Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, May 1
Ypsilanti, Mich.
1:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
19-26, 7-12
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Eastern Michigan
16-31, 4-12
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Bowling Green
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Eastern Michigan
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Aspen Searle had a triple, a homer & five RBI in Friday's opener at EMU
Photo by: Ruben Kappler, BGSU Marketing & Communications
Searle, Falcons Explode for 8-2 Win in Opener at EMU
May 01, 2015 | Softball
But, Eastern rallies for 4-3 victory in Friday's second game
The Bowling Green State University softball team exploded for eight runs over the final three innings, posting an 8-2 win over host Eastern Michigan University Friday afternoon (May 1). But, in game two, the Eagles rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh, posting a 4-3 victory over the Falcons for a split of the teams' Mid-American Conference doubleheader at Varsity Field.
The second-game setback leaves the Falcons needing to win each of the final two games of the regular season to have a chance at qualifying for the MAC Tournament. BGSU plays single games at Central Michigan on Saturday and Sunday (May 2-3). BG needs to sweep the Chippewas, and the Falcons also need a sweep (by either team) in the Akron-Ohio series. The Zips play the Bobcats in Saturday and Sunday single games in Athens.
"Any time you give somebody free outs when they're itching to score, you put yourself in a tough situation," said BGSU head coach Shannon Salsburg. "They capitalized on it. A lot of different things kind of came together, but at the end of the day, you've got to close the game out and we didn't, and now we're off to Central and we've got to take two."
Sophomore Aspen Searle keyed the BG attack in Friday's opener, with a triple, a home run and five runs batted in. The Falcons tied a season best with three homers in that game, as freshmen Kayla Koch and Morgan Evangelista each hit round-trippers as well. Koch's homer, leading off the fifth inning, broke a scoreless tie, and after a single by senior Emily McClelland, Searle followed with a two-run shot to right-center.
BG took a 6-0 lead with three more runs in the top of the sixth en route to the win.
"Aspen was really squaring up the ball, which was great to see," said Salsburg. "It was great to see her back on the basepaths. That makes a huge difference, and really sets the tone for us."
In the second game, the Falcons took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, saw EMU cut that lead in half in the bottom of the inning, then scored what appeared to be an insurance run in the top of the seventh as an Evangelista single plated Searle. But, the Eagles rallied in a big way in the bottom of the inning.
The Eastern half of the seventh began when Michelle Kriegshauser led off with a fly ball that rightfielder Marina Cobbs lost in the sun. Then, on an 0-2 count, Abi Clark was hit by a pitch. The next batter, Lindsay Rich, hit a slow roller toward first base. BG pitcher Jamie Kertes grabbed it but had no play, and the bases were loaded with no outs.
Jenn Lucas followed with a hard shot that BG third baseman Chloe Giordano nearly grabbed. But, the smash deflected off the glove of the diving BG senior, and went for a run-scoring single to make it a 3-2 game. Kertes struck out Katy Wyman for the first out, then got a fielder's choice grounder, with first baseman Koch throwing home for the second out.
But, the next batter, pinch-hitter Aoife Duffy, hit a grounder up the middle. Second baseman McClelland made a diving stop and threw the ball to shortstop Searle, but Abby Davidson beat the throw. Meanwhile, Rich scored from third, and Lucas rounded third and came home, beating the throw for the winning run.
In the opener, as mentioned, BGSU's total of three homers tied a season high. The Falcons also had three round-trippers in a March 15 win over IPFW.
EMU starter Alyssa Huntley kept the Falcons off the scoreboard for the first four innings of the first game, before BG put crooked numbers on the scoreboard in each of the last three innings.
Huntley needed just seven pitches to get through the first inning, getting three ground balls for outs. Kriegshauser, who was a thorn in the Falcons' collective side all afternoon, doubled with two outs in the bottom of the inning, but BG starter Kertes got Clark to hit a weak popup to the circle, and the BG senior made the catch.
Sophomore Haley Schrock, in what would be a recurring theme on Friday, drew a walk with two outs in the second inning. Junior Braiden Dillow, part of the BG batting order for just the second time this season, beat out a slow roller toward third base, but Schrock was out as she attempted to go from first to third, ending the half-inning.
