Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, April 20
Akron, OH
3:00 PM ET
Bowling Green State University
at
Akron
BG Begins a Busy Stretch with Weekend Series in Akron
April 19, 2018 | Softball
The Falcons also face Detroit Mercy, Notre Dame as BGSU plays 5 games in 5 days
• The Bowling Green State University softball team heads to Northeast Ohio this weekend, beginning a busy stretch of five games in five days. Head coach Sarah Willis and the Falcons face the University of Akron in a three-game Mid-American Conference series, with a single game on Friday (April 20), beginning at 3:00 p.m., followed by a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday (April 21). All three games will be held at Akron's Lee R. Jackson Field.
• Then, the Brown and Orange will step outside of MAC play for two games in as many evenings. BGSU will host the University of Detroit Mercy on Monday (April 23) at Meserve Field, before heading to Indiana for a Tuesday (April 24) contest vs. the University of Notre Dame. Both games are scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m.
BGSU SOFTBALL LINKS
BGSU Weekly Release/Notes/Stats: PDF
THE OPPONENTS: Akron Softball | UDM Softball | Notre Dame Softball
2018 Schedule | 2018 Record Book | Join the Falcon Club Today!
FOUR THINGS TO KNOW
• This weekend's Akron series is the sixth of eight three-game sets (including the midweek matchups with travel partner Miami) during the MAC schedule. Each of the Falcons' first five series has had at least one delay, rescheduling or cancellation due to weather.
• BGSU has a record of 4-17 against teams ranked 164th or better in the latest RPI rankings, but the Falcons are 17-2 vs. schools ranked lower than 165th. BG's next four games, and seven of the team's next eight contests, are against teams ranked 179th or lower in the current RPI.
• BGSU assistant coach Lauren Gambone returned to her alma mater last weekend, as the Falcons headed to Buffalo and won two games against the Bulls in a weather-shortened series. This weekend, Gambone will see another familiar face, as her sister, Caitlin Gambone, is a senior third baseman and a four-year starter on the Akron softball team.
• BGSU scored 18 runs and hit .444 as a team in Friday's doubleheader sweep at UB. Five different Falcons hit a home run on the afternoon, while six different BG players scored at least two runs and seven Falcons drove in two or more runs that day.
WELL THEN, THIS WOULD BE MORE, WOULDN'T IT?
• BGSU has more than doubled last year's home run total. The Falcons have homered 34 times in the first 40 contests, after hitting a total of 16 homers 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) hit six, and the Falcons had two players with more than two homers on the year. This season, junior Kali Holcomb already has eight homers, and she is one of six players with at least four dingers.
FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• BGSU enters the week with an overall record of 21-19, and the Falcons are 4-9 in MAC play. BG is riding a three-game winning streak after winning the second game of a home doubleheader vs. Miami last Wednesday (April 11) and sweeping host Buffalo in a Friday (April 13) twinbill.
• BGSU currently sits in 11th place in the overall MAC standings, but the Falcons are only a game and a half out of sixth place. The top-eight teams in the final conference standings will qualify for the MAC Tournament.
• BGSU is 3-6 in home games, 5-10 in true road contests and 13-3 in neutral-site games this season to date. The Falcons have hit .300 as a team, while allowing the opponents to bat just .243.
• The Falcons have three starters hitting at least .325, with three others batting over .280. Five of those six players are slugging .475 or better, and four of those players have at least 10 extra-base hits this year.
• Senior Aspen Searle is batting .368 and has scored a team-high 29 runs. Searle also has a BG-best 19 extra-base hits, including team-leading totals of 11 doubles and two triples, and she is ranked on the BGSU career lists in multiple offensive categories.
• Junior Alex Sorgi is hitting .364 on the season, and has 48 hits, just one behind Searle's team-leading total. Sorgi leads the Falcons in stolen bases (16) and is second on the team in runs (25) and walks (14), in addition to hits. Sorgi paces the Brown and Orange with 14 multiple-hit games.
• Junior Kali Holcomb is hitting .327 and tops the team with eight homers and 38 RBI. She is just four RBI shy of tying the school single-season record, and she has 16 extra-base hits and leads the Falcons with a slugging percentage of .619. Holcomb also paces BG with 17 walks, and she has 12 multiple-RBI games, nearly double the total of any of her teammates.
• Freshman Sammy Dees and senior Laine Simmons are hitting .308 and .297, respectively, while freshman Sarah Gonzalez is batting .283. Dees has 12 extra-base hits and Gonzalez 11, and Dees is second on the club with eight doubles. Simmons has four homers among her six extra-base hits, and she enters the Akron series on a five-game hitting streak.
• Sophomore Logan Everett and junior Hannah Giammarino are batting .324 and .306, respectively, in limited action this season to date.
