SFU's Six-Run Sixth is the Difference

Sunday, February 24

Boiling Springs, NC

10:00 AM

Bowling Green State University

4-4

Saint Francis (Pa.)

7-7

St. Francis

BGSU

Nikki Sorgi had 3 hits, including 2 doubles, & drove in 3 runs on Sunday

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

February 24, 2019 | Softball

Box Score BGSU-SFU Box Score

Falcons fall, 12-7, on Sunday, ending GWU Tourney with a 4-1 record

By: BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Saint Francis (Pa.) University scored six times in the sixth inning, breaking a 6-6 deadlock en route to a 12-7 win over the Bowling Green State University softball team Sunday morning (Feb. 24). The game was the Falcons' fifth and final contest in the GWU Tournament, hosted by Gardner-Webb University.

BGSU batters had 13 hits in the game, including six doubles. But, the Red Flash – the two-time defending Northeast Conference champions – homered four times, including twice in the fifth inning and once in that pivotal sixth frame.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Falcons. BG had the best record of any of the four teams in the weekend tourney, going 4-1 on the trip. Each of the other three teams (SFU, GWU and East Tennessee State) went 2-3 on the weekend.

SOPHOMORE SLUGGERS
• Sophomores combined for eight of BGSU's 13 hits, including all six doubles, on the day.
• Soph Nikki Sorgi went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBI. It marked the first three-hit game of her career. Sorgi, who had a total of three RBI during all of last year, had seven over the weekend, including three-RBI games in both of BG's matchups with SFU.
• Sorgi entered the weekend with a career total of one extra-base hit, but had three doubles and a home run in the five games.
• Another sophomore, Payton Hamm, went 2-for-4 with an RBI on Sunday. Hamm entered the game with a career total of one extra-base hit (a double last season), but had doubles in back-to-back at-bats vs. SFU.
• Sarah Gonzalez had two hits, including a double, and scored a run, while Sammy Dees was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk.

BG BATS HEAT UP IN BOILING SPRINGS
• The BG bats struggled at the Upstate Classic on the season's opening weekend. But, in the five games at the GWU Tournament, the Falcon offense heated up.
• As a team, the Falcons had an on-base percentage of .402 and a slugging pct. of .439 in the weekend's five games. BG had 18 extra-base hits and 22 walks in the five games.
• Gonzalez and Nikki Sorgi each hit .412 (7-for-17) with seven RBI on the weekend, and Gonzalez had five doubles and a homer in the five games. Sorgi, as mentioned, had three doubles and a homer of her own on the trip.
• Senior Alex Sorgi and Dees each batted .333 on the trip. Sorgi had six hits and scored five runs, tying her younger sister for the team lead in the latter category. Dees had four doubles among her five hits on the weekend, and also walked four times.
• Freshman Marissa Mullen also batted .333 on the weekend, and had a team-leading .625 OBP. Mullen had three hits in nine at-bats, but also walked four times and was hit by a pitch on no fewer than three occasions. Mullen reached base in 10 of her 16 plate appearances.

QUOTING COACH WILLIS
"This weekend's tournament proved to be challenging and successful for our program. Miller and Parker had strong performances in the circle and the offense had good timing in some tight games. It was great to see our athletes win from behind as well as break away in an extra-inning ball game. Overall, it was a good weekend, and we will look to sharpen some things before leaving for UCSB on Wednesday."