Taylor Wagner singled to start the Eastern half of the second, but Rich popped up a bunt attempt, and BG catcher Evangelista made a nifty diving catch for the first out. The Eagles loaded the bases on a Wyman single up the middle and a Davidson hit through the left side of the BG infield. But, with one down, pinch-hitter Duffy's grounder was grabbed by McClelland, who threw home for the second out, and a Haley Hostetler fly ball was caught by Schrock in left.
Koch led off the third inning by crushing a line drive to center. but Lucas made the catch as she retreated toward the fence. Then, McClelland was robbed of a base hit when shortstop Hostetler went deep into the hole to snag a grounder and throw to first. Those plays proved to be all the more important after the next three Falcons reached base. Searle walked, junior Molly Holliday lined a single to left, and Cobbs followed with a sharp single to left of her own, loading the bases, but the Eagles got out of the inning on a grounder to the right side.
Kertes worked around a one-out error in the bottom of the third, and Huntley set down the Falcons in order in the fourth, as Schrock gave a ball a ride, but it was tracked down in left field.
In the bottom of the fourth, Kertes struck out Rich, and after Wyman reached on a base hit to shallow left, Kertes whiffed Davidson on three pitches, then threw a 3-2 pitch past Elaine Whitbeck. After four innings, the teams were scoreless.
It didn't take long to the Falcons to break that scoreless deadlock in the fifth. Koch, who had hit a liner to the centerfielder in the third inning, made sure no EMU fielder would catch her drive in the fifth. The freshman hit a ball that went over the fence just to the left of the '220' sign in straightaway center, and the Falcons had the lead for good.
McClelland lined a single up the middle, and Searle went the other way, hitting a two-run shot to right-center. Abbie Minsker entered the game for the Eagles, and the pitcher was helped out by her defense, as second baseman Wyman made a dive to her right to grab a liner by Evangelista, and got out of the inning without further damage.
The Eagles put runners on second and third with one out in the fifth, after a walk to Lucas and a Kriegshauser single to right. The runners each took an extra base on a BG error. But, Clark hit a grounder to McClelland, who threw home to cut down Lucas attempting to score. Then, Wagner hit a foul pop that Koch caught for the third out.
The Brown and Orange doubled the lead in the sixth, putting three more runs on the board. After a long fly ball by Giordano was caught in center for the first out, Schrock drew her second walk of the game. Dillow followed with a bunt, and both runners were safe on the sacrifice as Schrock beat the third baseman's throw to second.
The Eagles got the second out of the inning on a foul pop to the catcher, but McClelland walked to load the bases, and Searle, after a long at-bat, tripled down the rightfield line. Pinch-runner Amanda Durham, Dillow and McClelland all scored on the bases-loaded, bases-clearing, three-base hit, and the Falcons had a 6-0 lead.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning. Rich led off with a single, and a grounder to the right side moved pinch-runner Myranda Barnes to second. Kertes and the Falcons got the second out of the inning, but a bad-hop grounder by Whitbeck plated Barnes to make it a 6-1 game.
BG answered in the seventh inning, as Evangelista drilled a pitch to left for her second homer in as many games. Durham beat out a two-out grounder to the second baseman, and the sophomore went from first to third on a single by Dillow that landed in front of charging centerfielder Lucas. Then, the Falcons executed a delayed double-steal to perfection.
Pinch-runner Katee Hinkle took off for second, and the throw toward second was cut off short of the base, as a middle infielder grabbed the ball and threw to the plate. But, Durham beat the throw, scoring the Falcons' eighth run of the game.
In the bottom of the seventh, EMU scored a meaningless run, as Kriegshauser legged out a bloop double, Clark reached on an error and a grounder by Wagner plated Kriegshauser. But, sophomore Briana Combs got Wyman to hit a grounder to first baseman Koch, who stepped on the bag to end the game.
Searle went 2-for-3 with a run scored in the opener, and her total of five RBI was the highest by a Falcon this season. Dillow also was 2-for-3 at the plate, scoring a run, while Durham was 1-for-1 with two runs scored. McClelland also scored a pair of runs, going 1-for-2. Schrock drew a pair of walks in the game-one win.
Kertes got the win in the circle, allowing six hits and no runs in four-and-a-third innings of work. She walked one batter and struck out three. Three pitchers worked in each game for the Falcons. Both Dillow (one and two-thirds innings pitched) and Combs (one inning) allowed one run and two hits in the opener, with the run against Combs an unearned run.
