Falcons Sweep Eagles in Friday Twinbill in Ypsi

Friday, April 1

Ypsilanti, MI

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

13-20, 1-3

Eastern Michigan

12-18, 2-2

Bowling Green

Eastern Michigan

Marisa Shook had 5 hits & 5 RBI in Friday's sweep

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

April 01, 2016 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Shook leads the way with five hits & five RBI

By: YPSILANTI, Mich. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University softball team used a late rally to win Friday's (April 1) first game, then held off a comeback bid by host Eastern Michigan University in the second game. It all added up to a doubleheader sweep, as the Falcons topped the Eagles by scores of 8-1 and 5-4. The Mid-American Conference twinbill was held at Varsity Field.

Senior Marisa Shook led the way for the Falcons (14-20, 2-3 MAC). Shook was locked in at the plate, going 5-for-7 with a walk in the two wins. Three of her five hits were run-scoring doubles.

GAME ONE STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
GAME TWO STATISTICS: HTML | PDF

Shook led a balanced attack, as a total of seven different players had at least two hits on the day. Seniors Marina Cobbs and Braiden Dillow and sophomore Kayla Gregory had three hits apiece, while junior Haley Schrock, sophomore Katee Hinkle and redshirt soph Chelsea Raker each had two hits.

Schrock reached base five times on Friday, being hit by a pitch in each game and drawing a walk, while Hinkle walked twice in addition to her two hits. Raker hit a line-drive home run that cleared the left-field fence in what seemed like a split second.

In the circle, Dillow threw a complete-game five-hitter in the opener, while freshman Kiley Sosby got the win in the second game, allowing just one run through six innings. After the Eagles (12-19, 2-3 MAC) put three runs on the board in the seventh, freshman Brooke Parker came on to get the final out and earn the first save of her collegiate career.

"Overall I was very pleased with the performance today," said BGSU coach Sarah Willis. "Defensively, offensively, and in the circle, it was great to see everyone on the same page. It's been a while since we all have played as a cohesive unit like that.

"Braiden did a phenomenal job on the mound in the first game, and also had a nice day at the plate. Kiley Sosby had a really strong six innings before struggling in the seventh. She's still working on a few things as far as staying consistent throughout the entire game, but overall she had a good performance. And then Brooke Parker came in at the end, faced a tough hitter and was smart with her, before getting the final out in our second win."

Shook increased her team-leading totals to 10 doubles and 27 RBI this season.

"It was great to see Shook have such a noteworthy day at the plate today," said Willis. "She's been a little up and down lately, and it was great to see her find her way back to where she started the season. She really picked up the team and was clutch all day."

The Eagles looked to draw first blood in Friday's opener, as Lucy Lopez led off with an infield hit, and Olivia Logan laid down a bunt and reached on a BG error. The hosts had two runners aboard with no outs, but Dillow and the Falcons responded. Dillow got Abi Clark to hit a fly ball to center, and when Lopez attempted to tag up and advance to third, BG centerfielder Molly Holliday threw her out by two steps for a double play. Then, Amanda Akles hit a soft liner that second baseman Gregory gloved for the third out.

Dillow retired the Eagles in order in the second, but EMU starter Nicolle Miranda was perfect through three innings, allowing only one ball to leave the infield during that time. That ball was a drive by Shook, who was 3-for-4 in the opener. Her only out of the game was a fly ball that reached the warning track in dead center.

The Eagles indeed got on the board in the third. Brandice Olmos led off with a single up the middle, and a sac bunt by Taylor Wagner sent pinch-runner Elaine Whitbeck to second. A grounder by Lopez sent the runner to third, and she scored on a two-out wild pitch. Shortstop Hinkle made one of her several sparkling defensive plays on the day, going into the hole to grab a grounder by Logan and making the lone throw to first in time to retire the side.

The Falcons tied the score in the fourth. Cobbs beat out a chopper to short, then took second on Holliday's grounder. Holliday was nearly safe herself, as EMU second baseman Olmos looked to second before throwing to first just in time to get the out. A strikeout produced the second out, but Shook lined a ball to left-center that hit the fench on one hop. Cobbs scored easily to make it a 1-1 game. Schrock was plunked by a pitch to put two runners on base, but another strikeout ended the inning.

