Bowling Green State University Athletics
Saturday, March 26
Bowling Green, OH
1:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
12-17, 0-2
1
vs
13
Northern Illinois
21-7, 2-0
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Northern Illinois
1
6
0
6
0
13
10
3
Bowling Green
1
0
0
0
0
1
4
1
Molly Holliday (4) scores a first-inning run during Saturday's first game (photo by Paul Duncan)
Huskies Survive Second-Game Squeaker, Secure Saturday Sweep
March 26, 2016 | Softball
NIU escapes with a 2-1 decision in game two
After falling behind early, senior Braiden Dillow and her Bowling Green State University softball teammates fought valiantly, but Northern Illinois University was able to hang on for a 2-1 win in the second game of the teams' Saturday (March 26) doubleheader at Meserve Field.
The win gave the Huskies a sweep of the Mid-American Conference twinbill, as Northern won Saturday's first game by a 13-1 final.
LINKS
GAME ONE STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
GAME TWO STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
PHOTO GALLERY: Paul Duncan, BGSU Athletic Comm.
Dillow allowed a pair of first-inning runs, then gave up just one hit over the final six innings of Saturday's nightcap. She retired 20 of the last 22 batters she faced, including the final 10. After the leadoff batter in the second inning was retired on a fly ball to centerfielder Molly Holliday, Dillow did not allow the Huskies to hit a ball out of the infield the rest of the way.
Dillow finished with a complete-game three-hitter, walking just one batter and striking out five. At the plate, she had two of the Falcons' four hits and scored BG's lone run in Saturday's second game.
The Huskies' Kayti Grable homered in each of Saturday's games, and in all three games in the weekend series, for that matter. She had a grand slam in the opener, and hit a two-run shot in the first inning of the nightcap.
"We knew going into this series that Northern Illinois was a very strong hitting team, they didn't have many holes in their lineup and they have a lot of power," said BGSU head coach Sarah Willis. "Unfortunately, in those first two games from a pitching standpoint, we did not come out on top. We were not strong with our misses, and that's something we will certainly be looking to adjust in our next series.
"In the third game, Braiden Dillow did a great job. She kept it simple, and that's exactly what happens when you hit your spots, you get ahead and you work the process like you need to against good-hitting teams."
Saturday's second game saw NIU starting pitcher Alex Frenz take a no-hitter into the fifth inning, before Dillow drilled the first pitch of that fifth frame for a double to the wall in left-center field. Junior Trista Mokienko laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt on the next pitch, sending Dillow to third. Frenz got the next batter to hit an infield popup for the second out, but senior Marina Cobbs worked her for a walk, and Holliday beat out a slow roller to short for an infield hit, with Dillow crossing the plate.
Frenz, however, got a fielder's choice grounder that resulted in the third out. Then, in the sixth, senior Marisa Shook lined a single through the right side of the Huskie infield, but was erased on a double-play grounder, and sophomore Kayla Gregory's soft liner was caught by NIU shortstop Kali Kossakowski.
Dillow had retired the Huskies on three-straight grounders to the left side of the infield in the fifth, and set down the Huskies on a strikeout (on three pitches) and two grounders to first baseman Haley Schrock in the sixth. The seventh inning saw her get two more ground-ball outs before whiffing Alaynie Woollard to send the game to the bottom of the inning.
Dillow led off with a hit for the second time in three innings, beating out a grounder that was fielded deep in the hole by Kossakowski. Mokienko sacrificed pinch-runner Hannah Giammarino to second, but Frenz got a strikeout, then a grounder to second to preserve the win.
Frenz allowed four hits, walking two batters and striking out six. Both starting pitchers were very efficient, as Dillow faced just 25 batters -- four over the minimum -- and Frenz 28 in the game.
"The mental toughness that Braiden showed today really helped us out," said Willis. "The defense made some good plays behind her, but she lightened the load for us. She did a great job of being strong and being that pillar that our program needs. We are still struggling, as a group, with mental toughness at times, whether it's at the plate, capitalizing on situations, moving runners along or closing out innings when we're on defense. We have to make sure we don't miss opportunities, especially in close games like today's second game."
