Softball Drops a Pair at CSU Dome Invitational

Saturday, February 13

Cleveland, OH

9:00 AM

Bowling Green State University

0-1

Morehead State

3-0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Morehead State	0	0	0	2	2	2	0	6	7	2
Bowling Green	0	1	3	0	0	1	0	5	8	1

Oct 18 2015 intrasquad - Mike Cihon photo

Senior Marisa Shook had three hits, including a double & a homer, on Saturday in Cleveland

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

February 13, 2016 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BG suffers a heartbreaker vs. MSU in season opener

By: CLEVELAND, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University softball team opened the 2016 season on Saturday (Feb. 13), suffering a pair of losses at the CSU Dome Invitational in Cleveland, Ohio. The Falcons dropped a 6-5 heartbreaker to Morehead State University, then fell to Niagara University by a 4-1 count.

"The record does not reflect the level of play our team put forth today," said Falcon head coach Sarah Willis. "There were several Falcons that had standout performances in each game at the plate and in the field. This day marks the beginning of the program's journey, and I look forward to seeing our growth over the next few weeks."

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BGSU-NU STATS: HTML | PDF

Seniors Marisa Shook and Marina Cobbs each had three hits on the day, with Shook driving in a pair of runs. She had a slugging percentage of 1.167 in the two games, with an extra-base hit in each contest.

Shook's three-hit day puts her halfway to her total for all of last year. She had six hits in limited action last season, with one RBI on the year.

In the MSU game, Shook homered and drove in a two runs, but Robyn Leighton homered twice as the Eagles rallied from four runs down with three round-trippers on the morning.

In the top of the first, senior pitcher Braiden Dillow issued a one-out walk to Aubrey Bennett, who stole second. But, Dillow struck out Dana Hutchins for the second out, and Bennett was caught stealing, as catcher Morgan Evangelista fired the ball to third baseman Haley Schrock, who applied the tag to end the inning.

MSU starting pitcher Megan Tymorek got three infield grounders to retire the side in order in the bottom of the first. After Dillow returned the favor with a one-two-three second inning, the Falcons broke the scoreless tie in the bottom half of the frame.

With one out, Shook homered to right-center field to give BGSU a 1-0 lead. For Shook, the homer was the fourth of her career.

After one at-bat on the season, Shook had matched her RBI total for all of last year. She drove in one run in limited action in 2015.

Dillow allowed her first hit of the day in the third, as Lindsay Ward singled with one out, but the BG senior got Lizzy Margagliotti to foul out to Schrock at third, then struck out Kayla McGuffey.

In the BG half of the third, sophomore Katee Hinkle worked Tymorek for a one-out walk, and Cobbs singled her to second. The runners moved up on senior Molly Holliday's grounder to the right side, and redshirt sophomore Chelsea Raker – playing her first game since 2014 after missing all of the '15 campaign due to injury – doubled down the right-field line to plate Hinkle and Cobbs for a 3-0 BGSU lead.

Sophomore Kayla Koch singled to move pinch-runner Alex Sorgi to third, and Shook came up with her second hit – and second RBI – of the morning, with a single to center that plated Sorgi and moved another BG freshman pinch-runner, Hannah Giammarino, to third.

Allison Rager replaced Tymorek in the circle for the Eagles, and got a grounder to third to end the inning, but the Falcons had a four-run lead after three.

In the fourth, Dillow got a grounder back to the circle and a strikeout. Ellen Barrett worked the BG senior for a two-out walk, however, and Leighton homered to left, cutting BG's lead in half. Dillow got Karly Thompson to pop out to third to end the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, Rager quickly retired the Falcons in order, on three grounders to the left side, and the Eagles quickly knotted the score in the top of the fifth.

With one out, Ward singled, and she came around to score when Margagliotti homered to make it a 4-4 game.

In the bottom of the inning, Cobbs singled up the middle, and Holliday bunted her to second. Cobbs advanced to third on a wild pitch, but Rager got Raker to hit a grounder back to the circle, with Cobbs forced to hold at third. Then, Rager got a strikeout for the third out.

Dillow got the first batter to foul out to shortstop Raker, but Barrett doubled, and junior Briana Combs came on in relief of Dillow. Leighton, however, greeted her with a two-run shot to left-center, and the Eagles led for the first time. Thompson singled, and Haley Houchens reached on an error, putting two runners aboard with still only one out. Combs got Ward to ground out, with the runners moving up to second and third, but a walk to Margagliotti loaded the bases for pinch-hitter Laine Simmons.

