Falcons Home for Five Games This Week

T H I S W E E K I N F A L C O N S O F T B A L L
BGSU vs. IPFW (DH)	Wed., March 23 \| 2:30 p.m.
BGSU vs. Northern Illinois	Fri., March 25 \| 3:00 p.m.
BGSU vs. Northern Illinois (DH)	Sat., March 26 \| 1:00 p.m.

BGSU SOFTBALL LINKS
BGSU Weekly Release & Individual Season/Career Stats (36 pages): PDF
Opponent Information | IPFW | NIU
Raker Named HERO of the Week
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LEADING OFF
The Bowling Green State University softball team, after participating in six tournaments in as many weekends, finally gets to unpack the suitcases, at least for a week. The Falcons of head coach Sarah Willis open the home portion of the schedule with five games this week, beginning with a Wednesday March 23) doubleheader vs. IPFW. First pitch of game one is scheduled for shortly after 2:30 p.m. at Meserve Field, and admission is free.

(NOTE: The start time for the IPFW twinbill is a change from the time originally listed on many schedules and publications.)

Then, the Brown and Orange will kick off the Mid-American Conference schedule this weekend, hosting Northern Illinois University for a three-game series. The Falcons and Huskies are scheduled to meet in a single game Friday (March 25), beginning at 3:00 p.m., followed by a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday (March 26).

QUOTING COACH WILLIS
"We are looking forward to playing at Meserve Field in front of our home fans this week. We are also excited to start MAC play this weekend. Northern Illinois has been doing extremely well, winning their last 11 games, and they are swinging the bats. Our pitching staff will need to keep their hitters off balance, and the defense will need to keep a few of their target players off the bases. Our offense is well prepared for the weekend and showed great improvement in the last few games at the Hoosier Classic. As always, it is about working the process consistently and that is our focus as we prepare for this week's games."

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• If you can't get to Meserve Field this week, there are still a number of ways you can follow the Falcons. All of BGSU's home games will have live stats available right here at BGSUFalcons.com.

• Additionally, the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) plans to broadcast all Falcon home softball games, beginning Wednesday.

• And, BCSN will televise Friday's NIU game in the Toledo area, and the game will also be available via ESPN3.com.

• In-game updates for all of BGSU's games, both at home and on the road, can be found at @BGSUSoftball on your twitter machine.

• To follow the Falcons, simply log on to BGSUFalcons.com and click the 'calendar' link on the day of the game, or navigate your way to the softball page. There you will find any available links to audio, video and live stats.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons are 11-14 on the season, and BGSU will enter Wednesday's IPFW twinbill looking to snap a four-game losing streak. Prior to the current streak, BG had won two-straight games and six of the eight contests.

• Last weekend, the Falcons fell to nationally-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend, then dropped three games at the Hoosier Classic in Bloomington. BG suffered a pair of walk-off losses on Friday, falling to IPFW by a 2-1 score and Western Illinois by a 9-8 result.

• On Saturday, the Brown and Orange lost a wild one, as Michigan State picked up a 20-13 win in 10 innings. The Falcons trailed by scores of 7-0 and 9-3, but rallied back to tie the contest at 9-all in the bottom of the seventh. Each team scored a run in both the eighth and ninth innings, before the Spartans exploded for nine runs in the 10th frame. BG scored twice in the bottom of the inning, but it was not enough.

• Due to inclement weather in Bloomington on Saturday morning, the Hoosier Classic schedule was altered and the Falcons' game with UIC was cancelled.

• Prior to the four games in Indiana, BG went 3-2 at the USF Under Armour Showcase, with wins over North Dakota, Fairfield and South Dakota, and losses against East Carolina and Hartford.

• BGSU opened the year at Cleveland State's Dome Invitational, posting a 1-3 mark, before the Falcons went 2-2 at the Rafter Memorial, hosted by Kennesaw State. The following weekend, BG went 2-3 at the South Alabama Invitational, and the Brown and Orange then went a perfect 3-0 at Towson's Tiger Clash prior to heading to USF.

• BGSU has scored 123 runs and allowed 126 this season to date. The Falcons have a team batting average of .273 to the opponents' .260.

• Two Falcons – senior Marisa Shook and junior Haley Schrock – have started all 25 games this season. Redshirt sophomore Chelsea Raker and true soph Katee Hinkle each have made 23 starts, while seniors Molly Holliday and Marina Cobbs have started 21 and 20 games, respectively.

