2018 Softball Season Wrapup

Senior Day - Seniors & Teammates - May 5 2018

Photo by: Larry Clapper

June 27, 2018 | Softball

Falcons threaten school hitting records en route to 26 wins

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

• The Bowling Green State University softball team wrapped up the 2018 regular-season schedule with an overall record of 26-26.

• Head coach Sarah Willis and the Falcons posted the program's highest win total in five years, since the 2013 team went 27-24, and the Brown and Orange finished with a .500 record for the first time since that '13 campaign as well.

• The Falcons went 8-14 in Mid-American Conference play, finishing fourth in the East Division.

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HIT PARADE
• The 2018 Falcons threatened the school single-season records in multiple hitting categories. BGSU hit .286 on the season, the second-best average in program history and just three percentage points shy of the school record (.289 in 2002).

• This year's team also posted the second-best totals/averages in total bases (582), slugging percentage (.424) and runs batted in (196 - tied for second).

• BGSU shattered a pair of school records, as Falcon hitters had 19 sacrifice flies and were hit by a pitch 35 times on the season.

• BG sluggers hit 37 home runs, the third-highest total in program history. For only the second time in school history, six different Falcons hit at least four homers apiece. The 2007 club also had six players hit four or more dingers.

• The 2018 club also posted numbers that ranked sixth or better in the following categories: runs, hits, runs per game, doubles and on-base percentage.

2018 FALCONS IN THE RECORD BOOKS (Team single-season hitting)
Category 2018 Ranking School Record
Hit by Pitch 35 1st 33 (2013) *
Sacrifice Flies 19 1st 13 (1991, 2017) *
Batting Average .286 2nd .289 (2002)
Total Bases 582 2nd 604 (2006)
Slugging Pct. .424 2nd .449 (2007)
Runs Batted In 196 T-2nd 202 (2001)
Home Runs 37 3rd 47 (2007)
Runs 213 4th 230 (2012)
On-Base Pct. .349 4th .381 (1988)
Runs per Game 4.096 6th 5.25 (1981)
Hits 393 6th 424 (2006)
Doubles 62 6th 90 (2002)
* old record

FALCON PITCHERS, FIELDERS MAKE THE LIST AS WELL
• BGSU posted a team fielding percentage of .963 in 2018, the sixth-best mark in school history. The current club fell just four percentage points shy of matching the school record (.967 in 2012).

• And, BGSU pitchers combined to strike out 268 opposing batters in 2018, also ranking sixth in program history. The school record of 378 strikeouts was set by the 2006 pitching staff.

INDIVIDUALLY...
• In her first season as a Falcon, junior Kali Holcomb set a school record with 46 runs batted in. Holcomb broke the old record of 42, set by Gina Rango in 2004.

• Holcomb had six sacrifice flies in 2018, the second-highest total in school history. She fell just one shy of the BG record of seven, set by Haley Schrock last season.

• Holcomb led the MAC and tied for fifth in the nation in sac flies in 2018.

• Senior Aspen Searle hit a team-best .374 this season. That is the fourth-highest average in program history. Searle's total of 65 hits also ranks fourth on the BGSU single-season list.

• Searle had 104 total bases, the fifth-best total in BG annals, and she tied for sixth on the single-season list with 15 doubles in her final season as a Falcon. Searle led the MAC in doubles per game (0.29) in '18.

• Junior Alex Sorgi stole 20 bases in 2018 to rank second in the MAC. Sorgi became only the third different player in school history, and the first in over two decades, to steal as many as 20 bases in a season.

• Junior Meredith Miller ranked third in the MAC with a total of 151 strikeouts, the ninth-highest number in school history. Miller had 6.17 K's per seven innings in 2018, also ranking ninth in BG history.

ON THE CAREER LISTS
• Aspen Searle finished her BGSU career with her name listed near the top of almost every batting list kept by the school. Searle is ranked second in BG history in career at-bats (722), hits (241), doubles (49), and total bases (379).

