McCoy, Miller Power Falcons Past CSU, 8-3

Tuesday, April 30

Bowling Green, OH

4:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

21-28

Cleveland State

14-32

Cleveland State

Bowling Green

Meredith Miller (right) & Evelyn Loyola v Miami - April 2 2019

Photo by: Brad Phalin, BGSU Marketing and Communications

April 30, 2019 | Softball

Box Score BGSU-CSU Box Score

Junior homers twice; senior pitcher strikes out 10

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Junior Madi McCoy homered twice, and senior Meredith Miller struck out 10 batters as the Bowling Green State University softball team closed the home portion of the schedule with an 8-3 win over Cleveland State University Tuesday afternoon (April 30). The non-conference contest was held at Meserve Field.

McCoy registered the third multiple-homer game by a Falcon this season, and Miller recorded her third double-digit strikeout total of the year.

McCoy hit a two-run homer off of CSU starter Kelly Hysong in the third inning, then clubbed a three-run shot off of reliever Hanna Griffin in the sixth.

The BGSU offense had 10 hits in the win, with the Falcons getting at least one hit from each of the nine spots in the batting order.

The Falcons scored in each of the first three innings, building a 5-1 lead in that time. The Vikings got a run back in the sixth, but BG answered with McCoy's second dinger of the game in the bottom of the inning.

Junior Taylor Blevins scored three runs for the Falcons, while senior Alex Sorgi stole her Mid-American Conference-leading 30th base of the year.

The Falcons and Vikings were originally scheduled to play a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader on Tuesday. But, rain in the Bowling Green area on Tuesday morning forced the teams to postpone the start of the day's action by more than an hour, and the coaches agreed to play just a single game.

MILLER TIME
• Senior Meredith Miller has won each of her last three decisions, and is now 15-15 on the year. In those outings – vs. Wright State, Akron and CSU – she has walked just four batters and struck out 27 in 23 innings of work.
• Miller now has a total of 181 strikeouts this year to date. That is the third-highest single-season total in school history.

THE REAL McCOY
• Junior Madi McCoy recorded her first two-homer game as a Falcon in Tuesday's win over the Vikings, and her total of five runs batted in also represented a season best.
• McCoy increased her team-leading totals to nine homers and 31 RBI. She has amassed those totals despite being sidelined for two weeks in early April due to injury.
• McCoy is batting .347 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The home team scored single runs in each of the first two innings, before putting three runs on the board in both the third and sixth frames.
• Starting pitcher Meredith Miller worked around a two-out single from Lindsay Ward in the top of the first, as BG left fielder Taylor Blevins made a nifty running catch of a foul fly off the bat of Riley Ries for the third out. Blevins caught the ball just a few steps before reaching the tarp along the fence in foul ground in left.
• In the bottom of the inning, senior Alex Sorgi led off with a single, then stole second base. Blevins walked, and after an out on the basepaths, Blevins took second on a Madi McCoy grounder and third on a Kelly Hysong wild pitch. The BG junior then trotted home when senior Kellie Natham doubled off the wall in left.
• Mackenzie Tucker was hit by a Miller pitch to begin the CSU second, and Alyssa Rose bunted her to second. Tucker was stranded there, however, after Miller struck out both Sydney Bajusz and Hallie Ward.
• Then, in the BG second, junior Evelyn Loyola's scorching liner ticked off of the glove of Paige Hartley in center for a one-out single. Hysong struck out the next hitter, but freshman Madeline Dyer hit the first pitch she saw for a single to center, scoring pinch-runner Logan Everett from second base with the Falcons' second run.
• Hysong helped her own cause with a one-out solo homer in the third inning, cutting the BG lead in half. Miller responded by striking out Aly Packish and Lindsay Ward.
• Then, in the BG third. Blevins led off with a flare to left for a single, just over the glove of leaping shortstop Hallie Ward. Blevins promptly stole second, and McCoy then turned on a Hysong pitch and crushed a ball to left for a two-run homer.
• One out later, sophomore Payton Hamm singled, and classmate Nikki Sorgi reached on an infield error. Everett walked on four pitches to load the bases before sophomore Sarah Gonzalez hit a run-scoring grounder. Shortstop Hallie Ward's only play was at third base as Hamm came home with the Falcons' fifth run.
• Miller allowed a leadoff single to Ries in the fourth, then retired the next seven batters, striking out four.
• Meanwhile, Hanna Griffin entered the game in the circle for the visitors to begin the fourth inning. She retired the first five Falcons she encountered, before senior Kali Holcomb doubled to right-center with two outs in the fifth. But, Holcomb was stranded there after an inning-ending grounder to short.
• In the sixth, CSU scored after Lindsay Ward walked with one out and came around to score on Tucker's two-out double.
• But, in the bottom of the inning, McCoy gave the Falcons some breathing room. Gonzalez led off with an infield single, and pinch-hitter Marissa Mullen reached on a fielder's choice, with Gonzalez forced at second.
• Alex Sorgi hit a grounder to short, but Emery Sipe's throw to second was high, and BG had two runners aboard with one out. A Blevins grounder produced an out at second and put runners at the corners, and McCoy followed with a two-out blast to center. The ball landed near the Meserve Field flagpole, and McCoy trotted around the bases for the second time on the afternoon, giving the Falcons a six-run lead.
• Freshman Hannah Davies pitched the seventh inning, and struck out the first two batters she faced. Hartley gave the Vikings a run with a solo homer to left, but it was much too little and much too late. After Hysong reached on an error, Davies got pinch-hitter Gabby Shackelford to hit a foul pop that first baseman Natham gloved halfway down the line for the final out.

BGSU-CSU STATS & LEADERS
• All nine spots in the BGSU batting order produced at least one hit. McCoy was the lone player in the game with multiple hits. The junior was 2-for-4 with two homers and five RBI.
• Holcomb and Natham each doubled for the home team, and Natham drove in a run with her two-base hit.
• Blevins singled, walked, stole a base and scored three runs on the day, while Alex Sorgi also had a hit and a stolen base.
• Dyer was 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI, while Loyola also had a hit in two at-bats.
• Gonzalez and Hamm each went 1-for-3, with Hamm scoring a run and Gonzalez driving in a teammate.
• Everett walked in her lone plate appearance, and scored a run in the win.
• Five different CSU players had one hit apiece, with Hysong and Hartley each hitting a solo homer. Lindsay Ward was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run,
• In the circle, Miller picked up her third-straight win, allowing two runs and four hits in six innings of work. She walked just one batter and struck out 10.
• Miller struck out at least one Viking in each of her six innings, with two K's in the second, third, fourth and sixth frames.
• Davies pitched the seventh inning, giving up one run and striking out a pair.
• Hysong took the loss for the visitors, allowing five runs (four earned) in three innings. She walked two BG batters and whiffed four.
• Griffin allowed three runs (all unearned) and three hits in three innings of relief.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will wrap up the 2019 campaign on Saturday (May 4), as heads to Northeast Ohio for a doubleheader vs. Kent State. First pitch of game one is at 1:00 p.m. at the Diamond at Dix.

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.