BGSU-SFU – HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Red Flash jumped on top early. Cheyenne McKee was hit by a Meredith Miller pitch with one out in the top of the first, and Hayley Norton followed with a two-run homer to center, giving SFU the lead.
• Once BG got to the plate, that lead was gone quickly. SFU starter Mikayla Bower hit Dees with her first pitch of the game, and Alex Sorgi followed with a bunt single to put two runners aboard.
• A fielder's choice resulted in the first out of the inning, but senior Kellie Natham singled to score Alex Sorgi, and Nikki Sorgi's double down the left-field line plated both Gonzalez and pinch-runner Taylor Blevins, giving the Falcons a 3-2 lead after one inning.
• The Red Flash got a runner as far as second base in the second inning, on an infield hit and a sacrifice bunt, but Miller got an infield grounder for the second out, then got Brianna Walker looking for the third out of the inning.
• Dees doubled with two down in the BG half of the second, but was stranded there. The Falcons had a two-base hit in each of the first six innings of the game.
• SFU retook the lead in the top of the third. With one down, Cheyenne McKee and Norton singled, and a fly-ball out advanced both runners. Jordan Frank walked to load the bases, and Sierra McKee's single scored a pair of runs to make it a 4-3 game.
• Again, the Falcons responded after the Red Flash had scored. Gonzalez singled on the first pitch of the bottom of the third. The sophomore took second on a sacrifice bunt by Natham, then scored easily on Nikki Sorgi's second double of the game.
• Miller worked around a two-out double in the fourth, but Bower got out of a jam in the bottom of the inning. Hamm doubled with one out, and Dees was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. But, a grounder back to the circle resulted in a force play at third, and a fly ball to left ended the threat.
• In the fifth, Norton's second homer of the afternoon gave SFU the lead once again. Miller responded by striking out both Bower and Frank, but Sierra McKee went deep to give the Red Flash an 8-6 advantage.
• Yet again, however, BGSU rallied. The bottom of the inning saw Nikki Sorgi single with one out, and Mullen was hit by a pitch. Senior Kali Holcomb followed with a single that scored Sorgi, and one out later, Hamm's second double of the day brought Holcomb around to tie the game at 6-6.
• But, in the sixth, the Red Flash would score six times. After issuing a walk, BG senior Brooke Parker struck out Walker for the first out of the inning. Mekenzie Saban's base hit, however, was followed by a Cheyenne McKee homer, giving SFU a 9-6 lead.
• The Red Flash wound up sending 12 batters to the plate, as BG used a total of three pitchers in the inning. Sierra McKee had an RBI single, while Brittney Crawford had a two-run hit before the Falcons could get out of the inning.
• In the BG sixth, Gonzalez doubled with one down, and advanced to third on a grounder to the circle, but was stranded there.
• Senior Kiley Sosby allowed only a two-out walk in retiring the Red Flash in the seventh, and BG got a run back in the bottom of the inning against reliever Christina Clark.
• Mullen led off with a base hit, and fellow freshman Emily Kepple singled with one down, sending pinch-runner Kathleen Shier to second. With two outs, a wild pitch was followed by a walk to Dees, loading the bases.
• Pinch-hitter Sidney Cook also drew a walk, scoring Shier, but Clark was able to get a game-ending fly ball to center.

BGSU-GWU STATS & LEADERS
• Both teams went 13-for-33 (.394) at the plate on the day.
• The Falcons, as mentioned, saw Nikki Sorgi go 3-for-4, while Gonzalez and Hamm each had multi-hit games.
• Dees reached base four times, as she was 1-for-2 with a walk, and was twice hit by a pitch.
• Sierra McKee was 4-for-4 with four RBI for the Red Flash, while Norton went 4-for-5, scoring four runs and driving in three. Cheyenne McKee had two hits, three runs and three RBI.
• Bower picked up the win for SFU, despite allowing six runs and 10 hits in five innings.
• Four BG pitchers saw action in the game for the Falcons. Falcon hurlers struck out a total of seven batters, compared to just one for SFU pitching. But, BG pitchers issued five walks, while the Red Flash issued two free passes (both by Clark).

UP NEXT
• The Falcons head to Santa Barbara, Calif., next weekend, playing five games in the UCSB Gaucho Classic from Thursday through Saturday (Feb. 28-March 2).
• BGSU is scheduled to meet host UCSB in a pair of Thursday games, before meeting LIU Brooklyn and California on Friday.
• The weekend concludes with a Saturday game vs. Pacific.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
For more information on all things BGSU softball, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUSoftball) and Instagram (@bgsu_softball) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.