BGSU Meets Michigan Tuesday in Ann Arbor

Tuesday, March 21

Ann Arbor, MI

4:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

#19 Michigan

Laine Simmons v Tiffin - Oct 2016 - Paul Duncan photo

Laine Simmons was 2-for-2 with a walk vs. UIC Sunday afternoon (Paul Duncan photo)

March 20, 2017 | Softball

The Falcons face the nationally-ranked Wolverines prior to beginning MAC play this weekend

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

• The Bowling Green State University softball team hits the road to face the nationally-ranked University of Michigan on Tuesday (March 21). The Falcons and Wolverines will meet in a 4:00 p.m. single game at the Wilpon Complex in Ann Arbor, Mich.

• Then, head coach Sarah Willis and the Falcons will begin Mid-American Conference play with six-straight road games over the next two weekends. The Brown and Orange will begin conference action with a three-game series against Central Michigan University this weekend in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

• The Falcons are in the midst of a season-opening stretch of 37 consecutive games away from home.

BGSU AT No. 19 MICHIGAN • March 21 • 4:00 p.m. ET • Ann Arbor, Mich.
(live stats will be available for Tuesday's game, with the link available right here at BGSUFalcons.com on game day)

NOTING THE FALCONS
• The Falcons are 14-16 on the season. After going 5-2 on the team's spring break trip to Kentucky and Mississippi, the Orange and Brown dropped four games at the Hoosier Classic in Bloomington, Ind., over the weekend. Sunday's (March 19) narrow losses included a 4-1 setback to UIC and a 1-0 loss to host Indiana.

• Redshirt juniors Chelsea Raker and Aspen Searle hit .455 and .364, respectively, at the Hoosier Classic. Raker, a first baseman, went 5-for-11 at the plate, with a double, a homer and a slugging percentage of .818. Searle's 4-for-11 performance included her team-leading 12th two-base hit of the year.

• Searle, last week's MAC East Division Player of the Week, is tied for third in the entire nation in doubles, while Raker is deadlocked for sixth with 11 doubles on the season.

• BGSU is 2-8 in true road games and 12-8 in neutral-site contests this year, heading into Tuesday's contest at Michigan. Raker and Searle are batting .398 and .371, respectively, this season to date.

• Raker has team-leading totals of five homers, 27 runs batted in and 61 total bases, while Searle is second on the Falcons in all three categories. Searle, a shortstop, has three round-trippers, 22 RBI and 57 total bases through 30 games.

• Sophomore LF Alex Sorgi is hitting .319 and leas the Falcons in runs (26), walks (20) and stolen bases (11).

• Sorgi saw her streak of consecutive games reaching base snapped at 14 in Sunday's first contest, then began a new streak with two hits in the second game of the day. Searle has reached base in each of the last 12 games.

• Three sophomores have three or more wins apiece in the circle. Meredith Miller had a 7-3 record and a 2.86 earned-run average. In addition to wins and ERA, Miller leads the Falcons in innings pitched (71), strikeouts (62) and complete-game shutouts (two).

• Sophomores Brooke Parker and Kiley Sosby have three wins apiece. Parker has thrown 68 2/3 innings and has a 3.47 ERA, 36 strikeouts and a save. Sosby is 3-3 with a 3.72 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 32 innings. She has allowed opponents to hit just .164 against her.

• Five players – Raker, Searle, Sorgi, senior 3B Haley Schrock and sophomore CF Hannah Giammarino – have started all 30 games, while freshman RF Kendyl Wheeler has made 28 and junior 2B Katee Hinkle 20. The catching platoon of junior Laine Simmons and freshman Logan Everett each have started 17 times.

• The Falcons stole a total of 23 bases in 28 attempts last year. This season, through 30 games, BG has 28 steals in 33 attempts. No BG player stole more than seven bases a year ago, but Sorgi is a perfect 11-for-11 this season to date.

• BGSU had a double-digit hit total nine times during the entire 2016 campaign (54 games), but BG has had 10 or more hits seven times this season to date.

• Head coach Sarah Willis and her staff – assistant coaches Katie Reiff and Lauren Gambone, volunteer assistant Lyndsey Clark and alumnae coordinator Kolleen Kopchak – welcomed back 12 letterwinners, including five starters, from a year ago.

• BGSU was picked to finish sixth in the Mid-American Conference East Division according to the MAC's preseason coaches' poll.

A QUICK LOOK AT MICHIGAN
• Michigan is 17-7-1 on the season, heading into Tuesday's scheduled game with the Falcons. The Wolverines, ranked No. 19 in the nation last week, swept MAC East Division preseason favorite Kent State in a three-game series over the weekend. The Wolverines captured a 2-0 decision on Saturday, then won by scores of 11-3 (6 innings) and 3-0 in a Sunday twinbill at the Wilpon Complex.

• Kelly Christner is hitting .452 with an on-base percentage of .556. She leads the Wolverines in both categories along with walks (16), runs (24) and RBI (20). Abby Ramirez and Natalie Peters are hitting .368 and .348, respectively, with Faith Canfield batting .342.

• Megan Betsa is 8-5 with a 1.69 ERA and 164 strikeouts in 91 1/3 innings of work, while Tera Blanco is 9-2 with a 2.21 ERA. Blanco was last week's Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, and Betsa threw a no-hitter, striking out 17, in Saturday's win over KSU.

• Head coach Carol Hutchins, the winningest coach in NCAA softball history, welcomed back 17 letterwinners, including three All-Americans (Betsa, Blanco and Christner) from last year's team. The 2016 Wolverines went 52-7 overall, won the Big Ten Conference title and advanced to the NCAA Women's College World Series for the second-straight season.

• Sunday's first win over KSU was the 1,500th career win for Hutchins. She is now 1,501-485-5 in her 33rd season at the Michigan helm and her 34th overall year as a collegiate head coach.

THE SERIES
• BGSU trails Michigan, 30-4, in the all-time series between the teams. The most recent meeting was an 8-1 Wolverine win two years ago (March 18, 2015) in Ann Arbor. BG's last victory vs. Michigan was a 3-1 decision in 2003 at the facility now known as Meserve Field.

COMING UP...
• Following Tuesday's game in Ann Arbor, the Falcons begin the MAC schedule with a three-game series at Central Michigan next Friday and Saturday (March 24-25). The Falcons and Chippewas are scheduled to play a single game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday at Margo Jonker Stadium.

FINAL FUN FACT
• The Falcons are scheduled to face two of the five winningest active coaches in NCAA Division I. Michigan's Carol Hutchins, as mentioned, is the winningest coach in NCAA softball history, with 1,501 career victories. CMU's Margo Jonker enters the week with 1,021 career victories, ranked fifth among active Division I coaches.