• Juniors Kaylee Parker and Kellie Natham are batting .279 and .253, respectively. Parker has 21 RBI to rank second on the team, and she hit a BG-best .545 in last week's four games. Natham has started 29 of the last 35 games after missing the season's first five contests.
• Through 40 games, BGSU has a total of 318 hits to the opponents' 239. BG has 88 extra-base hits, compared to 70 for Falcon foes.
• Six Falcons – Dees, Gonzalez, Holcomb, Kaylee Parker, Searle and Alex Sorgi – have started all 40 games this year, while Simmons has made 30 starts and Natham 29.
• In the circle, junior Meredith Miller is 11-11 with an ERA of 2.97, and she is ranked second in the MAC in strikeouts, with a total of 130 in 125 innings of work. Miller has allowed opponents to hit just .230 against her.
• Junior Brooke Parker is 9-6 with a 3.63 ERA in 96 1/3 innings, and has topped her win total for all of last season. Classmate Kiley Sosby has pitched 25 innings and is 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA. Parker has two saves and Sosby one, and Sosby has allowed opponents to hit just .198.
• Freshman Madison French has pitched in nine games, including six in the MAC, while classmate Olivia Riener has seen action in two games, both in league play.
ASPEN SEARLE RECORD WATCH
• Senior Aspen Searle's name is all over the BGSU record book, as she is near the top of nearly every career batting list kept by the school. Searle has moved into second place on the BGSU career list for total bases (357), and she is third in at-bats (681) and hits (225) and fourth on four lists – games played (214), game started (210), runs scored (121) and doubles (45).
• Searle is ranked in BG's top-five on eight lists, as she is fifth in RBI (113), and she is ranked sixth in home runs (25), batting average (.330) and slugging pct. (.524), tied for eighth in sacrifice flies and 15th in walks.
• Additionally, Searle is ranked among the NCAA's active career leaders in five categories. Among current Division-I players, Searle is ranked 35th or better 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 has moved into a tie for fourth place in school history with 39 career stolen bases, and she is currently ranked seventh in hitting, with a career batting average of .326 entering the week.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
• Akron has an overall record of 2-34-1, and the Zips are 1-14 in MAC play entering this weekend's BGSU series. Sydney Jascoe and Cassie Gillespie are hitting .339 and .329, respectively, while Kimberly Rodriguez is batting .274 and leads the team with 17 walks and 13 stolen bases. In the circle, Kayla Kmett has a team-high 17 games started and a team-low 5.95 ERA. Last year, the Zips finished 27-30 overall and 12-12 in the MAC. Head coach Julie Jones welcomed back eight letterwinners, including six starters, from that club.
• Detroit is 10-22 overall, and the Titans were 5-6 in Horizon League play heading into a Wednesday (April 18) doubleheader vs. Cleveland State. Savvy Ferstle leads the team with a .346 batting average, and is one of five players with six or more stolen bases this year. In the circle, Ashley Mauser has made 18 starts and leads the club with six wins, 100 strikeouts and a 3.49 ERA. Last year, the Titans went 18-34 overall and 12-10 in the HL.
• Notre Dame is 28-15 overall and 11-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Fighting Irish host Northwestern on Wednesday, then head to Boston College for a three-game series before hosting the Falcons. Ali Wester is batting .405 on the year, while Abby Sweet is hitting .377 with 30 runs scored. Alexis Holloway is 16-10 with a 2.16 ERA on the year, while Katie Beriont has a record of 11-5 and an ERA of 2.41. Last year, head coach Deanna Gumpf's club finished with a 34-23 record. She welcomed back 13 letterwinners from that squad.
THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Akron, 53-28-1, in the all-time series between the teams. Last year, the Zips captured two games at Meserve Field before BG picked up an 8-2 win in the final game of the series. Two years ago, in the last meetings at Akron, the Falcons took two of three games, bouncing back from a shutout loss to post wins by scores of 9-5 and 5-3. The Falcons are 21-15-1 at home, 24-12 on the road and 8-1 in neutral-site meetings with the Zips since the dawn of time.
• The Falcons lead Detroit, 42-8, in that series, and the teams have not played since BGSU swept a DH at Meserve Field on March 31, 2015. BG is 23-7 at home, 17-1 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites vs. the Titans.
• The Falcons trail Notre Dame, 15-6, and the Fighting Irish, ranked 19th in the nation at the time, won a 10-0 decision in the teams' last matchup two years ago. BG is 2-2 at home, 3-11 on the road and 1-2 in neutral-site matchups vs. the Irish.
COMING UP...
• Following the Notre Dame game, BGSU will return home for the final six games of the regular season. The Falcons are slated to play three-game weekend series vs. both Kent State (April 27-28) and Ohio (May 4-5) at Meserve Field.
