Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, February 17
Charlotte, NC
10:00 AM
Bowling Green State University
4
vs
6
Canisius
Sophomore Alex Sorgi had 3 hits on Friday, scoring 2 runs in the opener (Paul Duncan photo)
BG's Comeback Bids Fall Just Short vs. Canisius, Charlotte
February 17, 2017 | Softball
Searle has a pair of hits in both Friday games
A pair of seventh-inning comeback bids fell just short for the Bowling Green State University softball team on Friday (Feb. 17), as the Falcons dropped a pair of two-run decisions at the Charlotte First Pitch Classic. BGSUÂ fell by scores of 6-4 to Canisius and 2-0 to host Charlotte.
The Falcons, now 4-2 on the young season, pounded out eight hits in the opener and nine more in the nightcap. Against Canisius, BGSU scored a seventh-inning run and brought the tying run to the plate, while in the Charlotte game, a pair of seventh-inning hits put the go-ahead run in the batter's box. But, in each case, the opposing pitcher was able to get the final out.
LINKS
BGSU-CANISIUS STATISTICS:Â HTMLÂ |Â PDF
BGSU-CHARLOTTEÂ STATISTICS:Â HTMLÂ |Â PDF
The top-four hitters in the BG batting order accounted for 13 of the Falcons' 17 hits in the two games. Redshirt junior Aspen Searle pounded out a pair of hits in each game, while fellow redshirt junior Chelsea Raker went 3-for-4 in the nightcap. Sophomore Alex Sorgi and freshman Kendyl Wheeler each were 2-for-4 vs. Canisius, and both Sorgi and Wheeler added a third hit in the Charlotte contest.
"We had an opportunity to win game one and came up short," said BGSU head coach Sarah Willis. "Our offensive production was great for an inning, but we will need to consistently put pressure on defenses if we are to come out on top. I thought we hit well in game two against Charlotte, but we could not come up with the clutch hits needed to push the runs across the plate.
"Our pitching had some ups and downs today. Tomorrow we will focus more on situational pitching which will enhance our consistency in the circle. I am optimistic in our approach for the games tomorrow."
In Friday's opener, Canisius threatened in the second inning, loading the bases against senior Briana Combs. Cassie Ho was hit by a pitch, but was caught trying to steal second, as freshman catcher Logan Everett fired the ball down to shortstop Searle. On the ninth pitch of her at-bat, however, Destiny Holani doubled to left, and a Sydney Kreimann single put runners at the corners with two outs. Then, Morgan Altman walked to load the bases, but Combs got Lindsey Silfer, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year, to hit a fly ball down the left-field line, with Sorgi making the catch in foul ground for out number three.
In the third, the Golden Griffins took the lead when Ashley Barnett led off with a double, took third on Lauren Castro's grounder and scored on a single by Moriah Harris. That run ended a shutout streak of 20 2/3 innings for BGSU pitching.
With two outs, Ho doubled to plate Denver Keller, who had reached on a fielder's choice that erased Harris. The Griffins had a 2-0 lead after three innings.
Meanwhile, Canisius starting pitcher Madi Weathers allowed only one baserunner over the first three innings, on a walk to Raker in the second frame. Pinch-runner Taylor Blevins advanced to second on a wild pitch, but was stranded there.
In the Falcon fourth, Wheeler picked up BG's first hit of the day with a leadoff single. She promptly stole second, then advanced to third on a groundout. But, Weathers got a pair of infield popups to escape the jam.
Combs set down the Golden Griffins in order in the home half of the fourth, and the BG offense then scored three times in the fifth, all after the first two batters were retired. Hannah Giammarino got things started with a bunt single, and junior Katie Hinkle drew a walk. Giammarino stole third to put runners at the corners, and the sophomore scored when Sorgi singled through the left side of the Canisius infield.
Wheeler singled to center to load the bases, and Searle followed with a base hit of her own, plating both Sorgi and Hinkle to give the Falcons a 3-2 lead.
But, in the bottom of the inning, the Golden Griffin's retook the lead. Barnett singled, and one out later, a Harris base hit put runners at first and second. Sophomore Meredith Miller replaced Combs in the circle, and struck out Keller on a 3-2 pitch for the second out. But, Ho hit a three-run homer to give Canisius the lead. Miller fanned Holani for the third out of the inning, but CC had a 5-3 advantage.
