Dillow's Dinger Lifts Falcons to 3-2, Extra-Inning Win at CMU

Sunday, May 3

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

20-28, 8-14

Central Michigan

25-21, 12-8

Bowling Green

Central Michigan

Braiden Dillow vs Valparaiso - April 29 2015 - Jason Knavel photo

Braiden Dillow picked up the win AND hit her first collegiate HR Sunday at CMU

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

May 03, 2015 | Softball

Box Score

Junior hits first collegiate homer & picks up win in relief

By: MT. PLEASANT, Mich. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Bowling Green State University softball junior Braiden Dillow homered in the top of the ninth inning, then shut down host Central Michigan University in the bottom of the inning, as the Falcons downed the Chippewas, 3-2, Sunday afternoon (May 3). The Mid-American Conference game was held at Margo Jonker Stadium.

Freshman Morgan Evangelista had tied the contest with a two-run homer in the sixth inning, after BG (20-28, 8-14 MAC) had surrendered two runs in the first. Dillow, the third BGSU pitcher on the day, pitched two-and-two-thirds innings of scoreless relief to pick up the victory, aiding her own cause with her solo shot to left field -- the first homer of her collegiate career -- with two outs in the top of the ninth.

"I am proud of our finish," said BGSU head coach Shannon Salsburg. "We had a chance to win three games this weekend. It didn't happen but the team played hard. It was fun to see different people contribute to our success."

CMU pitcher Rachael Knapp threw a complete game, tying her career high with 13 strikeouts without walking a batter. And, the Chippewas (25-21, 12-8 MAC) had a veritable plethora of baserunners on Sunday, but BG did not allow a run after the opening inning, as Central left 11 runners on base in the contest.

Dillow and fellow junior Molly Holliday each had two hits to pace the Falcons in that department. Evangelista's homer was her fifth this season, but her third this week. She also went deep in BG wins over Valparaiso on Wednesday (April 29) and Eastern Michigan Friday (May 1).

Lacy Tolfree and Sara Hansen each had three hits for the hosts.

Early on, it looked as if the Falcons might strike first on Sunday. Senior Aspen Searle lined a single to left to begin the game, and Holliday followed suit, bunting and reaching safely. On Holliday's hit, the Chippewas had no chance to get her at first, and Searle beat the throw to second, putting a pair of runners on base with no outs.

Knapp, however, responded by striking out the next three batters. In fact, she would strike out six-straight Falcons, with a one-two-three second inning. In between, the Chippewas struck for a pair of first-inning markers.

Tolfree led off with an infield single, and took second on Kristen Kuhlman's sacrifice bunt. Trista Cox followed with a double to the wall in center, with Tolfree scoring easily. Then, Katelyn Rentschler lined a double to right, trading places with Cox, and the Chippewas had a 2-0 lead.

The Falcons got out of the inning when Chelsea DeLamielleure hit a soft liner to Searle at shortstop. The sophomore grabbed the ball out of the air and flipped it to second baseman Emily McClelland, easily doubling Rentschler off second.

In the final game of her BGSU career, senior Jamie Kertes allowed a leadoff bunt single to Sara Hansen in the second, but induced Maison Kalina to hit a popup to Searle at short, then got Karly Hansen to hit a double-play grounder that retired the side.

BG was retired in order in the third, but two Falcon pitchers combined to set down three-straight CMU batters in the home half of the inning. Kertes got Danielle Marlink to hit a grounder to third for the first out, and Salsburg then took Kertes out of the game. Sophomore Briana Combs replaced Kertes in the circle, hugging the Falcon senior as she left the circle for the final time. Then, Combs proceeded to get both Tolfree and Kuhlman to hit infield grounders, and the Falcons had a one-two-three inning.

BG's first baserunner of the game came with two outs in the fourth, as Dillow's looper fell in front of a diving Sara Hansen in center, but Knapp got a strikeout for the third out.

Cox led off the bottom of the inning by hitting a liner off the glove of BG third baseman Chloe Giordano for a base hit. Cox was retired on a Rentschler grounder to third, but DeLamielleure lined a single to right. The next hitter, Sara Hansen, hit a grounder to Searle, and the BG sophomore tagged pinch-runner Kelly Barnes for the second out of the inning.

Kalina lined a single to center, but Holliday quickly came up with the ball to keep the lead runner from attempting to score, and the bases were loaded with two down. That play by Hollliday paid off as Combs whiffed Karly Hansen for out number three.