Kriegshauser led the EMU attack, going 3-of-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored, while Rich and Wyman had two hits apiece.
Game two saw EMU starter Rich walk no fewer than six Falcons, including four in the first two innings. But, she worked out of trouble in each of those opening two frames, as BG left five on base during that time.
Searle began the game with a base on balls, and after Holliday bunted her to second, Cobbs also drew a walk. But, Rich got out of the inning as two ground balls resulted in a fielder's choice and a putout at first, respectively.
Hostetler led off the bottom of the inning with a walk, but Giordano fielded a bunt by Wagner and threw to McClelland to erase the lead runner. Another fielder's choice led to the second out, and after Clark singled through the right side, BG starter Combs got Rich to fly out to right.
Schrock began the second with a walk, and Dillow bunted her to second. After a lengthy plate appearance, Koch trotted to first base via a base on balls, and McClelland's line-drive single to center loaded the bases. But, BG left them loaded, as a strikeout and a grounder to short retired the side.
Combs allowed a two-out single to Davidson in the bottom of the inning, but responded by getting a grounder to short. After BG was retired in order in the third, though, back-to-back singles put a pair of EMU runners aboard in the bottom of the inning with two outs. Dillow replaced Combs in the circle and proceeded to get a strikeout of Rich.
In the fourth, the Falcons broke the scoreless tie with a pair of unearned runs. Schrock, after a 13-pitch at-bat in which she fouled off eight pitches, drew a walk for the second time in the game and the fourth time on the day. She has a BG-high 22 walks this season to date, nine more than any of her teammates.
The next hitter, Dillow, bunted toward the circle, and both runners were safe when Rich threw the ball wide of first base and down the rightfield line. Pinch-runner Durham took third on the play, with Durham continuing on to second.
Koch, after fouling off several pitches, was a strikeout victim for the first out, but on a bunt by McClelland, Durham broke for home, and the throw by Clark was off the mark. The ball sailed to the backstop as Durham was safe and Dillow came around to score as well. BG had a 2-0 lead.
Eastern answered with an unearned run in the bottom of the inning. Lucas led off with a walk, and with Wyman at the plate, a pickoff throw toward first was off the mark, allowing Lucas to take second. BG got a strikeout, but after a steal by Lucas, a single by Davidson cut the BG lead in half. Pinch-hitter Brandice Olmos reached on an error, but on a grounder to Searle, Davidson was erased at third, and Wagner's foul pop to first base ended the threat.
BG's half of the fifth inning was just four pitches in duration. Cobbs singled on the first pitch, and the next three pitched resulted in a popup to the circle, a fly-ball out to left-center, and a caught stealing.
Dillow worked a one-two-three fifth frame, but Koch was stranded at first after a two-out walk in the sixth, and the Eagles threatened in the bottom of the inning.
Wyman walked with one out, and a Davidson grounder was deflected by Dillow. Second baseman McClelland, forced to change direction, fielded the ball, but her throw to second was not in time as both EMU runners were safe.
Kertes entered the game and immediately struck out Whitbeck for the second out. She walked Hostetler, but then won a long battle with Wagner, which resulted in a harmless grounder to Koch. Koch fielded the ball and stepped on the first-base bag for out number three.
Searle began the seventh with a single over the first-base bag, and she took second on a passed ball. Holliday grounded out to short, but Searle broke for third when the shortstop fired to first, and the sophomore slid in safely ahead of the return throw. Eastern got the second out of the inning, but Evangelista singled up the middle to score Searle and give the visitors a 3-1 lead. Giordano followed with a sharp single to center, but Schrock's soft liner was grabbed by the shortstop, setting the stage for the EMU uprising in the bottom of the inning.
Eastern outhit the Falcons, 9-5, in the second game. Lucas scored a pair of runs, while three of her teammates had two hits apiece. Schrock drew a pair of walks for the second-straight game for BG, and Koch also walked twice in the nightcap.
Three different BG pitchers worked the game, with each of the three throwing between 41 and 57 pitches.
