Bowling Green State University Athletics
Wednesday, March 28
Bowling Green, OH
3:30 PM ET
Bowling Green State University
vs
Fort Wayne
Nikki Sorgi & the Falcons are scheduled to play 4 games at Meserve Field this week
Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications
BGSU Continues Homestand with Four Games at Meserve This Week
March 27, 2018 | Softball
Falcons scheduled to host Fort Wayne, Western Michigan
• The Bowling Green State University softball team, after opening the home portion of the schedule last weekend, is slated to play four more games at Meserve Field this week. Head coach Sarah Willis and the Falcons are scheduled to meet Fort Wayne on Wednesday (March 28), before returning to Mid-American Conference action with a three-game series vs. Western Michigan University this weekend. The Fort Wayne game is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m., while this weekend's three-game set with the Broncos will consist of a Friday (March 30) single game, beginning at 3:00 p.m., and a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday (March 31).
BGSU SOFTBALL LINKS
BGSU Weekly Release/Notes/Stats: PDF
THE OPPONENTS: Fort Wayne softball | WMU Softball
2018 Schedule | 2018 Record Book
FOUR THINGS TO KNOW
• Despite dropping two out of three games in last weekend's MAC-opening series vs. Ball State, the Falcons have an overall record of 17-12 on the season. BGSU has hit a MAC-best .312 as a team in the first 29 games, while allowing the opponents to bat just .236.
• Last year's edition of the Falcons had 16 home runs in 56 games, but this year's club has homered 26 times in 26 contests.
• The NCAA announced the latest RPI rankings on Monday afternoon (March 26), and the Falcons are listed fifth among MAC schools and 161st overall. BG trails conference opponents Ohio (75th), Ball State (95th), Western Michigan (155th) and Toledo (160th) on that list.
• Friday's win over BSU marked the Falcons' second victory of the year over a team ranked in the top 100 in the RPI. The previous weekend, BGSU posted a 6-3 win on the road against Lipscomb, currently ranked 54th in the RPI listings.
WELL THEN, THIS WOULD BE MORE, WOULDN'T IT?
• As mentioned earlier, BGSU has homered 26 times in the first 29 contests, after hitting a total of 16 home runs in 56 games last spring.
• Eight different BG players have hit a round-tripper this season to date. A total of six different BGSU players hit a homer during all of last year.
• In 2017, BGSU's leader in home runs (Chelsea Raker) had six, and the Falcons had two players with more than two homers on the year. This season, junior Kali Holcomb already has six homers, and she is one of five players with more than two dingers.
FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• BGSU enters the week with an overall record of 17-12. The Falcons opened the season by going 5-0 at the CSU Dome Tournament in Cleveland, and BG then posted a 4-1 mark at the Elon Classic to get off to a 9-1 start.
• The Brown and Orange went 2-3 at Texas Tech's Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic, though, and dropped a pair of midweek matchups at Abilene Christian. BG also went 2-3 at the UofM Softball Tournament in Memphis, before posting a 3-1 record in Nashville, sweeping IUPUI and splitting with host Lipscomb.
• The Falcons opened the home and MAC portions of the schedule with a three-game series vs. Ball State. BG won the middle game against the team picked to finish second in the MAC's West Division. The Falcons are 1-2 in home games, 3-7 in true road contests and 13-3 in neutral-site games this season to date.
• The Falcons have five starters hitting over .300, with three batting .353 or higher. Four of those players are slugging .467 or better and have at least nine extra-base hits this year.
• Senior Aspen Searle is batting .388 and has scored a team-high 24 runs. Searle has a BG-best 16 extra-base hits, including team-leading totals of nine doubles and two triples, and she is rapidly moving up the BGSU career lists in multiple offensive categories.
• Junior Alex Sorgi is batting .366 on the year, and has scored 18 runs to rank third on the club. She leads the Brown and Orange in walks (14) and stolen bases (12).
• Junior Kali Holcomb is hitting .353 and tops the team with six homers and 29 RBI. She has 12 extra-base hits and ranks second on the team in that category as well as slugging pct. Holcomb is slugging .647 (behind Searle's .673 pct.) on the year. Holcomb paces the Falcons with 11 multiple-hit games and 10 multi-RBI contests.
• Freshmen Sarah Gonzalez and Sammy Dees and are hitting .319 and .304, respectively. Gonzalez is tied with Searle for second on the team with five homers. Dees has six doubles to rank second on the club, and she is tied for third with nine multi-hit games.
• Sophomore Logan Everett and junior Hannah Giammarino are batting .333 and .304, respectively, in limited action this season to date.