Simmons had hit a three-run walk-off homer to give the Eagles a 6-5 win vs. Cleveland State on Friday, but Combs got her to hit a harmless grounder back to the circle for the third out.

The Falcons got a run back in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Evangelista doubled down the right-field line with one out, and Dillow's two-out single plated pinch-runner Kayla Gregory. But, Rager got an inning-ending popup.

Combs set down the Eagles in order, getting strikeouts to begin and end the half-inning, and the teams headed to the bottom of the seventh. Cobbs drew a leadoff walk, and Holliday moved her to second, putting the tying run in scoring position with one out. And, Raker reached on an error by centerfielder McGuffey. Cobbs, who was forced to wait to see if the ball would be caught, advanced to third on the play

But, Koch's line drive was grabbed by second baseman Murphy, and she fired to shortstop Thompson to catch Raker off base for the game-ending double play.

Cobbs and Shook each went 2-for-3 on the morning, with Shook and Raker both driving in a pair of runs. The Falcons had an 8-7 advantage in the hits column.

The Falcons' second game of the day saw Niagara take an early lead with a first-inning run, before the Purple Eagles scored three times in the top of the fifth. BGSU's lone run came in the bottom of the seventh. The Brown and Orange got the potential tying run to the plate in that inning, before NU closed out the win.

Freshman pitcher Kiley Sosby made her collegiate debut and allowed just two earned runs in five innings. Fellow freshman Brooke Parker pitched two innings of two-hit, shutout relief in her BG debut.

Sosby allowed a leadoff walk and a single up the middle, and when the runners advanced on the throw, NU had two runners in scoring position with no outs. But, Sosby struck out Bridget Hogan, then induced back-to-back batters to hit infield popups to retire the side.

Niagara starter Sierra Bertrand got the first two outs in the bottom of the inning, then issued walks to both Raker and Koch. Sorgi, pinch-running for Raker, stole third to put runners at the corners, but Bertrand got out of the jam with a popup.

The Purple Eagles got on the board in the second, on Jennifer Timm's one-out homer, and Timm was the last batter to reach base until the bottom of the fourth, as Sosby retired nine-straight batters and Bertrand seven. Raker led off the Falcon half of that fourth frame, and worked Bertrand for a walk for the second time in as many plate appearances. Pinch-runner Giammarino, however, was caught stealing, and Shook was stranded at second after a two-out double.

Bertrand helped her own cause in the top of the fifth, hitting a one-out solo homer to left. Then, with two outs, Taylor Moody reached on an infield error, and Sarah March took advantage of the extra out by hitting a two-run shot to right-center, for a four-run lead.

The Falcons got singles by Schrock and junior Trista Mokienko in the home half of the fifth, but a caught stealing, a fielder's choice grounder and another ground ball to second ended the threat.

Parker replaced Sosby in the circle to begin the sixth, and allowed a one-out walk, but got three harmless grounders to the left side for a scoreless frame. In the bottom of the inning, Holliday led off with a bunt single, then took second on a wild pitch with one out. Koch walked, but Shook's liner was caught by the shortstop. Sosby reached on a fielder's choice, and everyone was safe on the play, loading the bases. But, Schrock's two-out fly ball was caught in center field.

Parker scattered a pair of singles in the seventh, but also got two strikeouts and a popup, and BG had one last chance to cut into NU's lead.

With one out, Hinkle beat out a grounder to third for a single, and the sophomore continued on to second when the throw was off line. Cobbs singled to put runners at the corners, but Bertrand got a big strikeout for the second out. Gregory, however, singled through the left side to plate Hinkle, with Cobbs advancing to second.

The hit was the first of Gregory's BG career, and the RBI was her second as a Falcon. She played in 12 games as a freshman in 2015, with a total of 10 at-bats.

Sydney Smyers came on to replace Bertrand in the circle, with runners at first and second, and got Koch to hit a grounder to second for a fielder's choice.

NU had a narrow 8-7 advantage in hits, with March and Chanelle Ward collecting two apiece. Seven different Falcons had one hit each for BGSU in the nightcap, with Raker and Koch each drawing two walks.

Four of the six true freshmen on the BG roster saw action in at least one of Saturday's games.

The Falcons return to the dome on Sunday, facing host Cleveland State at 11:30 a.m. and Robert Morris at 2:00 p.m. Both games are scheduled to have live stats available right here at BGSUFalcons.com.