The fifth inning was a quick one, as Knapp set down the Falcons in order, including back-to-back strikeouts. But, Combs retired three-straight Chippewas, with a pair of grounders followed by a blooper toward shortstop. Searle made a nifty play on the last out, charging in and grabbing the ball just about the infield dirt.

The sixth inning saw Holliday single up the middle with one out. Knapp got the second out, as a bunt attempt was popped up and caught by the third baseman. But, Evangelista then lined a pitch over the wall in left-centerfield, and suddenly, the game was tied.

The Chippewas looked to regain the lead in the bottom of the inning. Cox reached on a double error, advancing to second base. Rentschler, however, grounded out to short, with Cox forced to hold at second. Cox attempted to advance to third when the next batter, DeLamielleure, hit a grounder to Searle at shortstop as well. Searle threw the ball to Giordano at third, and Cox was out by approximately 30 feet.

Sara Hansen followed with a single to put a pair of runners on base, but Kalina hit a grounder to Giordano, who stepped on the third-base bag for the third out.

BG went down in order in the top of the seventh, and Combs struck out Karly Hansen to begin the home half of the inning. Pinch-hitter Kristen Goodall, though, followed with a chopper that bounced over the head of Giordano and into left field. Tolfree hit a ball up the middle that was just out of the reach of a diving Searle, and Kuhlman hit a ball to nearly the same spot. Suddenly, the bases were loaded with just one out.

Dillow came on to pitch, and got Cox to hit a popup that was gloved by freshman first baseman Kayla Koch for the second out. Then, Dillow won a battle with Rentschler, as her popup was caught by Searle on the outfield grass. BG was out of the jam, and the game headed to extra innings.

Knapp retired the Falcons in order in the eighth, with the last two hitters, Searle and Holliday, hitting fly balls to right-center. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Sara Hansen blooped a ball to shallow center, and it landed just in front of a charging Holliday. Dillow got Kalina to hit a foul pop to Haley Schrock down the left-field line, with Hansen forced to hold at first. But, she stole second as her sister, Karly, took a pitch for a ball and a full count. Dillow's next pitch, however, was a called third strike, and the inning was over.

After the last two BG batters hit fly balls in the eighth, each of the first three hitters in the ninth inning put the ball in the air. Amanda Durham led off by driving a ball to the warning track in left, but it was caught for the first out. Evangelista, like Durham, gave the ball a ride, but leftfielder Tolfree made a running catch for out number two.

The next hitter, Dillow, also hit a drive to left, and Tolfree had no chance to make the catch, as the ball cleared the wall in left-center. The homer, as mentioned, was her first as a Falcon. Dillow, who did not have a plate appearance in BG's first 43 games of the 2015 season, went 6-for-13 (.462) over the last five, and her final at-bat of the season gave the Brown and Orange the lead for good.

Marlink hit the first pitch of the home half of the ninth, but her soft liner was easily grabbed by Dillow for the first out. Tolfree reached base, however, hitting a ball that seemed ticketed for center field. Searle made a nifty diving stop of the ball, but had no play as Tolfree was safe without a throw.

Dillow, undaunted, proceeded to get Kuhlman to swing and miss at a two-strike pitch for the second out, but Cox was hit by a pitch to move the potential tying run to second. Then, a passed ball put that run just 60 feet away, while the winning run moved into scoring position. But, with those runners at second and third, Dillow got Rentschler to swing and hit a lazy fly ball to center. Holliday came in a few steps and made the catch, and the Falcons' come-from-behind win was complete.

The Falcons went a perfect 3-0 in extra-inning games in 2015, and Sunday's win marked BG's first extra-inning contest of the season. BG downed Penn, 2-1 in eight innings on March 6, and the Brown and Orange topped Detroit, 6-5, in a nine-inning contest on March 31. In each of BG's two nine-inning contests vs. Michigan foes, the Falcons got a homer in the final inning. Searle hit a walk-off blast vs. the Titans, prior to Dillow's homer on Sunday in Mount Pleasant.

Sunday's win concluded the 2015 season for the Brown and Orange. It also marked the final collegiate contest for Giordano, Kertes, McClelland and Shelby Fink. A total of eight Falcons started at least 31 of BGSU's 48 games this season, and that group includes seven players (two juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen) with at least one year of eligibility remaining.

"I want to thank the seniors for their hard work and dedication," said Salsburg. "All four contributed throughout their careers, both on and off the field. They will graduate and go out and make a difference in this world.

"Our season was a typical season, filled with challenges. At times we handled the adversity well, at times we did not handle it as well as I would have hoped, but we now have an opportunity to learn from all of those moments and grow as a program."