"Overall, I thought we hit the ball pretty well today," said Salsburg. "Our pitchers pitched pretty well. We got a couple clutch hits; Mo (Evangelista) got a clutch hit on a change-up to push across what could have been an insurance run in the second game. But, again, you've got to close it out, and if you don't, that's what happens. Kudos to them, they got the runs they needed.
"Now, any leeway we had is gone at this point. Now, we've just got to go to Central, play our tails off and see what we can do."
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The Falcons' Saturday game at CMU is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. Then, BGSU will meet the Chippewas in a 1:00 p.m. start on Sunday.
MAC STANDINGS
EAST DIVISION
Team (Overall)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â MAC Â Pct.
Kent State (37-11)Â Â Â Â 15- 4 Â .789
Miami (30-21)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 12- 6Â .667
Ohio (15-28)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7- 9 Â .438
Akron (22-24)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7-10Â .412
Bowling Green (19-27) Â Â 7-13 Â .350
Buffalo (12-36)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4-14Â .222
Â
WEST DIVISION
Team (Overall)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â MAC Â Pct.
Ball State (28-22)Â Â Â Â 13- 4Â .765
Central Mich. (24-20)Â 11- 7 Â .611
Northern Ill. (28-21)Â 11- 7 Â .611
Western Mich. (20-23) Â 10- 8Â .556
Toledo (23-31)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 6-14Â .300
Eastern Mich. (17-31) Â Â 5-12 Â .294
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MAC SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 2
BGSU at Central Michigan, 2:00
Toledo at Eastern Michigan, 2:00
Ball State at Miami, 2:00
Western Michigan at Buffalo, 2:00
Northern Illinois at Kent State, 2:00
Akron at Ohio, 5:30
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Sunday, May 3
BGSU at Central Michigan, 1:00
Toledo at Eastern Michigan, 1:00
Ball State at Miami, 1:00
Western Michigan at Buffalo, 1:00
Northern Illinois at Kent State, 1:00
Akron at Ohio, 1:00
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The second-game setback leaves the Falcons needing to win each of the final two games of the regular season to have a chance at qualifying for the MAC Tournament. BGSU plays single games at Central Michigan on Saturday and Sunday (May 2-3). BG needs to sweep the Chippewas, and the Falcons also need a sweep (by either team) in the Akron-Ohio series. The Zips play the Bobcats in Saturday and Sunday single games in Athens.
"Any time you give somebody free outs when they're itching to score, you put yourself in a tough situation," said BGSU head coach Shannon Salsburg. "They capitalized on it. A lot of different things kind of came together, but at the end of the day, you've got to close the game out and we didn't, and now we're off to Central and we've got to take two."
Sophomore Aspen Searle keyed the BG attack in Friday's opener, with a triple, a home run and five runs batted in. The Falcons tied a season best with three homers in that game, as freshmen Kayla Koch and Morgan Evangelista each hit round-trippers as well. Koch's homer, leading off the fifth inning, broke a scoreless tie, and after a single by senior Emily McClelland, Searle followed with a two-run shot to right-center.
BG took a 6-0 lead with three more runs in the top of the sixth en route to the win.
"Aspen was really squaring up the ball, which was great to see," said Salsburg. "It was great to see her back on the basepaths. That makes a huge difference, and really sets the tone for us."
In the second game, the Falcons took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, saw EMU cut that lead in half in the bottom of the inning, then scored what appeared to be an insurance run in the top of the seventh as an Evangelista single plated Searle. But, the Eagles rallied in a big way in the bottom of the inning.
The Eastern half of the seventh began when Michelle Kriegshauser led off with a fly ball that rightfielder Marina Cobbs lost in the sun. Then, on an 0-2 count, Abi Clark was hit by a pitch. The next batter, Lindsay Rich, hit a slow roller toward first base. BG pitcher Jamie Kertes grabbed it but had no play, and the bases were loaded with no outs.
Jenn Lucas followed with a hard shot that BG third baseman Chloe Giordano nearly grabbed. But, the smash deflected off the glove of the diving BG senior, and went for a run-scoring single to make it a 3-2 game. Kertes struck out Katy Wyman for the first out, then got a fielder's choice grounder, with first baseman Koch throwing home for the second out.
But, the next batter, pinch-hitter Aoife Duffy, hit a grounder up the middle. Second baseman McClelland made a diving stop and threw the ball to shortstop Searle, but Abby Davidson beat the throw. Meanwhile, Rich scored from third, and Lucas rounded third and came home, beating the throw for the winning run.