• Raker leads the team with a .412 batting average, and has hit .513 (20-of-39) in the month of March. She paces the Falcons with 28 hits and an on-base percentage of .523, and also has a team-leading 15 walks. Raker, who missed all of last season due to injury, is tied for the team lead in doubles (six), and ranks second on the club in home runs (two – tied for second), runs batted in (15) and slugging pct. (.618).

• Shook is hitting .329 on the year, good for second on the team. She tops the Falcons in runs (19), homers (seven), RBI (20), total bases (52) and slugging pct. (.684). She is tied for the lead in doubles and ranks second on the club in on-base pct. (.427). Shook has obliterated her 2015 totals in nearly every category.

• Both Shook and Raker have been named MAC Player of the Week once this season to date.

• Schrock and Holliday are batting .325 and .317, respectively. Schrock leads the Falcons in at-bats (83) and has six doubles to match the totals of Raker and Shook. She also has a .458 slugging pct.

• Holliday has a team-leading six stolen bases, and has driven in 10 runs, double her total for all of last season.

• Junior Aspen Searle is hitting .308 with a slugging pct. of .519. She is third on the team in slugging, runs scored (13) and RBI (14).

• Five different pitchers, including two freshmen, have seen action. Junior Briana Combs leads the Falcons with an earned-run average of 3.00, and has allowed opponents to hit just .234 against her. Freshman Kiley Sosby leads the team in wins and opponent batting average. She is 7-3 with a 3.15 ERA, and Falcon foes have hit .233 against her. Sosby has a team-leading 59 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings of work, and has won her last four decisions.

• Freshman Brooke Parker has a 4.69 ERA. She has made a team-high 10 relief appearances, and has appeared in 12 games in the circle overall (Sosby has 13 pitching appearances and Combs 12). Senior Braiden Dillow is 1-2 with a 6.12 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 24 innings, while classmate Katie Turski has appeared in a pair of games in relief.

• A total of 22 different players have seen action, with 18 of those 22 making at least one start.

SCOUTING IPFW
• IPFW has a record of 8-19 on the year, and the Mastodons went 2-1 last weekend at the Hoosier Classic.
• The 'Dons have won five of the last eight games after a 3-16 start to the season.
• In Bloomington, IPFW picked up a 2-1 win over the Falcons on Friday (March 18), then lost to UIC later that day before beating Wright State on Saturday.
• Sophomore Sierra Miranda is hitting .375 with a team-high 30 hits this season to date, while junior Kelley Pevely is batting .287 and has three of the Mastodons' five homers on the year.
• In the circle, senior Sarah Lazarowich is 4-9 with a 3.97 ERA, while sophomore Demitra Burns has a 4-7 record and an ERA of 4.68.
• Head coach Germaine Fairchild welcomed back a total of six letterwinners from a season ago. The 2016 roster features 10 new players, including six transfers.
• Last year, the 'Dons went 3-45 overall and finished 2-16 in the Summit League.

SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
• Northern Illinois enters the week with a overall record of 19-7, and the Huskies have won 11 consecutive games heading into this weekend's series at BGSU.
• Last weekend, Northern won five games – three by shutout – at the Blue/Gold Challenge in Greensboro, N.C. The Huskies' victims included Elon, Robert Morris (twice), George Washington and host UNC Greensboro.
• Senior Emily Naegele was named MAC West Division Player of the Week on Monday (March 21). Naegele is batting .452 on the season, and leads the MAC in home runs (10), RBI (32) and slugging percentage (1.027). She is third in the entire country in the latter category.
• Junior Kali Kossakowski is hitting .408 on the year, and has a team-leading 13 stolen bases, while classmate Kayti Grable is betting .393 with 23 RBI.
• In the circle, four players have thrown at least 23 innings this year. Sophomore Emma Ray has a 1.77 ERA, while classmate Keegan Hayes has a 5-1 record and a 2.79 ERA. Freshman Alex Frenz leads the team in wins (seven), innings pitched (64) and strikeouts (48).
• Last year, head coach Christina Sutcliffe's team finished 28-25 overall and 11-9 in the MAC, placing fourth in the West Division.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons and IPFW are tied, 8-8, in the all-time series between the teams. BGSU won all three meetings last year after the Mastodons swept a pair of games in 2014. But, the 'Dons captured a 2-1 decision in Bloomington over the weekend. In 2015, as is the case this season, the teams met in the Hoosier Classic before playing a doubleheader the following week. Barring inclement weather, the '16 season marks the sixth-straight year that BG will face IPFW at least twice. BGSU is 5-3 at home, 2-4 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site contests vs. the Mastodons.