Michelle Kriegshauser gave a ball a ride in the home half of the fourth, as her liner split two fielders and landed near the fence in left-center for a triple, but Dillow got Mady Hostetler to hit a grounder to Schrock at third base for the third out.

Both teams put a runner on base, but could not score, in the fifth. Dillow led off with a single, but a fielder's choice and a double-play ball ended that half inning. Dillow returned to the circle and worked around a two-out walk to Wagner, getting a harmless grounder by Lopez for the third out.

In the sixth, Cobbs led off with her second hit of the game. She was forced at second on a grounder by Holliday, but Holliday advanced to second on a passed ball. Miranda got a popup to short for the second out, but Shook lined a ball over EMU centerfielder Mady Hostetler for a double that scored Holliday with what proved to be the winning run.

Dillow set down the Eagles in order in the sixth, and the Falcons broke the game wide open in the seventh. BG sent 12 batters to the plate, scoring six runs when all was said and done. Dillow reached base twice in the inning, drawing a walk before lining a single up the middle.

Gregory led off the inning with a single to center, and Dillow crushed the next pitch over the left-field fence, but just foul. She wound up working Miranda for a walk, and when sophomore Morgan Evangelista's drive was just out of reach of EMU leftfielder Lopez, Gregory scored as Dillow took second on the long single.

The Eagles made a pitching change, and Hinkle greeted Trisha Trujillo with a cue shot that was just over the first baseman's glove and landed in the front of the grass, just beyond the infield inside the right-field line. The bases were loaded. A grounder produced the first out of the inning, as Dillow was forced at the plate, but back-to-back errors then opened the floodgates.

EMU's only two errors all day came in the next two at-bats. First, Holliday hit a grounder to first baseman Logan. Holliday stopped in her tracks in the basepath, and Logan fired home, but her throw was wide of catcher Wagner. Everyone was safe on the play, and pinch-runner Alex Sorgi scored the Falcons' fourth run of the game.

Then, Raker's grounder was fielded by Akles at third. She threw home, but Wagner was unable to handle the throw. Hinkle and Cobbs both scored on the play. Then, Shook lined a single to right to plate Holliday, and Schrock singled to reload the bases. A fielder's choice retired Raker at the plate, but Dillow lined a ball up the middle. Second baseman Olmos made a diving stop, but her throw to second was not in time to beat Gregory, and Shook scored BG's sixth run of the inning.

Trujillo finally retired the side on an infield popup, but the damage had been done. In the bottom of the seventh, singles by Kriegshauser and Mady Hostetler put two runners on base with one out, but Dillow got Olmos and Wagner to hit infield popups to close out the win.

Shook, as mentioned, was 3-for-4 in the win, driving in three teammates. Cobbs and Dillow each had two hits, with Cobbs and Holliday both scoring twice. The Falcons outhit the Eagles, 11-5, in game one. Kriegshauser led the hosts with a pair of hits in the opener.

Dillow allowed one run and five hits in the circle, walking one batter and striking out two. She threw 56 of her 87 pitches for strikes to improve her second to 3-4 on the year.

Miranda took the loss, allowing five runs – three earned – and seven hits in six-plus innings. She walked one batter and had five strikeouts. Trujillo allowed three unearned runs and four hits in her inning of work.

In the second game, neither team had a baserunner in the first inning, but Gregory beat out a slow roller for a two-out single in the second. EMU hurler Abbie Minsker, however, got the next batter to hit a ball back to the circle for the third out.

The Eagles got a baserunner to second with no outs in the second, as Akles was hit by a Sosby pitch, and pinch-runner Whitbeck stole second. But, the BG freshman whiffed Kriegshauser and induced Olmos and Haley Hostetler each to hit infield popups.

Eastern got out of a jam in the third. The Falcons left 12 runners on base to EMU's eight in the game, and BG put three runners aboard with one down in that third frame. Hinkle walked, Cobbs lined a single just over the first baseman's glove, and Holliday hit a liner off the glove of lunging third baseman Akles for a single that loaded the bases. Then, Raker hit a sinking liner to center, but Abby Davidson made the catch, then fired to second to double off the runner for the third out.

After getting out of the top of the third unscathed, the hosts took the lead in the bottom of the inning. Davidson singled up the middle, and moved to second on a sac bunt by Wagner. A Myranda Barnes grounder resulted in the second out, but Logan's single to left-center plated Davidson with the game's first run. Clark followed with a single off of Sosby's leg to put runners at first and second, but the freshman pitcher got cleanup hitter Akles to hit a foul pop to Evangelista near the backstop.