After winning the opener in decisive fashion, the Huskies started quickly in game two. Kossakowski led off the game by driving a ball to the "BGSU 1993 MAC Champions" sign just right of centerfield, and she wound up on third base. One out later, Grable clubbed a ball over the wall in left-center, and the visitors had a 2-0 lead.
Prior to scoring in the fifth, the Falcons had threatened, with the Huskies' help, in the fourth. Holliday reached on an error to begin the inning, and redshirt sophomore Chelsea Raker hit a grounder toward Kossakowski at short. Her throw to second, however, was high, and BG had two runners aboard. But, another grounder resulted in a fielder's choice, and Frenz struck out the next batter before getting an inning-ending ground ball back to the circle.
In the opening game on Saturday, the teams each scored a first-inning run, before the visitors put six runs on the board in both the second and fourth frames. The Huskies hit three homers in the contest.
The first inning saw Katie Lamich single with one out, steal second and score on Emily Naegele's two-out double. Falcon starter Kiley Sosby bounced back by striking out Jenny Van Geertry on three pitches to retire the side.
BGSU evened the score in the bottom of the first. Holliday beat out a grounder toward shortstop for a single. Then, Raker's hot shot went between the legs of Kossakowski at second base, and also got past leftfielder Lamich. Holliday came all the way around to score on the play, with Raker winding up at second.
The second inning saw Northern take control. Woollard walked with one out, and a single by Bekah Harnish put two runners on base. Sosby whiffed Jessica Rio for the second out, but a walk to Kossakowski loaded the bases, and another base on balls, this time to Lamich, plated Woolard. Then, Grable hit a liner down the left-field line, and the ball just cleared the fence, landing atop the Bowling Green bullpen for a grand slam and a 6-1 lead.
The Falcons threatened in the bottom of the inning. Junior Briana Combs, who had entered the game in relief of Sosby to get the final out in the top of the inning, laced a line-drive single to center in her first at-bat of the season. Giammarino bunted her to second, and with two outs, sophomore Katee Hinkle walked on four pitches. Then, Cobbs singled to center, and Combs rounded third and headed toward the plate as centerfielder Van Geertry picked up the ball and fired it home.
Combs slid into the plate as catcher Naegele fielded the ball and looked to apply the tag. No decision was immediately forthcoming from the plate umpire, and after a lengthy wait and a consultation with another ump, Combs was ruled out to end the inning.
The Huskies exploded for six more runs in the fourth. Kossakowski reached on an error, and Lamich singled. Grable walked to load the bases, and a Naegele grounder produced the first out, but also scored a run. Then, back-to-back base hits by Van Geertry and Haley Wroten plated one run apiece, and Woollard greeted reliever Katie Turski with a homer to left-center to complete the scoring.Â
Lamich was 2-for-2 with a walk and three runs scored in Saturday's first game, while Naegele was 2-for-3 with three runs batted in. Grable scored twice and drove in four, while Kossakowski and Woollard each scored twice.
Emma Ray picked up the win, allowing four hits and an unearned run in four innings. Sosby, the first of three BG pitchers, took the loss to snap a personal four-game win streak for the Brown and Orange.
The Falcons now step outside of MAC play for a midweek twinbill, heading to Western Indiana to face Valparaiso on Tuesday (March 29). First pitch of game one is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Then, BGSU will play a three-game weekend series at Eastern Michigan, with a single game Friday (April 1) and a doubleheader on Saturday (April 2). BGSU's next home game is slated for Friday, April 8, vs. Central Michigan.
"Moving forward, it's going to be important for us to work on things that we're weak on," said Willis. "We need to work on our sharpness -- we need to get all of our pitchers some time and make sure that we're sharper with our corners, our break, and making our pitches. We need to be sharper in terms of our defense coming out and playing fundamental softball. On Tuesday at Valparaiso and in subsequent games, we have to come out strong and look to try to build some momentum. We need to keep working, be aggressive and continue to improve on the things that can really help make a difference, especially in close games like today's second game."
Â
The win gave the Huskies a sweep of the Mid-American Conference twinbill, as Northern won Saturday's first game by a 13-1 final.
LINKS
GAME ONE STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
GAME TWO STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
PHOTO GALLERY: Paul Duncan, BGSU Athletic Comm.
