Despite Parker's Late-Game Heroics, Broncos Take Two on Friday

Friday, March 30

Bowling Green, OH

3:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

18-13, 1-3

Western Michigan

15-14, 2-2

Western Michigan

Bowling Green

March 30, 2018 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Western escapes Meserve Field with a pair of narrow wins

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University softball dropped a pair of narrow decisions to visiting Western Michigan University Friday afternoon (March 30). The Broncos took the teams' Mid-American Conference doubleheader by scores of 1-0 and 5-3, with the latter win coming in eight innings, at Meserve Field.

LINKS
BGSU-WMU STATISTICS: Game 1 | Game 2

In the opener, junior Meredith Miller pitched well enough to win, but the Broncos pushed a run across the plate in the fifth inning and a pair of WMU pitchers made that run hold up.

The nightcap had a little bit of everything. After the Broncos erased a one-run deficit with three runs in the sixth inning, BG was one out away from defeat in the bottom of the seventh. But, freshman Sarah Gonzalez drew a walk after an eight-pitch at-bat, and junior Kaylee Parker crushed a Jordan Kurth offering over the wall in left-center field for a two-out, two-run, game-tying home run.

Western Michigan, benefited from a pair of hit batters to score twice in the top of the eighth, and the visitors held on for the victory.

The teams will wrap up their three-game weekend series with a single game on Saturday (March 31). The starting time for that game has been changed to 11:00 a.m.

QUOTING COACH WILLIS
"We had opportunities to win both games today. And, especially in the second game, we had some opportunities to put them away. We came back with that two-out rally (in the seventh), and we showed a lot of heart. I loved our at-bats in the seventh inning."

"But, when you are playing a good ball club like Western Michigan, you can't give them extra opportunities. It's the hit batters and the walks that add to the situation and give a team additional chances to score some runs against you."

"It's unfortunate that we had a miscommunication late in the game that let them take the lead (in the eighth inning). We need to have a sense of urgency earlier in the game to continue to produce runs, to continue to produce hard hits and make them play defense. We kind of sat back a little bit offensively, and had only two hits going into that seventh inning. We've got to do a little more at the plate."

BGSU-WMU GAME ONE – HOW IT HAPPENED

The Broncos put a pair of runners in scoring position in the top of the first inning. Mackenzie Swinehart began the game with a single, and after a sacrifice bunt, a base hit by Samantha Coffel put runners at the corners. But, BGSU third baseman Sarah Gonzalez fielded a ground ball and looked Swinehart back to third before firing to first, and Falcon catcher Laine Simmons made a nice catch of a foul pop just in front of the screen behind home plate.
The bottom of the first inning saw junior Alex Sorgi lead off with an infield single, and sophomore Kendyl Wheeler sacrificed Sorgi to second. Junior Kali Holcomb drew a two-out walk, but Bronco starting pitcher Anissa Sanchez got the next batter to hit an infield popup that retired the side.
The BG defense was on display in the second inning. After junior Meredith Miller struck out a batter, Gonzalez made a leaping grab of a line drive to the left side, and right fielder Holcomb came running in to catch a sinking liner for the third out.
The Falcons loaded the bases in the home half of the second. Gonzalez was hit by a pitch, and singles by Simmons and freshman Sammy Dees put three runners aboard with one down. But, a grounder resulted in an out at the plate, and another bouncer led to a force play at second base.
The BG third inning saw senior Aspen Searle make a diving catch behind third base in the top of the inning, and she then led off the bottom of the frame by hitting a ball to the wall in left-center for a double. But, Searle was erased at third on a grounder, and Sanchez retired the next two batters.
Miller retired the Broncos in order in the fourth, and Sanchez didn't fool many hitters in the bottom of the inning, but she managed to escape damage.
The Falcon fourth began with Gonzalez hitting a fly ball to the gap in right-center field. WMU right fielder Swinehart bobbled the ball several times, but as she fell to the ground, she finally grabbed the ball just before it hit the grass.
Simmons followed with a sharp single to left, but after a fielder's-choice grounder, Alex Sorgi's liner was nabbed by the second baseman for the third out.
In the fifth, the Broncos got on the board. Jenna Faultersack led off with a single up the middle, and moved to second on a sac bunt. Miller struck out the next Bronco batter, but Swinehart came through with a double down the left-field line that plated Faultersack with what would prove to be the game's only run.
Both teams were retired in order in their next at-bat, but junior Hannah Giammarino had a pinch-hit single with one out in the BG sixth, and Gonzalez followed with a sharp single through the left side. WMU reliever Holly VanTilburg, however, struck out the next batter, and got a popup to second base on a 3-2 pitch, retiring the side.
The Falcons were retired in order in the seventh, with WMU second baseman Faultersack making a nice diving stop of Searle's hard-hit ground ball, then throwing to first to end the game.

