It's a Sunday Sweep in Nashville

Sunday, March 18

Nashville, TN

12:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

15-10

IUPUI

4-14

Bowling Green

IUPUI

Laine Simmons v Miami - Apr 4 2017 G1 - Amanda Cutcher photo

Laine Simmons doubled to lead off the 5th, then homered to begin the 7th inning vs. Lipscomb

March 18, 2018 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Falcons forge ahead with late-game rallies to top IUPUI, Lipscomb

By: NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University closed out a weekend trip to Nashville, Tenn., with a Sunday (March 18) sweep. The Falcons defeated IUPUI, 4-3, before topping host Lipscomb by a 6-3 final at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium.

With the wins, the Falcons are now 16-10 on the season, and BGSU went 3-1 in the weekend's four games in Nashville.

LINKS
BGSU-IUPUI STATISTICS: PDF
BGSU-LIPSCOMB STATISTICS: PDF

Both games were tied more than halfway through, but BGSU used a two-run fifth inning to break a 2-2 deadlock vs. the Jaguars in the day's first game. Then, the Orange and Brown got a fifth-inning run to tie the Lady Bisons at 3-3, before homering twice in a three-run seventh inning.

Lipscomb entered the day's action with a 17-6 record on the season, and LU is receiving votes in one of the national top-25 polls this week.

Junior Kaylee Parker homered to lead off the fifth inning vs. IUPUI, giving the Falcons the lead for good, while senior Laine Simmons doubled to begin the fifth frame vs. Lipscomb. Pinch-runner Taylor Blevins came around to score on a single by junior Alex Sorgi that tied the contest, and in the seventh, a leadoff homer by Simmons and a two-out, two-run shot by fellow senior Aspen Searle proved to be the difference.

QUOTING COACH WILLIS
"The team had a solid day at the plate in today's two games. We had timely hitting when we needed it and overall good execution, situationally. Both (Brooke) Parker and (Meredith) Miller had a good day in the circle, and our defense played well behind them."

SMASHVILLE

BGSU hit four home runs in Sunday's two games, and the Falcons hit a total of nine round-trippers during the four games in Nashville.

HOMER HAPPY

BG now has a total of 26 homers on the season, after hitting 16 during all of last year.
Eight different players have homered at least once this year, compared to six different Falcons in the 2017 campaign.

SUNDAY FUNDAY

The Falcons are now a perfect 6-0 in games played on Sundays this season. BGSU has outscored the opposition, 45-14, in those six games.

BGSU-IUPUI – HOW IT HAPPENED

The Falcons got on the scoreboard early against IUPUI starter Dezirae Leonard. With one out, freshman Sammy Dees was hit by a pitch, and she scampered all the way around to third base on Searle's single to center. Dees scored on junior Kali Holcomb's sacrifice fly.
Junior Brooke Parker set the Jaguars down in order in the bottom of the first, and the Falcons threatened again in the second. Freshman Sarah Gonzalez was plunked by a pitch, and singles by sophomore Logan Everett and junior Hannah Giammarino loaded the bases with one out. But, a fly ball to shallow left and a grounder ended the inning.
BG doubled the lead in the third. Searle drew a leadoff walk, then tagged and advanced to second on Holcomb's fly ball to left. Kaylee Parker's infield hit put runners at the corners, and a sac fly off the bat of junior Kellie Natham plated Searle with the Falcons' second run.
The Jags answered in the bottom of the inning, however, as Sabrina Trevino walked, and a sac bunt sent pinch-runner Maddy Griffin to second. Griffin took third on a groundout and scored on Delilah Wright's single up the middle.
BG threatened, but could not add to the lead, in the fourth. Everett singled, and Alex Sorgi singled with one out, before Dees reached on an error to load the bases. But, a grounder resulted in Everett being forced out at the plate, and a fly ball to center ended the inning.
And, IUPUI quickly tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. Kristin London was hit by a pitch, took second on a grounder and scored on Adison Lorsung's base hit. Lorsung took second base on the throw home, and a single by Trevino put runners at the corners, but Brooke Parker got the next hitter to fly out to right, ending the inning.
The game did not remain tied for long, however, as Kaylee Parker led off the fifth frame with a homer to left-center. Megan Overton replaced Leonard in the circle, and Natham greeted her with a base hit. Blevins entered the game as a pinch runner, and advanced to second on a Gonzalez sac bunt and third on a fly ball by Everett. Then, she scored easily on Giammarino's double down the left-field line, giving the Falcons a 4-2 lead.
In the sixth, Holcomb got as far as third base after being hit by a pitch, but she was stranded there.
The home half of the sixth saw the Jags cut BG's lead in half. With two outs, Overton reached on an error, advancing to second on the play. Then, Lorsung's single to center scored a run and made it a 4-3 game.
Overton allowed a Gonzalez single in the seventh, but BG could not advance the freshman past second base. But, in the bottom of the inning, Brooke Parker retired the Jags in order, on a pair of grounders to second sandwiched around a popup to short.