• Then, the top-eight teams in the regular-season standings will head to Akron for the MAC Tournament, which begins on Wednesday, May 9, at Firestone Stadium.
• Then, the Brown and Orange will step outside of MAC play for two games in as many evenings. BGSU will host the University of Detroit Mercy on Monday (April 23) at Meserve Field, before heading to Indiana for a Tuesday (April 24) contest vs. the University of Notre Dame. Both games are scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m.
BGSU SOFTBALL LINKS
BGSU Weekly Release/Notes/Stats: PDF
THE OPPONENTS: Akron Softball | UDM Softball | Notre Dame Softball
2018 Schedule | 2018 Record Book | Join the Falcon Club Today!
FOUR THINGS TO KNOW
• This weekend's Akron series is the sixth of eight three-game sets (including the midweek matchups with travel partner Miami) during the MAC schedule. Each of the Falcons' first five series has had at least one delay, rescheduling or cancellation due to weather.
• BGSU has a record of 4-17 against teams ranked 164th or better in the latest RPI rankings, but the Falcons are 17-2 vs. schools ranked lower than 165th. BG's next four games, and seven of the team's next eight contests, are against teams ranked 179th or lower in the current RPI.
• BGSU assistant coach Lauren Gambone returned to her alma mater last weekend, as the Falcons headed to Buffalo and won two games against the Bulls in a weather-shortened series. This weekend, Gambone will see another familiar face, as her sister, Caitlin Gambone, is a senior third baseman and a four-year starter on the Akron softball team.
• BGSU scored 18 runs and hit .444 as a team in Friday's doubleheader sweep at UB. Five different Falcons hit a home run on the afternoon, while six different BG players scored at least two runs and seven Falcons drove in two or more runs that day.
WELL THEN, THIS WOULD BE MORE, WOULDN'T IT?
• BGSU has more than doubled last year's home run total. The Falcons have homered 34 times in the first 40 contests, after hitting a total of 16 homers 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) hit six, and the Falcons had two players with more than two homers on the year. This season, junior Kali Holcomb already has eight homers, and she is one of six players with at least four dingers.
FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• BGSU enters the week with an overall record of 21-19, and the Falcons are 4-9 in MAC play. BG is riding a three-game winning streak after winning the second game of a home doubleheader vs. Miami last Wednesday (April 11) and sweeping host Buffalo in a Friday (April 13) twinbill.
• BGSU currently sits in 11th place in the overall MAC standings, but the Falcons are only a game and a half out of sixth place. The top-eight teams in the final conference standings will qualify for the MAC Tournament.
• BGSU is 3-6 in home games, 5-10 in true road contests and 13-3 in neutral-site games this season to date. The Falcons have hit .300 as a team, while allowing the opponents to bat just .243.
• The Falcons have three starters hitting at least .325, with three others batting over .280. Five of those six players are slugging .475 or better, and four of those players have at least 10 extra-base hits this year.
• Senior Aspen Searle is batting .368 and has scored a team-high 29 runs. Searle also has a BG-best 19 extra-base hits, including team-leading totals of 11 doubles and two triples, and she is ranked on the BGSU career lists in multiple offensive categories.
• Junior Alex Sorgi is hitting .364 on the season, and has 48 hits, just one behind Searle's team-leading total. Sorgi leads the Falcons in stolen bases (16) and is second on the team in runs (25) and walks (14), in addition to hits. Sorgi paces the Brown and Orange with 14 multiple-hit games.
• Junior Kali Holcomb is hitting .327 and tops the team with eight homers and 38 RBI. She is just four RBI shy of tying the school single-season record, and she has 16 extra-base hits and leads the Falcons with a slugging percentage of .619. Holcomb also paces BG with 17 walks, and she has 12 multiple-RBI games, nearly double the total of any of her teammates.
• Freshman Sammy Dees and senior Laine Simmons are hitting .308 and .297, respectively, while freshman Sarah Gonzalez is batting .283. Dees has 12 extra-base hits and Gonzalez 11, and Dees is second on the club with eight doubles. Simmons has four homers among her six extra-base hits, and she enters the Akron series on a five-game hitting streak.
• Sophomore Logan Everett and junior Hannah Giammarino are batting .324 and .306, respectively, in limited action this season to date.
• Juniors Kaylee Parker and Kellie Natham are batting .279 and .253, respectively. Parker has 21 RBI to rank second on the team, and she hit a BG-best .545 in last week's four games. Natham has started 29 of the last 35 games after missing the season's first five contests.
• Through 40 games, BGSU has a total of 318 hits to the opponents' 239. BG has 88 extra-base hits, compared to 70 for Falcon foes.