Dillow allowed a pair of first-inning runs, then gave up just one hit over the final six innings of Saturday's nightcap. She retired 20 of the last 22 batters she faced, including the final 10. After the leadoff batter in the second inning was retired on a fly ball to centerfielder Molly Holliday, Dillow did not allow the Huskies to hit a ball out of the infield the rest of the way.
Dillow finished with a complete-game three-hitter, walking just one batter and striking out five. At the plate, she had two of the Falcons' four hits and scored BG's lone run in Saturday's second game.
The Huskies' Kayti Grable homered in each of Saturday's games, and in all three games in the weekend series, for that matter. She had a grand slam in the opener, and hit a two-run shot in the first inning of the nightcap.
"We knew going into this series that Northern Illinois was a very strong hitting team, they didn't have many holes in their lineup and they have a lot of power," said BGSU head coach Sarah Willis. "Unfortunately, in those first two games from a pitching standpoint, we did not come out on top. We were not strong with our misses, and that's something we will certainly be looking to adjust in our next series.
"In the third game, Braiden Dillow did a great job. She kept it simple, and that's exactly what happens when you hit your spots, you get ahead and you work the process like you need to against good-hitting teams."
Saturday's second game saw NIU starting pitcher Alex Frenz take a no-hitter into the fifth inning, before Dillow drilled the first pitch of that fifth frame for a double to the wall in left-center field. Junior Trista Mokienko laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt on the next pitch, sending Dillow to third. Frenz got the next batter to hit an infield popup for the second out, but senior Marina Cobbs worked her for a walk, and Holliday beat out a slow roller to short for an infield hit, with Dillow crossing the plate.
Frenz, however, got a fielder's choice grounder that resulted in the third out. Then, in the sixth, senior Marisa Shook lined a single through the right side of the Huskie infield, but was erased on a double-play grounder, and sophomore Kayla Gregory's soft liner was caught by NIU shortstop Kali Kossakowski.
Dillow had retired the Huskies on three-straight grounders to the left side of the infield in the fifth, and set down the Huskies on a strikeout (on three pitches) and two grounders to first baseman Haley Schrock in the sixth. The seventh inning saw her get two more ground-ball outs before whiffing Alaynie Woollard to send the game to the bottom of the inning.
Dillow led off with a hit for the second time in three innings, beating out a grounder that was fielded deep in the hole by Kossakowski. Mokienko sacrificed pinch-runner Hannah Giammarino to second, but Frenz got a strikeout, then a grounder to second to preserve the win.
Frenz allowed four hits, walking two batters and striking out six. Both starting pitchers were very efficient, as Dillow faced just 25 batters -- four over the minimum -- and Frenz 28 in the game.
"The mental toughness that Braiden showed today really helped us out," said Willis. "The defense made some good plays behind her, but she lightened the load for us. She did a great job of being strong and being that pillar that our program needs. We are still struggling, as a group, with mental toughness at times, whether it's at the plate, capitalizing on situations, moving runners along or closing out innings when we're on defense. We have to make sure we don't miss opportunities, especially in close games like today's second game."
After winning the opener in decisive fashion, the Huskies started quickly in game two. Kossakowski led off the game by driving a ball to the "BGSU 1993 MAC Champions" sign just right of centerfield, and she wound up on third base. One out later, Grable clubbed a ball over the wall in left-center, and the visitors had a 2-0 lead.
Prior to scoring in the fifth, the Falcons had threatened, with the Huskies' help, in the fourth. Holliday reached on an error to begin the inning, and redshirt sophomore Chelsea Raker hit a grounder toward Kossakowski at short. Her throw to second, however, was high, and BG had two runners aboard. But, another grounder resulted in a fielder's choice, and Frenz struck out the next batter before getting an inning-ending ground ball back to the circle.
In the opening game on Saturday, the teams each scored a first-inning run, before the visitors put six runs on the board in both the second and fourth frames. The Huskies hit three homers in the contest.
The first inning saw Katie Lamich single with one out, steal second and score on Emily Naegele's two-out double. Falcon starter Kiley Sosby bounced back by striking out Jenny Van Geertry on three pitches to retire the side.
