Sixth-Inning Explosion Gives Falcons Split of DH at NIU

Friday, April 3

DeKalb, Ill.

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

11-14, 2-1

Northern Illinois

16-13, 3-0

Bowling Green

Northern Illinois

Chloe Giordano - March 29 2015 - BGSU softball - knavel

Senior Chloe Giordano had 4 extra-base hits, including a 3-run homer, in Friday's DH

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

April 03, 2015 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BGSU's nine-run inning erases deficit in DeKalb

By: DeKALB, Ill. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University softball team mounted a pair of sixth-inning comeback attempts in Friday's (April 3) doubleheader at Northern Illinois University. In the first game, the Falcons' bid fell just short. In game two, however, BGSU's epic comeback left no doubt about the outcome.

A nine-run sixth inning in that second game lifted the Brown and Orange to a 10-5 win over the Huskies, after Northern had won the opener by a 5-3 final at Mary M. Bell Field.

After Friday's split, both the Falcons and the Huskies have a 3-1 record in Mid-American Conference play.

BGSU trailed, 3-0, before mounting that nine-run sixth inning in the second game. In the opener, the Falcons also rallied in the sixth inning, scoring three times after Northern had taken a 5-0 lead. BGSU got two runners aboard in the seventh inning of that first game, but could not get any closer than the final score.

"I am pleased with the split today," said BGSU coach Shannon Salsburg. "In game one, we didn't take care of the ball, and it really impacted our momentum. We had opportunities but couldn't get anything going. In the second game, we fought from first pitch to the last, and it paid off huge. Even when we were down, we felt like we just needed a break. When we got it, we put nine runs on the board."

Senior Chloe Giordano and sophomore Aspen Searle led the offensive attack on Friday. Each player went 5-for-8 at the plate in the doubleheader, and the duo combined for no fewer than seven extra-base hits on the day.

Freshman Morgan Evangelista was 3-for-5 on Friday, with a double in each game. The Falcons had four two-base hits in each contest, with Giordano and Searle each homering in the nightcap.

Senior pitcher Jamie Kertes got the decision in each game. She allowed 12 hits in 10 total innings of work vs. the Huskies.

"Jamie threw well all day," said Salsburg. "She did a good job of keeping them off balance and really had solid command of her pitches."

The opening game saw the Huskies break on top with a two-run first inning. After NIU starting pitcher Keegan Hayes set down the Falcons in order in the top of the first, Bryanna Phelan led off the bottom of the inning with a single through the right side of the BG infield. Kali Kossakowski drew a walk, and an infield grounder by Kayti Grable put both runners in scoring position. From there, they scored when Emily Naegele singled up the middle. Kertes rebounded by getting a fly ball to centerfield and a grounder to short, but the Huskies had a 2-0 lead.

Giordano gave the Falcons their first baserunner of the day with a two-out double in the second inning. It was the first of three doubles on the day for Giordano. Freshman Kayla Koch worked Hayes for a base on balls, but the NIU hurler got an inning-ending grounder, as Giordano was forced at third base.

The Huskies put two runners on base with just one out in both the second and third innings, but Kertes responded by retiring back-to-back batters in each case. In the second, the BG senior induced the Huskies to hit a pair of grounders to retire the side. In the third, a pair of popups ended the threat.

BGSU missed out on a chance to cut into the NIU lead in the fourth, leaving the bases loaded. Sophomore Trista Mokienko drew a one-out walk, and classmate Haley Schrock singled through the left side of the Huskie infield. Hayes got a popup for the second out, but the NIU hurler then hit Evangelista with a pitch to load the bases. With pinch-runner Emily McClelland at third, Schrock at second and Evangelista at first, however, Hayes induced the next batter to hit a popup to the third baseman to retire the side.

Northern added to the lead in the bottom of the inning, as Allyson Hecht led off with a triple, and scored when Phelan reached base on a BG error. Freshman shortstop Katee Hinkle made a great diving catch for the second out of the inning, though, then applied the tag when catcher Evangelista gunned down Phelan attempting to steal second.

BG left two more baserunners aboard in the fifth. Searle singled with one out, and junior Marina Cobbs reached on an error, but both runners were stranded as the Falcons remained scoreless.

Grable led off the bottom of the inning with a walk, and Bekah Harnish singled to send pinch-runner Ashley Evans to third. Harnish stole second, and Evans came home when the ball skipped into centerfield. Then, Alaynie Woollard's single down the line scored Harnish, before Kertes threw a called third strike past Hecht to end the inning.

