Saturday, February 27
Bowling Green, Ky.
11:00 AM CT (12:00 PM ET)
Bowling Green State University
6-4
8
vs
2
Indiana State
1-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Bowling Green
0
0
0
1
0
1
6
8
8
0
Indiana State
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
2
4
3
Photo by: Chris Kohley/WKU Athletics
Six-Run Seventh Sinks Sycamores Saturday
February 27, 2021 | Softball
Falcons down ISU, 8-2, before falling to host WKU in game two
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Bowling Green State University softball team scored six times in the seventh inning, breaking open a tie game en route to an 8-2 win over Indiana State University Saturday afternoon (Feb. 27). The victory came in the first game for both teams at the WKU Hilltopper Classic
In BGSU's second Saturday game, host Western Kentucky University used a six-run fourth to take control, going on to an 8-0 victory.
Redshirt freshman Payton Gottshall fired a complete-game four-hitter, walking three batters and striking out 14, in the win over the Sycamores.Â
Madi McCoy led the way at the plate vs. ISU, going 2-for-3 with a homer, a double and a sacrifice fly. She scored two runs and drove in two runs.
Greta L'Esperance also had a pair of hits in the opener, and she added one more in the WKU game. Sammy Dees was 2-for-2 with a pair of stolen bases vs. the Hilltoppers.
BGSU-INDIANA STATE – HOW IT HAPPENED
• Falcon starter Payton Gottshall and ISU hurler Gabbi Schnaiter fired goose eggs through three innings. Gottshall faced the minimum six hitters through two frames, striking out the side in the first. She issued a leadoff walk to Annie Tokarek in the second, but pinch-runner Abi Chipps was erased on the basepaths.
• In the third, the BG redshirt freshman struck out the first two batters – reaching 100 strikeouts on the season in the process – before a hit-by-pitch and a walk put two runners aboard. But, Gottshall proceeded to strike out the next hitter, Bella Peterson.
• Meanwhile, though, Schnaiter faced the minimum six batters in the first two innings as well. In the third, however, a Sophie Weber walk was followed by a Sarah Gonzalez sacrifice bunt, and both runners were safe on a Schnaiter error. Nikki Sorgi bunted the runners to second and third, respectively, but the Sycamores got out of the inning, retiring two Falcons on the bases on back-to-back BG hits.
• BG broke through in the fourth. Madi McCoy fouled off five pitches during a nine-pitch at-bat, hitting the ninth offering to left-center for a leadoff double. Evelyn Loyola bunted McCoy to third, and she tagged and scored on a Payton Hamm sac fly.
• But, ISU responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Tokarek singled with one out, and Isabella Henning followed with a two-run homer to left, giving the Sycamores a 2-1 lead.
• Schnaiter needed just five pitches to get through the fifth inning, but the Falcons tied the score in the sixth, as McCoy homered to center with two down.
• In the bottom of the sixth, Gottshall struck out the first two hitters, hit the next batter with a pitch, then got an inning-ending fly ball to center.
• BG exploded for six runs in the top of the seventh, sending 10 hitters to the plate. Hamm led off with a walk, and Peyton Dolejs, the first batter to face relief pitcher Peyton Ottersbach, laid down a sac bunt and reached on an infield error to put runners at the corners. Weber singled to score Hamm, and Gonzalez walked on four pitches to load the bases.
• The Sycamores made another pitching change, but Sorgi greeted Abbey Kruzel with a single up the middle to score Dolejs. L'EsperanceÂ
reached on a fielder's choice, and everyone was safe on an error by the ISU catcher, with Weber scoring. Then, back-to-back sac flies, by Sammy Dees and McCoy, each scored a run, and Loyola's single plated L'Esperance to give the Falcons a six-run lead.
•  That was more than enough run support for Gottshall. She struck out a pair of batters to begin the ISU seventh, and after the next two hitters reached on a walk and a single, the Falcon hurler struck out Peterson for the fourth time to close out the win. Peterson had entered the game having gone 11-for-18 at the plate on the season.
• BGSU outhit, ISU, 8-4, and the Falcons had four sacrifice bunts and three sac flies in the win.
BGSU-WESTERN KENTUCKY – HOW IT HAPPENED
• BG's second game of the day again saw both teams scoreless after three innings. WKU's Shelby Nunn escaped a second-and-third, one-out jam in the top of the first, after L'Esperance and Sammy Dees each had singled and Dees had stolen second. Two infield grounders got Nunn and the Hilltoppers out of the half-inning.
• BGSU starter Harlie Vannatter allowed only one baserunner through the first two innings, on a first-inning walk. She surrendered a one-out single in the third, but catcher Logan Everett and shortstop McCoy teamed up to catch that runner attempting to steal.
• In that third frame, two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with two down, before Vannatter retired Kendall Smith on a grounder to Gonzalez at third.
• But, Nunn retired eight-straight batters after the Sammy Dees single in the first, and after Dees again singled (and again stole second) in the fourth, Nunn got out of the inning with two strikeouts wrapped around an infield grounder. Dees was stranded at third, and Nunn's team staked her to a lead in the bottom of the inning.