• Senior Laine Simmons (.277) and juniors Kaylee Parker (.271) and Kellie Natham (.271) all are hitting over .270. Parker has 17 RBI to rank second on the team, while Simmons has three homers and a .489 slugging pct. Natham has started 22 of the last 24 games after missing the season's first five contests.
• Through 29 games, BGSU has 244 hits to the opponents' 170. BG has 69 extra-base hits, compared to 47 for Falcon foes.
• In the circle, junior Meredith Miller is 8-6 with an ERA of 2.67 and 107 strikeouts in 89 innings of work. She has allowed opponents to hit just .220 against her.
• Junior Brooke Parker is 8-5 with a 3.16 ERA in 73 innings, and has topped her win total for all of last season. Classmate Kiley Sosby has pitched 23-plus innings and is 1-1 with a 4.44 ERA. Both Parker and Sosby have one save, and Sosby has allowed opponents to hit just .205.
FALCONS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
• BGSU can be found all over the latest NCAA statistical rankings. As of Monday (March 26), the Falcons were 25th in the nation in team batting average, and BG was 27th in slugging pct. and 40th in homers per game. The Falcons lead the MAC in both batting average and slugging pct., and BG is second in the league in homers.
• Individually, junior Meredith Miller is ranked 44th in the country in strikeouts per seven innings and 45th in total strikeouts. Classmate Kali Holcomb is 54th in the nation in RBI in per game, while senior Aspen Searle is 62nd in total bases and 82nd in hits.
ASPEN MOVING TOWARD THE SUMMIT: SEARLE RECORD WATCH
• Senior Aspen Searle has added her name to the BGSU record book in many, many categories. Searle has moved into third place in school history in three categories – at-bats (646), hits (214) and total bases (341) – and she is fourth in doubles (43), fifth in runs scored (116) and sixth in batting avg. (.331), home runs (24), RBI (107) and slugging pct. (.528). She is tied for eighth in sacrifice flies (four) and is also ranked on the BG career lists for games started (ninth), games played (T-16th) and walks (17th).
• Additionally, Searle is ranked among the NCAA's active career leaders in five categories. Among current Division-I players, Searle is 35th or higher in career games played, at-bats, hits, doubles and total bases.
ALEX ADDS HER NAME TO SEVERAL LISTS, TOO
• Junior Alex Sorgi has etched her name on several BGSU lists as well. Sorgi is tied for eighth in school history with 35 career stolen bases, and is just five steals away from third place (Kim Still, 40 SB from 1988-90). Sorgi is currently ranked seventh in school annals in hitting, with a career batting average of .322 entering the week.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
• Fort Wayne enters the BG game with a 12-19 overall record, and the Mastodons have won two of the last three games, with victories vs. Robert Morris and Miami before a loss to then-No. 19 Michigan. Lacey Wilzbacher and Morganne Denn each are hitting .290 for the 'Dons, while Bailey Benefiel has an 8-6 record and a 3.00 ERA in the circle. Benefiel has 10 complete games among her 14 starts, and has 91 strikeouts in just over 100 innings pitched. Head coach Germaine Fairchild returned nine players, including seven starters, from a 2017 team that went 12-36 overall and 4-11 in the Summit League.
Western Michigan is 14-13 heading into Wednesday's game at Michigan State, and the Broncos are 1-2 in MAC play after a league-opening series vs. Kent State last weekend. Four players are hitting between .347 and .357, including Samantha Coffel (.357), Kaylen Glenfield (.356) and Brooke Wyman (.352). Five pitchers have at least one win and one complete game apiece. Jordan Kurth has a team-high 53-plus innings pitched, and is 4-3 with a 3.94 ERA. Coach Kathy Leitke's Broncos went 25-29 overall and 11-13 in the MAC last spring.
THE SERIES
• BGSU trails the series with Fort Wayne, 10-9, and the Mastodons won last season's lone meeting, a 7-1 decision in Indiana on April 25. In the teams' last matchups at Meserve Field, the Falcons and 'Dons split a twinbill, with the visitors winning a 6-4 opener, but the Brown and Orange rebounding for a 9-4 win in the nightcap two years ago (March 23, 2016). BGSU is 6-4 at home, 2-5 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site meetings with Fort Wayne over the years.
• The Falcons trail Western Michigan, 49-33, in that series. The teams have not met since 2015 and have not squared off at Meserve Field since 2012. The last meetings saw the Broncos sweep a two-game set in Kalamazoo (April 4-5, 2015). Western's last trip to BG resulted in a Falcon sweep by scores of 4-0 and 2-1 (April 28, 2012). BGSU is 15-16 at home, 14-30 on the road and 4-3 at neutral sites vs. the Broncos over the years.
COMING UP...