BG got on the board in the sixth. Schrock led off the inning with a walk, and Giordano's second double of the game sent her to third. On the very next pitch, Evangelista roped a double to the fence in left-center for a two-run double, prompting the Huskies to replace Hayes with Jessica Sturm in the circle.

Koch just missed hitting a ball out of the park, but her long drive was caught by the centerfielder, with sophomore pinch-runner Amanda Durham tagging up and taking third base on the play. Junior Marisa Shook entered the game as a pinch-hitter and drew a walk, putting runners at the corners. Searle hit a sacrifice fly to left, with Durham scoring and Hinkle – who had re-entered the game to run for Shook – taking second. But, Hinkle was stranded there as a grounder to the left side of the infield ended the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, a hit batter was followed by a pair of popups. The Falcons intentionally walked Grable, and sophomore Briana Combs replaced Kertes in the circle. The University of Evansville transfer got Naegele to hit an inning-ending grounder, with the runner forced at third base.

In the seventh, the Falcons threatened, but Sturm held BG off of the scoreboard. Cobbs led off with a double, and Mokienko reached on an error that put runners at the corners. But, Sturm got a double play, then an infield popup, and the Huskies had the win.

Hayes picked up the win for the home team, allowing three runs and five hits in five innings. She walked three and struck out four. Sturm earned the save with two innings of one-hit relief. Kertes allowed five runs (four earned) and six hits in five-and-two-thirds innings of work, while Combs faced one batter and got one out.

Harnish led the Huskies with a pair of hits, going 2-for-3 at the plate. Giordano was 2-for-4 for the Falcons, and Evangelista had a pair of runs batted in.

For much of the second game, it appeared that the Falcons were following the same frustrating script as the first game. BG left 10 runners on base in the nightcap, and the Falcons left the bases loaded in both the first and fifth frames.

Searle led off the game with an infield hit, and junior Molly Holliday followed with a bunt single. Searle was forced at third on a grounder by Cobbs, but Mokienko was plunked by a Sturm pitch to load the bases. But, the NIU hurler got a strikeout, then a fly ball to center, and Northern was out of the inning.

Combs started game two for the Falcons, and allowed only one baserunner in the first two innings. After an infield hit by Phelan in the first, she retired six-straight batters.

Searle began the third inning with a double to right-center, and Holliday moved her to third. But, Searle was forced to hold at third as a grounder produced the second out, and Mokienko's grounder was knocked down by Sturm, with shortstop Woollard grabbing the ball and firing to first for the third out.

The bottom of the third saw the Huskies break on top. Hecht's infield single and Caitlyn Warren's sac bunt put a runner on second with one out. Combs got Phelan to pop up to third baseman Giordano for the second out, but Kossakowski followed with a double down the left field line that scored Hecht, and after Grable was hit by a pitch, a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position. Naegele's single up the middle scored both runners, with Kossakowski and Grable crossing the plate. Kertes entered the game and got Harnish to ground out to Hinkle at short, but the home team had a 3-0 lead.

In the fourth, Schrock was hit by a pitch, and Giordano stroked her third double of the day. But, Schrock was called out attempting to score on the play, and a pair of popups ended the inning and kept the Falcons scoreless.

Kertes retired the side in the bottom of the fourth, and the Falcons threatened, but did not score, in the fifth. Durham and Searle each reached base on errors, and after a sac bunt and another grounder, Mokienko walked to load the bases. But, a strikeout ended that threat.

The sixth inning, however, was a different story. BGSU sent 13 batters to the plate, getting a total of nine hits and scoring nine times. Both Giordano and Evangelista had two hits in the inning.

Giordano led off the sixth with a single up the middle, and a well-placed bunt between the NIU pitcher and third baseman resulted in a hit for Evangelista. With McClelland pinch-running for Giordano, sophomore Sami Parave entered the game to run for Evangelista. Both pinch-runners moved up a base when Koch singled to leftfield, and Hinkle followed with a single to left that plated McClelland with the Falcons' first run of the game.

Hayes replaced Sturm in the circle, and Searle greeted her with a double that plated both Parave and Koch to tie the game. Hinkle scored when Holliday singled up the middle, the Falcons' sixth consecutive hit. Hayes got the first out of the inning, as a Cobbs fly ball was caught by the leftfielder. After Holliday stole second, though, everyone was safe when Mokienko reached on a fielder's choice. Searle scored, with Holliday taking third on the play, and the Falcons' lead was 5-3.