Everett doubled with two down in the sixth, but Weathers got a ground ball for the third out. And, Kreimann led off the bottom of the inning with a solo homer to make it a three-run game.
In the seventh, Sorgi singled off of Castro, who had come on in relief of Weathers, with one out. Sorgi took second on Wheeler's grounder, and came around to score on Searle's double to left. But, Castro was able to get another grounder to end the inning, and the game.
Ho was 2-for-2 with four RBI for the Golden Griffins, who had 10 hits to BG's eight, while Barnett and Kreimann also had two hits apiece. For the Falcons, Sorgi, Wheeler and Searle all went 2-for-4, with Searle driving in three runs and Sorgi scoring two.
In the Charlotte game, the Falcons got three hits from Raker and two from Searle, while four of their teammates had one hit each. But, Erin Powers' two hits for the 49ers included a solo homer, and she drove in Charlotte's other run as well.
Charlotte's Haley Wiseman worked out of trouble all day long, walking two Falcons as well as allowing nine hits, but she was able to keep the Falcons off of the scoreboard.
The top of the first saw BGSU string together three consecutive base hits after two were out. Searle singled through the right side of the infield, and Raker's infield hit put runners at first and second. Senior Haley Schrock followed with an infield hit of her own on a grounder toward shortstop Haley Pace. Pace threw to third base, but the throw was too late to get Searle. But, Searle rounded third base, and attempted to get back to the bag ahead of a tag attempt by third baseman Grace Beatty. The base umpire ruled that Searle had beaten the tag attempt, but upon appeal, the plate umpire called her out, ending the inning.
Powers homered with one out in the second, giving the 49ers the lead for good, and BGSU starter Kiley Sosby threw three-straight balls to the next batter, Meredith Harris. But, the Falcon sophomore battled back to strike Harris out, then got Lizzy Birch to hit a lazy fly ball to center on the next pitch.
In the third, Wheeler struck out, but reached base safely when the pitch got away from the catcher. And, Searle singled to left to put two runners aboard with two down. With Raker at the plate, Wiseman bounced a pitch toward home, but catcher Becca Shipper was able to grab the ball and cut down Wheeler attempting to take third.
The bottom of the third saw Spenser Gray lead off with a base hit, but on the very next pitch, Gray was picked off, as catcher Laine Simmons fired a strike to first base, where Raker applied the tag. A hit-by-pitch later in the inning provided another Charlotte runner, but that runner did no further damage.
Raker led off the fourth with a double to center, and a one-out chopper by junior Kayla Gregory gave BG a pair of runners. With two down, Giammarino walked to load the bases, but Wiseman struck out the next batter to retire the side.
Charlotte doubled the lead in the home half of the fourth, as Pace doubled, took third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a Powers single.
BG once again threatened in the fifth. Sorgi walked and took second on a grounder by Wheeler. With two down, Raker's infield hit put runners at the corners, but Schrock's liner was hit directly at the leftfielder for the third out.
Wiseman retired the Falcons in order in the sixth, battling through a pair of long at-bats for the second and third outs. In the seventh, Sorgi beat out a grounder to the right side with one out, and Wheeler's line-drive single put runners at first and second. Searle followed with a fly ball down the right-field line that was caught in foul ground, with Sorgi taking third on the play. But, with runners at the corners, Wiseman got a game-ending popup to secure the win.
Raker, as mentioned, was 3-for-4 in the game, while Searle had her second two-hit game of the day.
Wiseman picked up the complete-game shutout despite facing 10 batters over the minimum. She threw a total of 128 pitches in the victory. Sosby suffered her first loss of the season despite allowing just four hits in five innings of work. Sophomore Brooke Parker pitched an inning of scoreless, one-hit relief.
The Falcons will return to the diamond for two more games in the Charlotte First Pitch Classic on Saturday (Feb. 18), beginning with a 10:00 a.m. contest vs. St. Bonaventure. Then, BGSU will play an opponent to be determined later Saturday afternoon, with that game starting at either 2:30 or 4:45 p.m.