• BGSU leads Northern Illinois, 24-22, in that series, and the teams have split their two regular-season meetings in each of the last two years. Last season, the Huskies won game one of a DH in DeKalb, 5-3, before the Falcons roared back with a 10-5 win in the nightcap (April 3, 2015). BGSU has played a twinbill at NIU in each of the last three years. The teams have not met at Meserve Field since April 27, 2012, when Northern won a 4-3 opener before BG exploded for a 15-2 victory in the nightcap. The Falcons are 10-6 at home, 9-13 on the road and 5-3 in neutral-site matchups with the Huskies through the years.

FALCON NOTES
• In Friday's IPFW game, junior Haley Schrock batted in the leadoff position for the first time this season. Schrock proceeded to lead off the game with a home run. Then, in the second game of the day, she began the top of the first with a single up the middle.

• Sophomore Kayla Gregory entered the Hoosier Classic with a total of one career hit. She made her first career start in the IPFW game, and was 1-for-3. Then, she had her first two-hit game as a Falcon vs. WIU later that day, adding a walk.

• Gregory added two more hits in Saturday's Michigan State game, completing a three-game stretch in which she went 5-for-12 at the plate.

• Senior Molly Holliday was 6-for-8 over the last two games. She had two hits and two RBI vs. Western Illinois, then was 4-for-5 against MSU the next day.

• Schrock was 3-for-6 in that Michigan State game. It marked her third game of three or more hits this season, tying her for the team lead.

• Senior Marisa Shook and redshirt sophomore Chelsea Raker each have reached base in their last seven games.

• Sunday's Michigan State game saw a pair of school records fall. BGSU's total of 13 runs scored was the Falcons' highest in a loss in school history.

• Additionally, the two-team total of 33 runs in that game also set a school record.

• The Falcons and their opponents have combined for 50 runs over the last two games.

• Sophomore Katee Hinkle has walked six times and had five sacrifice bunts over the last two weekends. Hinkle has seven sac bunts and 13 free passes this season, leading the team in the former and ranking second in the latter. Last year, she walked three times and had two sac bunts.

• Hinkle has reached base nine times in 15 plate appearances (.600) when leading off an inning, while Raker has reached in 8-of-12 such opportunities (a team-leading .667) and Shook in 9-of-18 leadoff chances (.500).

• Raker is batting .452 with runners on base this season, having gone 14-of-31. She is .400 (8-of-20) with runners in scoring position.

• Holliday is hitting .611 with runners in scoring position, having gone 11-of-18 (including 4-of-5 last weekend), while Shook is 13-for-30 (.433) in such situations.

• Opponents are batting just .140 (7-for-50) against junior Briana Combs with two outs this season to date.

• BGSU has been outscored, 28-2, in the first inning this season, but the Falcons have scored 121 runs to the opponents' 92 from the second inning on.

• The Falcons are outscoring opponents by a 35-13 count in the sixth inning.

• Raker leads the Falcons with nine multiple-hit games this season to date, including eight in the last 13 contests.

• Shook, who had a total of one RBI during all of last season, leads the Falcons with six multiple-RBI games this spring. She has a team-high 20 RBI in '16.

• Freshman Kiley Sosby has won her last four decisions. She has four complete games in six starts in the month of March, and leads the Falcons with six complete games on the season.

• Schrock has 27 hits and 38 total bases this season. She is just one hit from matching her total for all of last spring, and has five more total bases this year than in the entire 2015 campaign. Schrock had six doubles in her first two years combined, and has six two-base hits this season.

• Schrock has made starts at four different positions this season to date. She has started 10 games at first base, 10 at third, four at second base and one as the designated player.

• Shook entered the 2016 season with career totals of 13 runs scored, three home runs and 20 RBI. This year to date, she has scored 19 runs, has homered seven times and has driven in 20 runs. She leads the team in all three categories.

COMING UP...
Following this week's five games at Meserve Field, the Falcons will return to the road. BG will begin a seven-game road swing with a non-conference doubleheader at Valparaiso on Tuesday, April 29. Then, the Falcons will play a three-game series at Eastern Michigan, with a single game on Friday, April 1, followed by a twinbill the following day.

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