In the opener, as mentioned, BGSU's total of three homers tied a season high. The Falcons also had three round-trippers in a March 15 win over IPFW.
EMU starter Alyssa Huntley kept the Falcons off the scoreboard for the first four innings of the first game, before BG put crooked numbers on the scoreboard in each of the last three innings.
Huntley needed just seven pitches to get through the first inning, getting three ground balls for outs. Kriegshauser, who was a thorn in the Falcons' collective side all afternoon, doubled with two outs in the bottom of the inning, but BG starter Kertes got Clark to hit a weak popup to the circle, and the BG senior made the catch.
Sophomore Haley Schrock, in what would be a recurring theme on Friday, drew a walk with two outs in the second inning. Junior Braiden Dillow, part of the BG batting order for just the second time this season, beat out a slow roller toward third base, but Schrock was out as she attempted to go from first to third, ending the half-inning.
Taylor Wagner singled to start the Eastern half of the second, but Rich popped up a bunt attempt, and BG catcher Evangelista made a nifty diving catch for the first out. The Eagles loaded the bases on a Wyman single up the middle and a Davidson hit through the left side of the BG infield. But, with one down, pinch-hitter Duffy's grounder was grabbed by McClelland, who threw home for the second out, and a Haley Hostetler fly ball was caught by Schrock in left.
Koch led off the third inning by crushing a line drive to center. but Lucas made the catch as she retreated toward the fence. Then, McClelland was robbed of a base hit when shortstop Hostetler went deep into the hole to snag a grounder and throw to first. Those plays proved to be all the more important after the next three Falcons reached base. Searle walked, junior Molly Holliday lined a single to left, and Cobbs followed with a sharp single to left of her own, loading the bases, but the Eagles got out of the inning on a grounder to the right side.
Kertes worked around a one-out error in the bottom of the third, and Huntley set down the Falcons in order in the fourth, as Schrock gave a ball a ride, but it was tracked down in left field.
In the bottom of the fourth, Kertes struck out Rich, and after Wyman reached on a base hit to shallow left, Kertes whiffed Davidson on three pitches, then threw a 3-2 pitch past Elaine Whitbeck. After four innings, the teams were scoreless.
It didn't take long to the Falcons to break that scoreless deadlock in the fifth. Koch, who had hit a liner to the centerfielder in the third inning, made sure no EMU fielder would catch her drive in the fifth. The freshman hit a ball that went over the fence just to the left of the '220' sign in straightaway center, and the Falcons had the lead for good.
McClelland lined a single up the middle, and Searle went the other way, hitting a two-run shot to right-center. Abbie Minsker entered the game for the Eagles, and the pitcher was helped out by her defense, as second baseman Wyman made a dive to her right to grab a liner by Evangelista, and got out of the inning without further damage.
The Eagles put runners on second and third with one out in the fifth, after a walk to Lucas and a Kriegshauser single to right. The runners each took an extra base on a BG error. But, Clark hit a grounder to McClelland, who threw home to cut down Lucas attempting to score. Then, Wagner hit a foul pop that Koch caught for the third out.
The Brown and Orange doubled the lead in the sixth, putting three more runs on the board. After a long fly ball by Giordano was caught in center for the first out, Schrock drew her second walk of the game. Dillow followed with a bunt, and both runners were safe on the sacrifice as Schrock beat the third baseman's throw to second.
The Eagles got the second out of the inning on a foul pop to the catcher, but McClelland walked to load the bases, and Searle, after a long at-bat, tripled down the rightfield line. Pinch-runner Amanda Durham, Dillow and McClelland all scored on the bases-loaded, bases-clearing, three-base hit, and the Falcons had a 6-0 lead.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning. Rich led off with a single, and a grounder to the right side moved pinch-runner Myranda Barnes to second. Kertes and the Falcons got the second out of the inning, but a bad-hop grounder by Whitbeck plated Barnes to make it a 6-1 game.
BG answered in the seventh inning, as Evangelista drilled a pitch to left for her second homer in as many games. Durham beat out a two-out grounder to the second baseman, and the sophomore went from first to third on a single by Dillow that landed in front of charging centerfielder Lucas. Then, the Falcons executed a delayed double-steal to perfection.