CHARLOTTE FIRST PITCH CLASSIC
FRIDAY'S RESULTS
Canisius 6, Bowling Green 4
St. Bonaventure 3, Canisius 2
Charlotte 2, Bowling Green 0
Charlotte 4, St. Bonaventure 1
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The Falcons, now 4-2 on the young season, pounded out eight hits in the opener and nine more in the nightcap. Against Canisius, BGSU scored a seventh-inning run and brought the tying run to the plate, while in the Charlotte game, a pair of seventh-inning hits put the go-ahead run in the batter's box. But, in each case, the opposing pitcher was able to get the final out.
LINKS
BGSU-CANISIUS STATISTICS:Â HTMLÂ |Â PDF
BGSU-CHARLOTTEÂ STATISTICS:Â HTMLÂ |Â PDF
The top-four hitters in the BG batting order accounted for 13 of the Falcons' 17 hits in the two games. Redshirt junior Aspen Searle pounded out a pair of hits in each game, while fellow redshirt junior Chelsea Raker went 3-for-4 in the nightcap. Sophomore Alex Sorgi and freshman Kendyl Wheeler each were 2-for-4 vs. Canisius, and both Sorgi and Wheeler added a third hit in the Charlotte contest.
"We had an opportunity to win game one and came up short," said BGSU head coach Sarah Willis. "Our offensive production was great for an inning, but we will need to consistently put pressure on defenses if we are to come out on top. I thought we hit well in game two against Charlotte, but we could not come up with the clutch hits needed to push the runs across the plate.
"Our pitching had some ups and downs today. Tomorrow we will focus more on situational pitching which will enhance our consistency in the circle. I am optimistic in our approach for the games tomorrow."
In Friday's opener, Canisius threatened in the second inning, loading the bases against senior Briana Combs. Cassie Ho was hit by a pitch, but was caught trying to steal second, as freshman catcher Logan Everett fired the ball down to shortstop Searle. On the ninth pitch of her at-bat, however, Destiny Holani doubled to left, and a Sydney Kreimann single put runners at the corners with two outs. Then, Morgan Altman walked to load the bases, but Combs got Lindsey Silfer, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year, to hit a fly ball down the left-field line, with Sorgi making the catch in foul ground for out number three.
In the third, the Golden Griffins took the lead when Ashley Barnett led off with a double, took third on Lauren Castro's grounder and scored on a single by Moriah Harris. That run ended a shutout streak of 20 2/3 innings for BGSU pitching.
With two outs, Ho doubled to plate Denver Keller, who had reached on a fielder's choice that erased Harris. The Griffins had a 2-0 lead after three innings.
Meanwhile, Canisius starting pitcher Madi Weathers allowed only one baserunner over the first three innings, on a walk to Raker in the second frame. Pinch-runner Taylor Blevins advanced to second on a wild pitch, but was stranded there.
In the Falcon fourth, Wheeler picked up BG's first hit of the day with a leadoff single. She promptly stole second, then advanced to third on a groundout. But, Weathers got a pair of infield popups to escape the jam.
Combs set down the Golden Griffins in order in the home half of the fourth, and the BG offense then scored three times in the fifth, all after the first two batters were retired. Hannah Giammarino got things started with a bunt single, and junior Katie Hinkle drew a walk. Giammarino stole third to put runners at the corners, and the sophomore scored when Sorgi singled through the left side of the Canisius infield.
Wheeler singled to center to load the bases, and Searle followed with a base hit of her own, plating both Sorgi and Hinkle to give the Falcons a 3-2 lead.
But, in the bottom of the inning, the Golden Griffin's retook the lead. Barnett singled, and one out later, a Harris base hit put runners at first and second. Sophomore Meredith Miller replaced Combs in the circle, and struck out Keller on a 3-2 pitch for the second out. But, Ho hit a three-run homer to give Canisius the lead. Miller fanned Holani for the third out of the inning, but CC had a 5-3 advantage.
Everett doubled with two down in the sixth, but Weathers got a ground ball for the third out. And, Kreimann led off the bottom of the inning with a solo homer to make it a three-run game.