BGSU evened the score in the bottom of the first. Holliday beat out a grounder toward shortstop for a single. Then, Raker's hot shot went between the legs of Kossakowski at second base, and also got past leftfielder Lamich. Holliday came all the way around to score on the play, with Raker winding up at second.
The second inning saw Northern take control. Woollard walked with one out, and a single by Bekah Harnish put two runners on base. Sosby whiffed Jessica Rio for the second out, but a walk to Kossakowski loaded the bases, and another base on balls, this time to Lamich, plated Woolard. Then, Grable hit a liner down the left-field line, and the ball just cleared the fence, landing atop the Bowling Green bullpen for a grand slam and a 6-1 lead.
The Falcons threatened in the bottom of the inning. Junior Briana Combs, who had entered the game in relief of Sosby to get the final out in the top of the inning, laced a line-drive single to center in her first at-bat of the season. Giammarino bunted her to second, and with two outs, sophomore Katee Hinkle walked on four pitches. Then, Cobbs singled to center, and Combs rounded third and headed toward the plate as centerfielder Van Geertry picked up the ball and fired it home.
Combs slid into the plate as catcher Naegele fielded the ball and looked to apply the tag. No decision was immediately forthcoming from the plate umpire, and after a lengthy wait and a consultation with another ump, Combs was ruled out to end the inning.
The Huskies exploded for six more runs in the fourth. Kossakowski reached on an error, and Lamich singled. Grable walked to load the bases, and a Naegele grounder produced the first out, but also scored a run. Then, back-to-back base hits by Van Geertry and Haley Wroten plated one run apiece, and Woollard greeted reliever Katie Turski with a homer to left-center to complete the scoring.Â
Lamich was 2-for-2 with a walk and three runs scored in Saturday's first game, while Naegele was 2-for-3 with three runs batted in. Grable scored twice and drove in four, while Kossakowski and Woollard each scored twice.
Emma Ray picked up the win, allowing four hits and an unearned run in four innings. Sosby, the first of three BG pitchers, took the loss to snap a personal four-game win streak for the Brown and Orange.
The Falcons now step outside of MAC play for a midweek twinbill, heading to Western Indiana to face Valparaiso on Tuesday (March 29). First pitch of game one is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Then, BGSU will play a three-game weekend series at Eastern Michigan, with a single game Friday (April 1) and a doubleheader on Saturday (April 2). BGSU's next home game is slated for Friday, April 8, vs. Central Michigan.
"Moving forward, it's going to be important for us to work on things that we're weak on," said Willis. "We need to work on our sharpness -- we need to get all of our pitchers some time and make sure that we're sharper with our corners, our break, and making our pitches. We need to be sharper in terms of our defense coming out and playing fundamental softball. On Tuesday at Valparaiso and in subsequent games, we have to come out strong and look to try to build some momentum. We need to keep working, be aggressive and continue to improve on the things that can really help make a difference, especially in close games like today's second game."
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: RAY, Emma (3-0)
L: Sosby, Kiley (7-4)
Batting:
2B: NAEGELE, Emily 1
HR: GRABLE, Kayti 1 ; NAEGELE, Emily 1 ; WOOLLARD, Alaynie 1
RBI: LAMICH, Katie 1 ; GRABLE, Kayti 4 ; NAEGELE, Emily 3 ; VAN GEERTRY, Jenny 1 ; WROTEN, Haley 1 ; WOOLLARD, Alaynie 3
Base Running:
RUNS: KOSSAKOWSKI, Kali 2 ; LAMICH, Katie 3 ; GRABLE, Kayti 2 ; NAEGELE, Emily 1 ; VAN GEERTRY, Jenny 1 ; WROTEN, Haley 1 ; WOOLLARD, Alaynie 2 ; HARNISH, Bekah 1
SB: LAMICH, Katie 1 ; VAN GEERTRY, Jenny 1 ; WOOLLARD, Alaynie 1
HBP: RIO, Jessica 1
Batting:
SH: Giammarino, Hannah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Holliday, Molly 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ SoftballP
/ Softball
P/Util.
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
SS/2B
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
3B/1B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P/Util.
/ Softball
P
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