• Following this week's action, BGSU is scheduled to play 12 of the next 13 games on the road, including five next week. The Falcons travel to Oxford for a Tuesday (April 3) twinbill at Miami, and BG then makes the short trip up I-75 for a three-game weekend series vs. Toledo (April 6-7). The Falcons' lone home date during the first 26 days of April comes the following Wednesday (April 11) when Miami ventures to Meserve Field for a single game.
BGSU SOFTBALL LINKS
BGSU Weekly Release/Notes/Stats: PDF
THE OPPONENTS: Fort Wayne softball | WMU Softball
2018 Schedule | 2018 Record Book
FOUR THINGS TO KNOW
• Despite dropping two out of three games in last weekend's MAC-opening series vs. Ball State, the Falcons have an overall record of 17-12 on the season. BGSU has hit a MAC-best .312 as a team in the first 29 games, while allowing the opponents to bat just .236.
• Last year's edition of the Falcons had 16 home runs in 56 games, but this year's club has homered 26 times in 26 contests.
• The NCAA announced the latest RPI rankings on Monday afternoon (March 26), and the Falcons are listed fifth among MAC schools and 161st overall. BG trails conference opponents Ohio (75th), Ball State (95th), Western Michigan (155th) and Toledo (160th) on that list.
• Friday's win over BSU marked the Falcons' second victory of the year over a team ranked in the top 100 in the RPI. The previous weekend, BGSU posted a 6-3 win on the road against Lipscomb, currently ranked 54th in the RPI listings.
WELL THEN, THIS WOULD BE MORE, WOULDN'T IT?
• As mentioned earlier, BGSU has homered 26 times in the first 29 contests, after hitting a total of 16 home runs in 56 games last spring.
• Eight different BG players have hit a round-tripper this season to date. A total of six different BGSU players hit a homer during all of last year.
• In 2017, BGSU's leader in home runs (Chelsea Raker) had six, and the Falcons had two players with more than two homers on the year. This season, junior Kali Holcomb already has six homers, and she is one of five players with more than two dingers.
FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• BGSU enters the week with an overall record of 17-12. The Falcons opened the season by going 5-0 at the CSU Dome Tournament in Cleveland, and BG then posted a 4-1 mark at the Elon Classic to get off to a 9-1 start.
• The Brown and Orange went 2-3 at Texas Tech's Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic, though, and dropped a pair of midweek matchups at Abilene Christian. BG also went 2-3 at the UofM Softball Tournament in Memphis, before posting a 3-1 record in Nashville, sweeping IUPUI and splitting with host Lipscomb.
• The Falcons opened the home and MAC portions of the schedule with a three-game series vs. Ball State. BG won the middle game against the team picked to finish second in the MAC's West Division. The Falcons are 1-2 in home games, 3-7 in true road contests and 13-3 in neutral-site games this season to date.
• The Falcons have five starters hitting over .300, with three batting .353 or higher. Four of those players are slugging .467 or better and have at least nine extra-base hits this year.
• Senior Aspen Searle is batting .388 and has scored a team-high 24 runs. Searle has a BG-best 16 extra-base hits, including team-leading totals of nine doubles and two triples, and she is rapidly moving up the BGSU career lists in multiple offensive categories.
• Junior Alex Sorgi is batting .366 on the year, and has scored 18 runs to rank third on the club. She leads the Brown and Orange in walks (14) and stolen bases (12).
• Junior Kali Holcomb is hitting .353 and tops the team with six homers and 29 RBI. She has 12 extra-base hits and ranks second on the team in that category as well as slugging pct. Holcomb is slugging .647 (behind Searle's .673 pct.) on the year. Holcomb paces the Falcons with 11 multiple-hit games and 10 multi-RBI contests.
• Freshmen Sarah Gonzalez and Sammy Dees and are hitting .319 and .304, respectively. Gonzalez is tied with Searle for second on the team with five homers. Dees has six doubles to rank second on the club, and she is tied for third with nine multi-hit games.
• Sophomore Logan Everett and junior Hannah Giammarino are batting .333 and .304, respectively, in limited action this season to date.
• Senior Laine Simmons (.277) and juniors Kaylee Parker (.271) and Kellie Natham (.271) all are hitting over .270. Parker has 17 RBI to rank second on the team, while Simmons has three homers and a .489 slugging pct. Natham has started 22 of the last 24 games after missing the season's first five contests.
• Through 29 games, BGSU has 244 hits to the opponents' 170. BG has 69 extra-base hits, compared to 47 for Falcon foes.
• In the circle, junior Meredith Miller is 8-6 with an ERA of 2.67 and 107 strikeouts in 89 innings of work. She has allowed opponents to hit just .220 against her.