BGSU-WMU GAME ONE STATS & LEADERS

The Falcons outhit the Broncos, 7-6, in the opener, but BGSU left nine runners on base in the loss.
Swinehart was a perfect 3-for-3 in the win, driving home the game's only run.
Simmons was the lone Falcons with a multi-hit game, going 2-of-3 at the plate. Gonzalez reached base twice, on a single and a hit-by-pitch.
Sanchez picked up the win in the circle, allowing five hits before leaving the game with one out in the fifth. She walked one batter and struck out three.
VanTilburg got the save, as she pitched two and two-thirds innings, allowing two hits. VanTilburg struck out three and did not walk a batter.
Miller, as mentioned, pitched well enough to win. The junior allowed one run and six hits in her complete-game effort. Miller struck out three hitters and did not issue a walk.
Miller threw 57 of her 79 pitches for strikes. The two WMU hurlers combined to throw 105 pitches, including 69 strikes.

BGSU-WMU GAME TWO – HOW IT HAPPENED

The teams combined for just one hit, a first-inning single by WMU's Brooke Wyman, over the first inning and a half. But, Holcomb began the BG second by lining a ball to right field. The drive hit the Wood County Hospital sign, just a few feet below the top of the wall, and the junior had a leadoff double.
Simmons moved Holcomb to third base with a sac bunt on the next pitch, and when Holcomb tagged and scored on a Gonzalez fly ball to right, it briefly appeared that the Falcons had a 1-0 lead. But, after an appeal, it was ruled that Holcomb had left the base early, and the inning was over.
BG broke through in the third. After Falcon starter Brooke Parker got three-straight batter to hit popups that were caught by Searle in the top of the inning, junior Kaylee Parker led off with a drive to the wall that was dropped by the WMU left fielder. Parker wound up on second base on the play, and pinch-runner Taylor Blevins quickly moved to third on a sac bunt by sophomore Logan Everett.
A fly ball to left produced the second out, but Alex Sorgi lined a ball back up the middle. The ball caromed off WMU starting pitcher Sydney Stefanick and past second baseman Faultersack into shallow right field as Blevins scored easily.
Brooke Parker retired the side in order in the fourth, and allowed only a one-out walk in the fifth. But, Stefanick held BG off the board in each of those innings as well, and Western rallied in the sixth.
Parker had allowed only one hit through five innings, but with one out in the sixth, Coffel doubled and scored on a single by Marlee Wilson. After a line drive produced the second out, back-to-back doubles by Faultersack and Stefanick each plated a run and gave the Broncos a 3-1 lead.
Dees nearly cut that lead in half in the bottom of the inning, hitting a long drive to left that had home-run distance, but went just foul. Several pitches later, she hit another ball that rattled around in the left-field corner, but that drive was foul as well. Dees wound up working a walk after a strong eight-pitch at-bat, but the Falcons couldn't take advantage.
WMU looked to extend the lead against junior Kiley Sosby in the seventh, but after allowing a pair of walks, Sosby struck out Aspen Williams to end the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, Bronco reliever Jordan Kurth retired the first two batters. But, Gonzalez fouled off three pitches before drawing a walk and bringing the tying run to the plate. And, Kaylee Parker took a strike, then unloaded on a Kurth pitch, and her two-run homer to left-center tied the game.
The homer was Parker's third of the season, and it was the Falcons' first round-tripper in six home games this year to date.
The eighth inning, however, saw back-to-back Broncos reach base after being hit by pitches. Freshman Madison French entered the circle, and Courtney Sleeman's sac bunt put both runners in scoring position. French got Skyler Sobeski to hit a popup that was caught by Dees near the foul line behind first base.
But, the next hitter, Swinehart, lofted a ball to shallow left. Wheeler and Searle collided on the play, and the ball dropped to the ground as both runners scored. French got the next hitter to tap an inning-ending grounder to first base, but the damage had been done.
The bottom of the inning saw Alex Sorgi reach on a one-out single, but Kurth struck out the next batter, then got a fly ball to right that ended the game.

BGSU-WMU GAME TWO STATS & LEADERS

The Broncos had a 6-4 advantage in hits, with six different WMU players picking up a hit.
Four of Western's hits were doubles.
For the Falcons, Alex Sorgi had two of the team's four hits, while Holcomb had a double and Kaylee Parker a two-run homer.
Kurth, after blowing a save in the seventh, picked up the win when her team scored twice in the eighth. She allowed two runs and two hits in her two innings of relief.
Stefanick gave up just one (unearned) run and two hits in her six innings of work. Both WMU pitchers walked one batter and struck out two.
Brooke Parker allowed three runs and five hits in five and two-thirds innings. She walked two batters and struck out two.
Sosby did not allow a hit in her inning and a third of action, but walked three batters and hit a pair. French allowed one hit in an inning of work

UP NEXT

The Falcons and Broncos conclude their three-game weekend series with a single game Saturday (March 31). That contest will begin at 11:00 a.m. at Meserve Field, and admission to all BGSU home softball action is free.
Then, BGSU will prepare for a Tuesday (April 3) twinbill at Miami. The DH against the RedHawks will start a five-game road swing for the Falcons, and BG is scheduled to begin the month of April by playing 12 of 13 games away from home.

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