• Jordan Ridge led off the inning with a single, and moved to second on a sac bunt. A liner to left produced the second out, but Maddie Bowlds singled to score Ridge. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases before Jordan Thomas cleared them with a three-run double, and a Taylor Sanders homer capped the six-run inning.
• And, the Hilltoppers closed out the win in the fifth. Ridge led off by working BG reliever Sydney Stepp for a walk, and Brylee Hage and Taylor Davis followed with infield singles. Two more hits, by Bowlds and TJ Webster, each plated a run to give the hosts an eight-run lead.
• WKU had nine hits, with Webster going 2-for-2 and Bowlds 2-for-3. Sammy Dees had two of the Falcons' three hits, with L'Esperance getting the other.
NOTES
• Greta L'Esperance has hit safely in all 11 games this season to date, and has an 13-game hitting streak dating to last season.
• L'Esperance also stole a base in five-straight games, before seeing that streak come to an end in Saturday's second game.
• She has 17 total hits and six stolen bases in 2021. L'Esperance leads the Falcons in both categories, and has topped her totals (10 hits, four steals) from last season.
• Saturday's opener marked the first time in six starts this season that Payton Gottshall did not take a shutout into the seventh inning. She allowed two fourth-inning runs vs. Indiana State, but still picked up the win with a four-hitter, moving to 6-1 on the year.
• As a true freshman in 2020, Gottshall had a double-digit strikeout total in four games. This season, she has had at least 13 strikeouts in each of her seven games – including one relief appearance – to date.
• Despite allowing a pair of runs on Saturday, Gottshall's season ERA is just 0.56.
• Gottshall has pitched 50 1/3 innings this season. She has walked seven batters and struck out 108, and opponents have batted just .099 against her in 2021.
• In her BGSU career, Gottshall has struck out 236 batters in 137 1/3 innings. She already ranks 11th in school history in career strikeouts, and is 18 away from moving into the top 10.
• The school record for strikeouts per seven innings (minimum 200 innings pitched) is 7.12, by BGSU Hall-of-Famer Liz Vrabel (2003-06). In her career to date, Gottshall has struck out 12.03 batters per seven innings.
UP NEXT
• The Falcons conclude play in the WKU Hilltopper Classic on Sunday (Feb. 28), facing ISU and WKU again. BGSU is scheduled to meet the Sycamores at 12:00 p.m. ET, with the game vs. the Hilltoppers to follow.
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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In BGSU's second Saturday game, host Western Kentucky University used a six-run fourth to take control, going on to an 8-0 victory.
Redshirt freshman Payton Gottshall fired a complete-game four-hitter, walking three batters and striking out 14, in the win over the Sycamores.Â
Madi McCoy led the way at the plate vs. ISU, going 2-for-3 with a homer, a double and a sacrifice fly. She scored two runs and drove in two runs.
Greta L'Esperance also had a pair of hits in the opener, and she added one more in the WKU game. Sammy Dees was 2-for-2 with a pair of stolen bases vs. the Hilltoppers.
BGSU-INDIANA STATE – HOW IT HAPPENED
• Falcon starter Payton Gottshall and ISU hurler Gabbi Schnaiter fired goose eggs through three innings. Gottshall faced the minimum six hitters through two frames, striking out the side in the first. She issued a leadoff walk to Annie Tokarek in the second, but pinch-runner Abi Chipps was erased on the basepaths.
• In the third, the BG redshirt freshman struck out the first two batters – reaching 100 strikeouts on the season in the process – before a hit-by-pitch and a walk put two runners aboard. But, Gottshall proceeded to strike out the next hitter, Bella Peterson.
• Meanwhile, though, Schnaiter faced the minimum six batters in the first two innings as well. In the third, however, a Sophie Weber walk was followed by a Sarah Gonzalez sacrifice bunt, and both runners were safe on a Schnaiter error. Nikki Sorgi bunted the runners to second and third, respectively, but the Sycamores got out of the inning, retiring two Falcons on the bases on back-to-back BG hits.
• BG broke through in the fourth. Madi McCoy fouled off five pitches during a nine-pitch at-bat, hitting the ninth offering to left-center for a leadoff double. Evelyn Loyola bunted McCoy to third, and she tagged and scored on a Payton Hamm sac fly.
• But, ISU responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Tokarek singled with one out, and Isabella Henning followed with a two-run homer to left, giving the Sycamores a 2-1 lead.
• Schnaiter needed just five pitches to get through the fifth inning, but the Falcons tied the score in the sixth, as McCoy homered to center with two down.
• In the bottom of the sixth, Gottshall struck out the first two hitters, hit the next batter with a pitch, then got an inning-ending fly ball to center.
• BG exploded for six runs in the top of the seventh, sending 10 hitters to the plate. Hamm led off with a walk, and Peyton Dolejs, the first batter to face relief pitcher Peyton Ottersbach, laid down a sac bunt and reached on an infield error to put runners at the corners. Weber singled to score Hamm, and Gonzalez walked on four pitches to load the bases.