BG responded quickly, scoring twice in the fourth. Shook singled up the middle, and as Schrock squared to bunt, she was hit by a Minsker pitch. Gregory lined a single to left to load the bases, but a grounder to shortstop resulted in Shook being forced out at home. The next hitter, Evangelista, was plunked by a pitch, earning an RBI the hard way as Schrock trotted home. Hinkle then lined a ball to right for a run-scoring single, with Gregory crossing the plate. The Eagles got another fielder's choice and a strikeout to avoid further damage, but the Falcons had the lead.

The Falcons increased that lead in the fifth, as Raker crushed a Minsker pitch for a leadoff homer. The line drive went over the fence and under the scoreboard in left, leaving the park in a hurry. BG missed a chance to increase that lead, as Shook and Schrock each walked, and Dillow lined a ball off of Minsker's glove for a single. But, a popup resulted in the second out, and a grounder to third retired the side.

EMU got a fifth-inning baserunner with one out, as Mady Hostetler pinch-hit for Barnes and reached on an infield hit, and Barnes re-entered the game and took second on a passed ball. Logan hit a ball directly at Schrock, however, and Sosby struck out Clark.

In the sixth, Cobbs walked on four pitches, but was cut down at second on a Holliday grounder. Raker, however, lined the next pitch to right for a single, and Shook smashed a low liner that went all the way to the fence in right-center. Shook's fifth hit, and third double, of the day scored both Holliday and pinch-runner Briana Combs, giving the Falcons a 5-1 lead.

And, BG would need every one of those runs. Sosby got out of the sixth before EMU mounted a seventh-inning rally.

First things first, though. In the sixth, a walk to Akles and a single by Olmos put two runners on base with one out. But, after a nine-pitch at-bat, Sosby won the battle with Haley Hostetler, getting a strikeout. Then, Davidson lifted a ball to right-center, but Holliday ranged far to her left and made a diving catch that ended the inning.With two outs and the runners going on contact, Holliday's catch saved at least one run.

The Falcons were retired in the seventh, with Hinkle stranded at second after a one-out walk, The bottom of the inning saw pinch-hitter Aoife Duffy hit a homer to left to cut BG's lead to 5-2. Barnes reached on a grounder deep in the hole at short. Hinkle backhanded the ball, but Barnes was able to beat her long throw to first.

Each of the next two hitters, Barnes and Logan, hit grounders to Hinkle as well, and each time the sophomore fired a strike to classmate Gregory to force the lead runner at second. The next batter, however, was cleanup hitter Akles, and she hit a drive to center that bounced off the top of the fence and over. The two-run homer cut the Falcons' lead to a single run.

Parker entered the game, and Kriegshauser worked her for a walk. But, the Falcon freshman got Olmos to hit a one-hopper back to the circle, grabbing the ball and throwing to Raker at first for the final out.

BG had 11 hits for the second-straight game, with Shook going 2-for-3 and Gregory and Raker both 2-for-4. Shook drove in a pair of runs, and both she and Hinkle reached base three times. Hinkle was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, while Shook had a walk in addition to her two hits.

Eight different Eagles had one hit apiece in the day's second game.

Sosby picked up the win to improve to 8-4 on the season. She allowed four runs and eight hits, walking one batter and striking out six. Parker earned her first career save by getting the final out.

Minsker suffered the loss, allowing three runs and seven hits in four innings. She walked three batters and whiffed two. Trujillo, pitching in her second game of the day, gave up two runs and four hits in three innings, walking a pair and striking out a pair.

"It's always about a sense of urgency with our program," said Willis. "Sometimes we struggle with making adjustments through the lineup. I would like us to continue to work on making adjustments faster off of pitchers, so that it doesn't take us until the third or fourth inning to get going. I thought we did a better job of bunching some hits together in the second game, but we left a lot of runners on base. We will continue to work on making adjustments against the opponent's pitcher as well as bringing some of those baserunners around to score."

The Falcons and Eagles will look to complete their weekend series with a single game on Saturday (April 2). Starting time for the game has been moved up an hour, to 12:00 p.m., at Varsity Field.