• Six Falcons – Dees, Gonzalez, Holcomb, Kaylee Parker, Searle and Alex Sorgi – have started all 40 games this year, while Simmons has made 30 starts and Natham 29.
• In the circle, junior Meredith Miller is 11-11 with an ERA of 2.97, and she is ranked second in the MAC in strikeouts, with a total of 130 in 125 innings of work. Miller has allowed opponents to hit just .230 against her.
• Junior Brooke Parker is 9-6 with a 3.63 ERA in 96 1/3 innings, and has topped her win total for all of last season. Classmate Kiley Sosby has pitched 25 innings and is 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA. Parker has two saves and Sosby one, and Sosby has allowed opponents to hit just .198.
• Freshman Madison French has pitched in nine games, including six in the MAC, while classmate Olivia Riener has seen action in two games, both in league play.
ASPEN SEARLE RECORD WATCH
• Senior Aspen Searle's name is all over the BGSU record book, as she is near the top of nearly every career batting list kept by the school. Searle has moved into second place on the BGSU career list for total bases (357), and she is third in at-bats (681) and hits (225) and fourth on four lists – games played (214), game started (210), runs scored (121) and doubles (45).
• Searle is ranked in BG's top-five on eight lists, as she is fifth in RBI (113), and she is ranked sixth in home runs (25), batting average (.330) and slugging pct. (.524), tied for eighth in sacrifice flies and 15th in walks.
• Additionally, Searle is ranked among the NCAA's active career leaders in five categories. Among current Division-I players, Searle is ranked 35th or better 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 has moved into a tie for fourth place in school history with 39 career stolen bases, and she is currently ranked seventh in hitting, with a career batting average of .326 entering the week.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
• Akron has an overall record of 2-34-1, and the Zips are 1-14 in MAC play entering this weekend's BGSU series. Sydney Jascoe and Cassie Gillespie are hitting .339 and .329, respectively, while Kimberly Rodriguez is batting .274 and leads the team with 17 walks and 13 stolen bases. In the circle, Kayla Kmett has a team-high 17 games started and a team-low 5.95 ERA. Last year, the Zips finished 27-30 overall and 12-12 in the MAC. Head coach Julie Jones welcomed back eight letterwinners, including six starters, from that club.
• Detroit is 10-22 overall, and the Titans were 5-6 in Horizon League play heading into a Wednesday (April 18) doubleheader vs. Cleveland State. Savvy Ferstle leads the team with a .346 batting average, and is one of five players with six or more stolen bases this year. In the circle, Ashley Mauser has made 18 starts and leads the club with six wins, 100 strikeouts and a 3.49 ERA. Last year, the Titans went 18-34 overall and 12-10 in the HL.
• Notre Dame is 28-15 overall and 11-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Fighting Irish host Northwestern on Wednesday, then head to Boston College for a three-game series before hosting the Falcons. Ali Wester is batting .405 on the year, while Abby Sweet is hitting .377 with 30 runs scored. Alexis Holloway is 16-10 with a 2.16 ERA on the year, while Katie Beriont has a record of 11-5 and an ERA of 2.41. Last year, head coach Deanna Gumpf's club finished with a 34-23 record. She welcomed back 13 letterwinners from that squad.
THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Akron, 53-28-1, in the all-time series between the teams. Last year, the Zips captured two games at Meserve Field before BG picked up an 8-2 win in the final game of the series. Two years ago, in the last meetings at Akron, the Falcons took two of three games, bouncing back from a shutout loss to post wins by scores of 9-5 and 5-3. The Falcons are 21-15-1 at home, 24-12 on the road and 8-1 in neutral-site meetings with the Zips since the dawn of time.
• The Falcons lead Detroit, 42-8, in that series, and the teams have not played since BGSU swept a DH at Meserve Field on March 31, 2015. BG is 23-7 at home, 17-1 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites vs. the Titans.
• The Falcons trail Notre Dame, 15-6, and the Fighting Irish, ranked 19th in the nation at the time, won a 10-0 decision in the teams' last matchup two years ago. BG is 2-2 at home, 3-11 on the road and 1-2 in neutral-site matchups vs. the Irish.
COMING UP...
• Following the Notre Dame game, BGSU will return home for the final six games of the regular season. The Falcons are slated to play three-game weekend series vs. both Kent State (April 27-28) and Ohio (May 4-5) at Meserve Field.
• Then, the top-eight teams in the regular-season standings will head to Akron for the MAC Tournament, which begins on Wednesday, May 9, at Firestone Stadium.
# B G S U F A L C O N S O F T B A L L #
Players Mentioned
SS/2B
/ Softball
C/IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
1B/3B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
1B
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
SS
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P/Util.
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