BGSU-IUPUI STATS & LEADERS

The Falcons outhit IUPUI, 10-5, but BGSU left 12 runners on base compared to five for the Jags.
Three BG players had multiple-hit games. Giammarino was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, while both Everett and Kaylee Parker went 2-for-4. One of Parker's hits was the homer that gave BG the lead for good.
Gonzalez, Natham, Searle and Alex Sorgi each had one hit. Searle also had a walk, while Natham had a sac fly and drove in a run. Gonzalez had a sac bunt and was hit by a pitch, while Sorgi drew a walk.
Lorsung went 2-for-3 for the Jags, driving in a pair of runs.
Brooke Parker picked up the complete-game win to improve to 7-5 on the year. She has matched her win total for all of last season. Parker allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits, walking one and striking out two. She threw 63 of her 101 pitches for strikes.
Leonard suffered the loss, allowing three runs on seven hits before leaving the game one batter into the fifth inning. Overton gave up one run and three hits in her three innings of relief.

BGSU-LIPSCOMB – HOW IT HAPPENED

The Falcons again struck quickly, scoring in the top of the first inning for the second time in as many Sunday games. LU starter Jordan Fortel retired the first two hitters, but Searle singled up the middle before Holcomb clubbed a homer to left, giving BG a 2-0 lead. Kaylee Parker followed with a base hit before Fortel retired the side.
The Lady Bisons responded with a three-run second inning to take the lead. Caitlin Plocheck and Chloe Yeager each singled, and a sacrifice bunt put the runners in scoring position before Peyton Ward doubled to score Plocheck. Yeager came home on a single by Destiny Brewer, and after a walk, Abby Fenichel's grounder resulted in an out at second base, but Ward scored the go-ahead run.
BG got a base hit by Dees in the third and Holcomb in the fourth, but could not score the tying run.
Meanwhile, BG starter Meredith Miller worked out of a jam in the third inning. Sarah Higgins singled, and Yeager was hit by a pitch. A walk to Khayla Green loaded the bases with one down, but Miller proceeded to strike out both Ward and Brewer to retire the side.
Yeager replaced Fortel in the circle for the Lady Bisons to start the fifth inning, and Simmons greeted her with a leadoff double to left-center. Sophomore Kendyl Wheeler walked to send pinch-runner Blevins to second, and Blevins then stole third before coming home on Alex Sorgi's single.
Miller set down the Lady Bisons in order in the fifth, with two strikeouts, and after BG was retired in the sixth, the Falcon junior allowed only a two-out walk in the bottom of the inning before getting another strikeout.
Then, Simmons gave BG the lead for good. The senior, who had led off the fifth inning with the double that produced the game-tying rally, began the seventh with a homer to left. Wheeler reached on an error, and one out later, went to second on freshman Payton Hamm's sac bunt. Then, Searle drove a Yeager offering to left-center for a two-out, two-run homer that gave the Falcons a three-run lead.
Miller retired Lipscomb in order in the bottom of the seventh to lock down the win.

BGSU-LIPSCOMB STATS & LEADERS

The Falcons had a narrow 9-8 edge in the hits department in Sunday's second game. Four of BG's nine hits went for extra bases, including three homers.
Simmons was 2-for-3 with the double that led to the tying run in the fifth inning and the homer that proved to be the game-winning RBI in the seventh.
Holcomb and Searle each went 2-for-4 with a homer. Searle scored two runs, while both players had a pair of RBI.
For the Lady Bisons, Higgins was the lone player with a multi-hit game. She was 2-for-4. Ward had Lipscomb's lone extra-base hit, with a run-scoring double.
Miller earned the complete-game victory to improve to 8-4. She allowed three runs and eight hits, walking three batters and striking out seven. Miller threw 127 total pitches, including 81 strikes.
After loading the bases in the fourth, Miller proceeded to retire seven-straight batters and 11 of the game's last 12 hitters. She struck out six during that time.
Yeager took the loss in relief for LU, her first decision of the year. She allowed four runs (two earned) and four hits in three innings.
Fortel, the starter, gave up two runs and five hits in four innings of work.

UP NEXT

BGSU returns north to prepare for a Wednesday (March 21) doubleheader at Wright State. First pitch of the first game is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
Then, the Falcons will open both the home and the Mid-American Conference portions of the schedule next weekend, with a three-game series vs. Ball State (March 23-24) at Meserve Field. Friday's single game begins a seven-game homestand for the Orange and Brown.

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