• The Sycamores made another pitching change, but Sorgi greeted Abbey Kruzel with a single up the middle to score Dolejs. L'EsperanceÂ
reached on a fielder's choice, and everyone was safe on an error by the ISU catcher, with Weber scoring. Then, back-to-back sac flies, by Sammy Dees and McCoy, each scored a run, and Loyola's single plated L'Esperance to give the Falcons a six-run lead.
•  That was more than enough run support for Gottshall. She struck out a pair of batters to begin the ISU seventh, and after the next two hitters reached on a walk and a single, the Falcon hurler struck out Peterson for the fourth time to close out the win. Peterson had entered the game having gone 11-for-18 at the plate on the season.
• BGSU outhit, ISU, 8-4, and the Falcons had four sacrifice bunts and three sac flies in the win.
BGSU-WESTERN KENTUCKY – HOW IT HAPPENED
• BG's second game of the day again saw both teams scoreless after three innings. WKU's Shelby Nunn escaped a second-and-third, one-out jam in the top of the first, after L'Esperance and Sammy Dees each had singled and Dees had stolen second. Two infield grounders got Nunn and the Hilltoppers out of the half-inning.
• BGSU starter Harlie Vannatter allowed only one baserunner through the first two innings, on a first-inning walk. She surrendered a one-out single in the third, but catcher Logan Everett and shortstop McCoy teamed up to catch that runner attempting to steal.
• In that third frame, two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with two down, before Vannatter retired Kendall Smith on a grounder to Gonzalez at third.
• But, Nunn retired eight-straight batters after the Sammy Dees single in the first, and after Dees again singled (and again stole second) in the fourth, Nunn got out of the inning with two strikeouts wrapped around an infield grounder. Dees was stranded at third, and Nunn's team staked her to a lead in the bottom of the inning.
• Jordan Ridge led off the inning with a single, and moved to second on a sac bunt. A liner to left produced the second out, but Maddie Bowlds singled to score Ridge. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases before Jordan Thomas cleared them with a three-run double, and a Taylor Sanders homer capped the six-run inning.
• And, the Hilltoppers closed out the win in the fifth. Ridge led off by working BG reliever Sydney Stepp for a walk, and Brylee Hage and Taylor Davis followed with infield singles. Two more hits, by Bowlds and TJ Webster, each plated a run to give the hosts an eight-run lead.
• WKU had nine hits, with Webster going 2-for-2 and Bowlds 2-for-3. Sammy Dees had two of the Falcons' three hits, with L'Esperance getting the other.
NOTES
• Greta L'Esperance has hit safely in all 11 games this season to date, and has an 13-game hitting streak dating to last season.
• L'Esperance also stole a base in five-straight games, before seeing that streak come to an end in Saturday's second game.
• She has 17 total hits and six stolen bases in 2021. L'Esperance leads the Falcons in both categories, and has topped her totals (10 hits, four steals) from last season.
• Saturday's opener marked the first time in six starts this season that Payton Gottshall did not take a shutout into the seventh inning. She allowed two fourth-inning runs vs. Indiana State, but still picked up the win with a four-hitter, moving to 6-1 on the year.
• As a true freshman in 2020, Gottshall had a double-digit strikeout total in four games. This season, she has had at least 13 strikeouts in each of her seven games – including one relief appearance – to date.
• Despite allowing a pair of runs on Saturday, Gottshall's season ERA is just 0.56.
• Gottshall has pitched 50 1/3 innings this season. She has walked seven batters and struck out 108, and opponents have batted just .099 against her in 2021.
• In her BGSU career, Gottshall has struck out 236 batters in 137 1/3 innings. She already ranks 11th in school history in career strikeouts, and is 18 away from moving into the top 10.
• The school record for strikeouts per seven innings (minimum 200 innings pitched) is 7.12, by BGSU Hall-of-Famer Liz Vrabel (2003-06). In her career to date, Gottshall has struck out 12.03 batters per seven innings.
UP NEXT
• The Falcons conclude play in the WKU Hilltopper Classic on Sunday (Feb. 28), facing ISU and WKU again. BGSU is scheduled to meet the Sycamores at 12:00 p.m. ET, with the game vs. the Hilltoppers to follow.
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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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: NUNN,S. (3-0)
L: Vannatter, Harlie (0-3)
Base Running:
SB: Dees, Sammy 2
Batting:
2B: THOMAS,J. 1
HR: SANDERS,T. 1
RBI: THOMAS,J. 3 ; SANDERS,T. 2 ; BOWLDS,M. 2 ; Webster, TJ 1
SH: HAGE,B. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CARTER,P. 1 ; THOMAS,J. 1 ; SANDERS,T. 1 ; RIDGE,J. 2 ; HAGE,B. 1 ; BOWLDS,M. 1 ; Webster, TJ 1
CS: Webster, TJ 1
HBP: SANDERS,T. 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
SS/2B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF/OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
SS
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
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