Bowling Green State University Athletics
Gottshall, Loyola Sweep MAC Weekly Awards
February 16, 2021 | Softball
Duo helped BGSU to 3-1 start to the 2021 season
The Bowling Green State University softball team has swept the first Mid-American Conference weekly awards of the 2021 season. Evelyn Loyola has been named MAC Player of the Week, the league office announced on Tuesday morning (Feb. 16), while Payton Gottshall is the MAC Pitcher of the Week.
Gottshall earns the league pitcher-of-the-week honor for the first time this season (obviously) and the third time in her brief BGSU career, while Loyola has garnered conference player-of-the-week accolades for the first time in her Falcon career.
Loyola, a native of Ventura, Calif. (Buena H.S.), hit a team-leading .556 as the Falcons won three of four games in BG's season-opening series at Cleveland State. Loyola went 5-for-9 vs. the Vikings, with an on-base percentage of .733 and a slugging pct. of .889 in the four games.
In Friday's (Feb. 12) season opener, Loyola had a three-run homer to account for all of the scoring in a 3-0 win, and she was 3-for-3 with a walk in that victory. She had at least one walk in every game, with a total of six on the weekend.
On Saturday (Feb. 13), in the final game of the series, Loyola was 2-for-3 with two walks, a run scored and an RBI as the Falcons posted an 8-7 comeback victory.
In the four games, Loyola led the Falcons in batting average, homers, RBI (four), walks (six), OBP and slugging pct., and she tied for the team lead with eight total bases. And, she had a perfect fielding percentage of 1.000 in 36 total chances.
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Gottshall, who hails from Massillon, Ohio (Perry H.S.), was dominant, to say the very least, in her three appearances in the circle. She had a 3-0 record with an earned-run average of 0.00, and she allowed just five hits in 21 1/3 innings of work for an opponent batting average of .072.
In her three appearances, Gottshall struck out 51 and did not walk a batter.
In Friday's (Feb. 12) opener, Gottshall fired a one-hit shutout, striking out a school-record 20 batters. The strikeout total tied her for third on the NCAA Division-I list for strikeouts in a seven-inning game. In that win, she faced 22 batters, allowing only two to put the ball in play (a leadoff single in the fifth and a popup back to the circle).
Then, on Saturday (Feb. 13), all Gottshall did was throw a perfect game, striking out 16. It was just the second perfect game in school history, and the first since 1993. She struck out 16 of the 21 Viking batters she faced for her second complete-game shutout in as many days.
Then, in game two of Saturday's doubleheader, she entered the game in relief, with BG trailing 6-1 in the second inning, and proceeded to pitch 7 1/3 innings and pick up the win as the Falcons rallied for an 8-7, extra-inning victory. Gottshall struck out 15 more hitters in that game.
Will this be Gottshall's last award of the day? Come back to BGSUFalcons.com later this afternoon and find out!
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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.
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Gottshall earns the league pitcher-of-the-week honor for the first time this season (obviously) and the third time in her brief BGSU career, while Loyola has garnered conference player-of-the-week accolades for the first time in her Falcon career.
Loyola, a native of Ventura, Calif. (Buena H.S.), hit a team-leading .556 as the Falcons won three of four games in BG's season-opening series at Cleveland State. Loyola went 5-for-9 vs. the Vikings, with an on-base percentage of .733 and a slugging pct. of .889 in the four games.
In Friday's (Feb. 12) season opener, Loyola had a three-run homer to account for all of the scoring in a 3-0 win, and she was 3-for-3 with a walk in that victory. She had at least one walk in every game, with a total of six on the weekend.
On Saturday (Feb. 13), in the final game of the series, Loyola was 2-for-3 with two walks, a run scored and an RBI as the Falcons posted an 8-7 comeback victory.
In the four games, Loyola led the Falcons in batting average, homers, RBI (four), walks (six), OBP and slugging pct., and she tied for the team lead with eight total bases. And, she had a perfect fielding percentage of 1.000 in 36 total chances.
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Gottshall, who hails from Massillon, Ohio (Perry H.S.), was dominant, to say the very least, in her three appearances in the circle. She had a 3-0 record with an earned-run average of 0.00, and she allowed just five hits in 21 1/3 innings of work for an opponent batting average of .072.
In her three appearances, Gottshall struck out 51 and did not walk a batter.
In Friday's (Feb. 12) opener, Gottshall fired a one-hit shutout, striking out a school-record 20 batters. The strikeout total tied her for third on the NCAA Division-I list for strikeouts in a seven-inning game. In that win, she faced 22 batters, allowing only two to put the ball in play (a leadoff single in the fifth and a popup back to the circle).
Then, on Saturday (Feb. 13), all Gottshall did was throw a perfect game, striking out 16. It was just the second perfect game in school history, and the first since 1993. She struck out 16 of the 21 Viking batters she faced for her second complete-game shutout in as many days.
Then, in game two of Saturday's doubleheader, she entered the game in relief, with BG trailing 6-1 in the second inning, and proceeded to pitch 7 1/3 innings and pick up the win as the Falcons rallied for an 8-7, extra-inning victory. Gottshall struck out 15 more hitters in that game.
Will this be Gottshall's last award of the day? Come back to BGSUFalcons.com later this afternoon and find out!
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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.
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