• Junior Brooke Parker is 8-5 with a 3.16 ERA in 73 innings, and has topped her win total for all of last season. Classmate Kiley Sosby has pitched 23-plus innings and is 1-1 with a 4.44 ERA. Both Parker and Sosby have one save, and Sosby has allowed opponents to hit just .205.
FALCONS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
• BGSU can be found all over the latest NCAA statistical rankings. As of Monday (March 26), the Falcons were 25th in the nation in team batting average, and BG was 27th in slugging pct. and 40th in homers per game. The Falcons lead the MAC in both batting average and slugging pct., and BG is second in the league in homers.
• Individually, junior Meredith Miller is ranked 44th in the country in strikeouts per seven innings and 45th in total strikeouts. Classmate Kali Holcomb is 54th in the nation in RBI in per game, while senior Aspen Searle is 62nd in total bases and 82nd in hits.
ASPEN MOVING TOWARD THE SUMMIT: SEARLE RECORD WATCH
• Senior Aspen Searle has added her name to the BGSU record book in many, many categories. Searle has moved into third place in school history in three categories – at-bats (646), hits (214) and total bases (341) – and she is fourth in doubles (43), fifth in runs scored (116) and sixth in batting avg. (.331), home runs (24), RBI (107) and slugging pct. (.528). She is tied for eighth in sacrifice flies (four) and is also ranked on the BG career lists for games started (ninth), games played (T-16th) and walks (17th).
• Additionally, Searle is ranked among the NCAA's active career leaders in five categories. Among current Division-I players, Searle is 35th or higher in career games played, at-bats, hits, doubles and total bases.
ALEX ADDS HER NAME TO SEVERAL LISTS, TOO
• Junior Alex Sorgi has etched her name on several BGSU lists as well. Sorgi is tied for eighth in school history with 35 career stolen bases, and is just five steals away from third place (Kim Still, 40 SB from 1988-90). Sorgi is currently ranked seventh in school annals in hitting, with a career batting average of .322 entering the week.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
• Fort Wayne enters the BG game with a 12-19 overall record, and the Mastodons have won two of the last three games, with victories vs. Robert Morris and Miami before a loss to then-No. 19 Michigan. Lacey Wilzbacher and Morganne Denn each are hitting .290 for the 'Dons, while Bailey Benefiel has an 8-6 record and a 3.00 ERA in the circle. Benefiel has 10 complete games among her 14 starts, and has 91 strikeouts in just over 100 innings pitched. Head coach Germaine Fairchild returned nine players, including seven starters, from a 2017 team that went 12-36 overall and 4-11 in the Summit League.
Western Michigan is 14-13 heading into Wednesday's game at Michigan State, and the Broncos are 1-2 in MAC play after a league-opening series vs. Kent State last weekend. Four players are hitting between .347 and .357, including Samantha Coffel (.357), Kaylen Glenfield (.356) and Brooke Wyman (.352). Five pitchers have at least one win and one complete game apiece. Jordan Kurth has a team-high 53-plus innings pitched, and is 4-3 with a 3.94 ERA. Coach Kathy Leitke's Broncos went 25-29 overall and 11-13 in the MAC last spring.
THE SERIES
• BGSU trails the series with Fort Wayne, 10-9, and the Mastodons won last season's lone meeting, a 7-1 decision in Indiana on April 25. In the teams' last matchups at Meserve Field, the Falcons and 'Dons split a twinbill, with the visitors winning a 6-4 opener, but the Brown and Orange rebounding for a 9-4 win in the nightcap two years ago (March 23, 2016). BGSU is 6-4 at home, 2-5 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site meetings with Fort Wayne over the years.
• The Falcons trail Western Michigan, 49-33, in that series. The teams have not met since 2015 and have not squared off at Meserve Field since 2012. The last meetings saw the Broncos sweep a two-game set in Kalamazoo (April 4-5, 2015). Western's last trip to BG resulted in a Falcon sweep by scores of 4-0 and 2-1 (April 28, 2012). BGSU is 15-16 at home, 14-30 on the road and 4-3 at neutral sites vs. the Broncos over the years.
COMING UP...
• Following this week's action, BGSU is scheduled to play 12 of the next 13 games on the road, including five next week. The Falcons travel to Oxford for a Tuesday (April 3) twinbill at Miami, and BG then makes the short trip up I-75 for a three-game weekend series vs. Toledo (April 6-7). The Falcons' lone home date during the first 26 days of April comes the following Wednesday (April 11) when Miami ventures to Meserve Field for a single game.
# B G S U F A L C O N S O F T B A L L #
Players Mentioned
SS/2B
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C/IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
1B/3B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
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IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
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1B
/ Softball
SS
/ Softball
C
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OF
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