proceeded to whiff Gambone on three pitches and Earnhardt on four. Nevez grounded out to second on the third pitch of her at-bat, and Dillow was out of the inning. The Falcons, however, went down in order on three grounders in the bottom of the inning.
Back came Dillow in the seventh, striking out both Vaught and Jew on four pitches apiece. She walked Curtiss, and pinch-hitter Stephanie Beuther hit a soft liner to center, but the charging Holliday easily made the catch.
Evangelista led off the bottom of the seventh, and put a charge into a ball, but centerfielder Jew made the catch just in front of the warning track and just in front of the "220" sign in center. Schrock worked the count full before hitting a hard bouncer back to the pitcher for the second out.
Shook pinch-hit for the Falcons, and ripped a foul ball that knocked a fan's purse off the top row of the furthest set of bleachers down the left-field line. Eventually, however, Miller was able to get Shook to swing and miss at a 1-2 pitch to end the game.
Miller allowed one run and six hits in her complete-game win, while Curtiss led the Bulls with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate. Curtiss also walked, scored a run and drove in a teammate.
Both Evangelista and Holliday went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Brown and Orange in game two. Combs, as mentioned, gave up just four hits over five innings, while Dillow faced seven batters, and threw 19 of her 28 pitches for strikes. Dillow did not give up a hit, and four of her six outs were strikeouts.
"Today was bittersweet as we said thank you to four outstanding seniors," said Salsburg. "Each young lady has made a lasting impression in this program. I personally am proud to say that Jamie, Chloe, Shelby and Emily were all Falcons!"
The four seniors and their teammates have one more home date on the 2015 schedule, as the Falcons step outside of MAC play for a Wednesday (April 29) doubleheader vs. Valparaiso. First pitch of game one is set for 3:30 p.m.
Then, the Brown and Orange will hit the road for the final weekend of the regular season. BGSU will play a Friday (May 1) doubleheader at Eastern Michigan before facing Central Michigan in single games on both Saturday and Sunday (May 2-3).
Entering next weekend's play, the Falcons are ninth overall in the MAC standings, and only eight teams will qualify for the MAC Tournament. BGSU, as mentioned, is 6-12 in conference play to date, and the Falcons are looking to catch either seventh-place Ohio (7-9) or eighth-place Akron (7-10). Those two teams each have only two MAC games remaining, as the Bobcats host the Zips on Saturday and Sunday.
To qualify for the tournament, the Falcons need to win at least three of the four games vs. EMU and CMU, and have UA and Ohio split. If either Akron or Ohio sweeps their two-game set, BGSU could still qualify for the tournament by going 4-0 next weekend. Barring delays or cancellations due to weather, BG will have played three of those four games before the Zips and Bobcats have taken the field next weekend.
BGSU REMAINING REGULAR-SEASON SCHEDULE
Wed., April 29 - VALPARAISO (DH), 3:30 p.m.
Fri., May 1 - at Eastern Michigan (DH), 1:00 p.m.
Sat., May 2 - at Central Michigan, 2:00 p.m.
Sun., May 3 - at Central Michigan, 1:00 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kertes, Jamie (8-12)
L: LANGLOIS, Bobbi (6-15)
Batting:
SH: GAMBONE, Lauren 1
Base Running:
CS: EARNHARDT, Ashton 1

Batting:
RBI: Newmark, Lauren 1
SH: Schrock, Haley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Durham, Amanda 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
Players Mentioned
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