Schrock's single to center scored Holliday and gave the Falcons a three-run lead, and Giordano busted the game wide open with a three-run homer, her first of the season. Mokienko and Schrock scored ahead of Giordano, and it was a 9-3 game. Tara Thacker became the Huskies' third pitcher of the inning, and retired the next two batters, but the damage had been done.

Kertes set down the home team in the bottom of the inning, allowing only a one-out infield single, and BG scored again in the seventh, as Searle led off the inning with a homer to right-centerfield. The Huskies scored a pair of runs on three-straight hits with two outs in the bottom of the inning, but it was too little, too late.

The Falcons pounded out a season-high 14 hits in the game, with six extra-base hits in the win. Searle led the way, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI. Giordano was 3-for-4 with three RBI of her own in the nightcap, while Holliday and Evangelista each had two hits.

Kertes picked up her seventh victory of the season, allowing two runs and six hits in four-plus innings of relief.

BGSU now heads to Kalamazoo, Mich., for single games vs. Western Michigan University on both Saturday and Sunday (April 4-5). Saturday's game begins at 2:00 p.m., while Sunday's contest is set for a 1:00 p.m. start at WMU's Fran Ebert Field.

FALCON NOTES
* BGSU pounded out a season-high 14 hits in Friday's second game ... the Falcons' previous best hit total in 2015 was 13 in the season opener against Niagara (Feb. 7) ... BG has had seven games with 10 or more hits this season.

* Senior Chloe Giordano had four extra-base hits, including three doubles and her first home run of the season, on Friday ... she had a total of six doubles in her first three seasons at BG, but has seven doubles this year alone ... Giordano has a total of nine extra-base hits (seven doubles, one triple and one homer) in 2015 after recording a total of nine during her first three seasons.

* Giordano has six doubles in the last six games ... prior to Sunday (March 29), she has a total of seven in her career.

* Sophomore Aspen Searle had two doubles and a homer on Friday at NIU ... Searle has hit a homer in each of BG's last three doubleheaders, including sweeps of Toledo Sunday and Detroit Tuesday (March 31).

* Searle now has seven homers this season after hitting three during her freshman year.

* Both Giordano and Searle went 5-for-8 at the plate with two runs scored in Friday's twinbill ... Giordano had four extra-base hits and a slugging percentage of 1.375 on the day, while Searle had three extra-base hits and a 1.250 slugging pct. vs. NIU.

* Searle went 4-for-5 in Friday's second game, the first four-hit game of her career and BGSU's first of the season ... she has had three hits in a game on three occasions, including earlier this season (March 12) at Indiana.

* Freshman Morgan Evangelista had a double in each of Friday's games ... her two doubles at NIU matched her total for the entire season heading into the DH with the Huskies.

* Giordano (three), Evangelista and Searle (two each) combined for seven double on Friday.

* Giordano is hitting .429 (9-for-21) in BGSU's last six games, with six doubles, a homer and an .857 slugging percentage in that time ... in those six games, Searle is batting .391 (9-of-23) with team-high totals of eight runs, three homers, eight RBI and a BG-best slugging pct. of .957.

* Giordano is batting .533 and Searle .500 in MAC games to date ... seven of Giordano's eight hits in MAC play have gone for extra bases, as she has six doubles, a homer and a 1.133 slugging pct. in those four games ... Searle has five extra-base hits, along with team-best totals of five runs and seven RBI against MAC foes ... she is slugging 1.125 in MAC games to date.

* Junior Molly Holliday had a pair of hits at NIU, and now has a team-best batting average of .382 this season to date ... Holliday and fellow junior transfer Marina Cobbs each have 29 hits this year, just one behind Searle's team-leading total ... Searle is batting .349 and Cobbs .322 this spring.

* Searle is hitting an incredible .551 when leading off an inning, having gone 27-of-49 in such situations this season.

* Friday's second game marked the first time the Falcons have won when trailing after five innings this season ... BGSU is now 1-13 in such games this year.

* BGSU set season highs in at-bats (25) as well as hits (14) in Friday's second game, and the Falcons tied a season best with 10 RBI ... BG set a season standard with four doubles in Friday's first game, then matched that total in the second game of the day.