Pinch-runner Katee Hinkle took off for second, and the throw toward second was cut off short of the base, as a middle infielder grabbed the ball and threw to the plate. But, Durham beat the throw, scoring the Falcons' eighth run of the game.
In the bottom of the seventh, EMU scored a meaningless run, as Kriegshauser legged out a bloop double, Clark reached on an error and a grounder by Wagner plated Kriegshauser. But, sophomore Briana Combs got Wyman to hit a grounder to first baseman Koch, who stepped on the bag to end the game.
Searle went 2-for-3 with a run scored in the opener, and her total of five RBI was the highest by a Falcon this season. Dillow also was 2-for-3 at the plate, scoring a run, while Durham was 1-for-1 with two runs scored. McClelland also scored a pair of runs, going 1-for-2. Schrock drew a pair of walks in the game-one win.
Kertes got the win in the circle, allowing six hits and no runs in four-and-a-third innings of work. She walked one batter and struck out three. Three pitchers worked in each game for the Falcons. Both Dillow (one and two-thirds innings pitched) and Combs (one inning) allowed one run and two hits in the opener, with the run against Combs an unearned run.
Kriegshauser led the EMU attack, going 3-of-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored, while Rich and Wyman had two hits apiece.
Game two saw EMU starter Rich walk no fewer than six Falcons, including four in the first two innings. But, she worked out of trouble in each of those opening two frames, as BG left five on base during that time.
Searle began the game with a base on balls, and after Holliday bunted her to second, Cobbs also drew a walk. But, Rich got out of the inning as two ground balls resulted in a fielder's choice and a putout at first, respectively.
Hostetler led off the bottom of the inning with a walk, but Giordano fielded a bunt by Wagner and threw to McClelland to erase the lead runner. Another fielder's choice led to the second out, and after Clark singled through the right side, BG starter Combs got Rich to fly out to right.
Schrock began the second with a walk, and Dillow bunted her to second. After a lengthy plate appearance, Koch trotted to first base via a base on balls, and McClelland's line-drive single to center loaded the bases. But, BG left them loaded, as a strikeout and a grounder to short retired the side.
Combs allowed a two-out single to Davidson in the bottom of the inning, but responded by getting a grounder to short. After BG was retired in order in the third, though, back-to-back singles put a pair of EMU runners aboard in the bottom of the inning with two outs. Dillow replaced Combs in the circle and proceeded to get a strikeout of Rich.
In the fourth, the Falcons broke the scoreless tie with a pair of unearned runs. Schrock, after a 13-pitch at-bat in which she fouled off eight pitches, drew a walk for the second time in the game and the fourth time on the day. She has a BG-high 22 walks this season to date, nine more than any of her teammates.
The next hitter, Dillow, bunted toward the circle, and both runners were safe when Rich threw the ball wide of first base and down the rightfield line. Pinch-runner Durham took third on the play, with Durham continuing on to second.
Koch, after fouling off several pitches, was a strikeout victim for the first out, but on a bunt by McClelland, Durham broke for home, and the throw by Clark was off the mark. The ball sailed to the backstop as Durham was safe and Dillow came around to score as well. BG had a 2-0 lead.
Eastern answered with an unearned run in the bottom of the inning. Lucas led off with a walk, and with Wyman at the plate, a pickoff throw toward first was off the mark, allowing Lucas to take second. BG got a strikeout, but after a steal by Lucas, a single by Davidson cut the BG lead in half. Pinch-hitter Brandice Olmos reached on an error, but on a grounder to Searle, Davidson was erased at third, and Wagner's foul pop to first base ended the threat.
BG's half of the fifth inning was just four pitches in duration. Cobbs singled on the first pitch, and the next three pitched resulted in a popup to the circle, a fly-ball out to left-center, and a caught stealing.
Dillow worked a one-two-three fifth frame, but Koch was stranded at first after a two-out walk in the sixth, and the Eagles threatened in the bottom of the inning.
Wyman walked with one out, and a Davidson grounder was deflected by Dillow. Second baseman McClelland, forced to change direction, fielded the ball, but her throw to second was not in time as both EMU runners were safe.