• In fact, Searle wrapped up her career ranked sixth or higher on no fewer than 11 BGSU lists. She is third in games played (226) and games started (222), fourth in runs (125) and RBI (117), and sixth in home runs (25), batting average (.334) and slugging percentage (.525).

• Searle also leaves her name on the BG lists for sacrifice flies (four; T-ninth), triples (seven; T-13th) and walks (54; 15th).

• With a year to go in her BG career, Alex Sorgi already ranks third in school history with 43 stolen bases as a Falcon. Her career batting average (.310) currently ranks her 12th on that list, and she is tied for 15th with 83 runs scored.

• In addition to Searle, several other Falcons are on the BGSU list for career sacrifice flies. Junior Kali Holcomb, after just one year at BG, is tied for sixth with six career sac flies, while classmates Kellie Natham and Kaylee Parker each have four to tie Searle for ninth on that list. Holcomb is just three sac flies shy of Haley Schrock's school-record total of nine.

• Junior Meredith Miller is ranked third in school history in career strikeouts per seven innings, with 5.74. She trails only BGSU Hall-of-Famer Liz Vrabel (7.12 from 2003-06) and Emily Gouge (6.64 from 2005-08).

• Miller is also ranked on the BGSU career lists for strikeouts (269; ninth), complete games (323; T-11th), winning pct. (.519; 13th) and games started (52; T-14th).

• Junior Brooke Parker has five career saves, tying her for seventh in school history.She is 14th on the BGSU list for strikeouts per seven innings, with 3.19).

• Fellow junior Kiley Sosby is 16th in BG history with 176 career strikeouts. She has averaged 6.93 strikeouts per seven innings, an average which would rank her second on that list, but falls just shy of the minimum number of innings needed to qualify.

ASPEN AMONG 'ACTIVE' CAREER LEADERS, TOO
• Senior Aspen Searle concluded the 2018 season ranked among the NCAA 'active' career leaders in no fewer than five categories. Among Division-I players who were active in 2018, Searle is ranked among the leaders in at-bats (16th), doubles (23rd), total bases (32nd), hits (33rd) and games played (42nd).

SIMMONS EARNS ALL-MAC ACCOLADES
• Senior catcher Laine Simmons was named to the All-MAC Second Team in 2018. She hit .287 on the year and tied for third on the team with six homers. Simmons also had a .983 fielding pct., with just four errors in 236 total chances, skillfully guiding the Falcons pitching staff while throwing out a double-digit total of would-be base-stealers for the second consecutive year.

• In MAC play, Simmons tied for the team lead with a .315 batting average, and also tied for the BG lead in slugging pct. (.537). She sent nearly half of aspiring opponent base-swipers back to their dugout with a disappointed look on their collective face.

SEARLE, SIMMONS SORGI TAKE HOME AWARDS AT BANQUET
• Seniors Aspen Searle and Laine Simmons and junior Alex Sorgi each won awards at the program's end-of-season banquet. Searle was named the Falcons' Offensive Player of the Year, while Simmons took home the Defensive P-O-Y Award.

• Sorgi earned the team's Meserve Award, which is presented to the BGSU softball student-athlete who demonstrates the following qualities throughout the season: passion, leadership, competitive spirit, 'teamsmanship,' athletic and academic excellence, and resiliency.

THANKS, SENIORS
• The Falcons had three seniors on the 22-woman roster in 2018. That trio included Alivia Forshey, Aspen Searle and Laine Simmons.

LOOKING AHEAD
• While the Falcons lose three talented seniors, BGSU is scheduled to return seven positional starters – including five (Sammy Dees, Sarah Gonzalez, Kali Holcomb, Kaylee Parker and Alex Sorgi) who started at least 51 of the team's 52 games.

• Additionally, the returning pitchers combined to start all 52 of the Falcons' 2018 contests. The returning Falcons combined for 76.3% of the team's at-bats, 77.5% of the runs scored and 99.2% of the innings pitched.

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