In the seventh, Sorgi singled off of Castro, who had come on in relief of Weathers, with one out. Sorgi took second on Wheeler's grounder, and came around to score on Searle's double to left. But, Castro was able to get another grounder to end the inning, and the game.
Ho was 2-for-2 with four RBI for the Golden Griffins, who had 10 hits to BG's eight, while Barnett and Kreimann also had two hits apiece. For the Falcons, Sorgi, Wheeler and Searle all went 2-for-4, with Searle driving in three runs and Sorgi scoring two.
In the Charlotte game, the Falcons got three hits from Raker and two from Searle, while four of their teammates had one hit each. But, Erin Powers' two hits for the 49ers included a solo homer, and she drove in Charlotte's other run as well.
Charlotte's Haley Wiseman worked out of trouble all day long, walking two Falcons as well as allowing nine hits, but she was able to keep the Falcons off of the scoreboard.
The top of the first saw BGSU string together three consecutive base hits after two were out. Searle singled through the right side of the infield, and Raker's infield hit put runners at first and second. Senior Haley Schrock followed with an infield hit of her own on a grounder toward shortstop Haley Pace. Pace threw to third base, but the throw was too late to get Searle. But, Searle rounded third base, and attempted to get back to the bag ahead of a tag attempt by third baseman Grace Beatty. The base umpire ruled that Searle had beaten the tag attempt, but upon appeal, the plate umpire called her out, ending the inning.
Powers homered with one out in the second, giving the 49ers the lead for good, and BGSU starter Kiley Sosby threw three-straight balls to the next batter, Meredith Harris. But, the Falcon sophomore battled back to strike Harris out, then got Lizzy Birch to hit a lazy fly ball to center on the next pitch.
In the third, Wheeler struck out, but reached base safely when the pitch got away from the catcher. And, Searle singled to left to put two runners aboard with two down. With Raker at the plate, Wiseman bounced a pitch toward home, but catcher Becca Shipper was able to grab the ball and cut down Wheeler attempting to take third.
The bottom of the third saw Spenser Gray lead off with a base hit, but on the very next pitch, Gray was picked off, as catcher Laine Simmons fired a strike to first base, where Raker applied the tag. A hit-by-pitch later in the inning provided another Charlotte runner, but that runner did no further damage.
Raker led off the fourth with a double to center, and a one-out chopper by junior Kayla Gregory gave BG a pair of runners. With two down, Giammarino walked to load the bases, but Wiseman struck out the next batter to retire the side.
Charlotte doubled the lead in the home half of the fourth, as Pace doubled, took third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a Powers single.
BG once again threatened in the fifth. Sorgi walked and took second on a grounder by Wheeler. With two down, Raker's infield hit put runners at the corners, but Schrock's liner was hit directly at the leftfielder for the third out.
Wiseman retired the Falcons in order in the sixth, battling through a pair of long at-bats for the second and third outs. In the seventh, Sorgi beat out a grounder to the right side with one out, and Wheeler's line-drive single put runners at first and second. Searle followed with a fly ball down the right-field line that was caught in foul ground, with Sorgi taking third on the play. But, with runners at the corners, Wiseman got a game-ending popup to secure the win.
Raker, as mentioned, was 3-for-4 in the game, while Searle had her second two-hit game of the day.
Wiseman picked up the complete-game shutout despite facing 10 batters over the minimum. She threw a total of 128 pitches in the victory. Sosby suffered her first loss of the season despite allowing just four hits in five innings of work. Sophomore Brooke Parker pitched an inning of scoreless, one-hit relief.
The Falcons will return to the diamond for two more games in the Charlotte First Pitch Classic on Saturday (Feb. 18), beginning with a 10:00 a.m. contest vs. St. Bonaventure. Then, BGSU will play an opponent to be determined later Saturday afternoon, with that game starting at either 2:30 or 4:45 p.m.
CHARLOTTE FIRST PITCH CLASSIC
FRIDAY'S RESULTS
Canisius 6, Bowling Green 4
St. Bonaventure 3, Canisius 2
Charlotte 2, Bowling Green 0
Charlotte 4, St. Bonaventure 1
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Players Mentioned
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OF
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