Kertes entered the game and immediately struck out Whitbeck for the second out. She walked Hostetler, but then won a long battle with Wagner, which resulted in a harmless grounder to Koch. Koch fielded the ball and stepped on the first-base bag for out number three.
Searle began the seventh with a single over the first-base bag, and she took second on a passed ball. Holliday grounded out to short, but Searle broke for third when the shortstop fired to first, and the sophomore slid in safely ahead of the return throw. Eastern got the second out of the inning, but Evangelista singled up the middle to score Searle and give the visitors a 3-1 lead. Giordano followed with a sharp single to center, but Schrock's soft liner was grabbed by the shortstop, setting the stage for the EMU uprising in the bottom of the inning.
Eastern outhit the Falcons, 9-5, in the second game. Lucas scored a pair of runs, while three of her teammates had two hits apiece. Schrock drew a pair of walks for the second-straight game for BG, and Koch also walked twice in the nightcap.
Three different BG pitchers worked the game, with each of the three throwing between 41 and 57 pitches.
"Overall, I thought we hit the ball pretty well today," said Salsburg. "Our pitchers pitched pretty well. We got a couple clutch hits; Mo (Evangelista) got a clutch hit on a change-up to push across what could have been an insurance run in the second game. But, again, you've got to close it out, and if you don't, that's what happens. Kudos to them, they got the runs they needed.
"Now, any leeway we had is gone at this point. Now, we've just got to go to Central, play our tails off and see what we can do."
Â
The Falcons' Saturday game at CMU is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. Then, BGSU will meet the Chippewas in a 1:00 p.m. start on Sunday.
MAC STANDINGS
EAST DIVISION
Team (Overall)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â MAC Â Pct.
Kent State (37-11)Â Â Â Â 15- 4 Â .789
Miami (30-21)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 12- 6Â .667
Ohio (15-28)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7- 9 Â .438
Akron (22-24)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7-10Â .412
Bowling Green (19-27) Â Â 7-13 Â .350
Buffalo (12-36)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4-14Â .222
Â
WEST DIVISION
Team (Overall)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â MAC Â Pct.
Ball State (28-22)Â Â Â Â 13- 4Â .765
Central Mich. (24-20)Â 11- 7 Â .611
Northern Ill. (28-21)Â 11- 7 Â .611
Western Mich. (20-23) Â 10- 8Â .556
Toledo (23-31)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 6-14Â .300
Eastern Mich. (17-31) Â Â 5-12 Â .294
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MAC SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 2
BGSU at Central Michigan, 2:00
Toledo at Eastern Michigan, 2:00
Ball State at Miami, 2:00
Western Michigan at Buffalo, 2:00
Northern Illinois at Kent State, 2:00
Akron at Ohio, 5:30
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Sunday, May 3
BGSU at Central Michigan, 1:00
Toledo at Eastern Michigan, 1:00
Ball State at Miami, 1:00
Western Michigan at Buffalo, 1:00
Northern Illinois at Kent State, 1:00
Akron at Ohio, 1:00
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kertes, Jamie (10-12)
L: HUNTLEY, Alyssa (3-2)
Batting:
3B: Searle, Aspen 1
HR: Searle, Aspen 1 ; Evangelista, Morgan 1 ; Koch, Kayla 1
RBI: Searle, Aspen 5 ; Evangelista, Morgan 1 ; Koch, Kayla 1
SH: Dillow, Braiden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Searle, Aspen 1 ; Evangelista, Morgan 1 ; Durham, Amanda 2 ; Dillow, Braiden 1 ; Koch, Kayla 1 ; McClelland, Emily 2
SB: Durham, Amanda 1 ; Hinkle, Katee 1
Batting:
2B: KRIEGSHAUSER, M 2
RBI: WAGNER, Taylor 1 ; WHITBECK, Elaine 1
Base Running:
RUNS: KRIEGSHAUSER, M 1 ; BARNES, Myranda 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
5
dp/p
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballP/UT
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
SS/2B
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballSS/2B
/ SoftballSB: First Pitch Dinner Recap (Jan. 11, 2024)
Wednesday, January 24
BGSU-CMU Softball Highlights (May 13, 2022)
Saturday, May 14
BGSU In The Nest : Nikki and Alex Sorgi (Softball)
Wednesday, May 08
BG Softball Beats Akron in Game 1 on Senior Day 4.27
Saturday, April 27