BG Keeps the Blue Hens at Bay, 6-5

Friday, February 25

Raleigh, N.C.

10:00 AM

Bowling Green State University

5-1

Delaware

5-5

Bowling Green

Delaware

Peyton Dolejs was 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI in the win over Delaware

Photo by: Larry Clapper

February 25, 2022 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 BGSU-Delaware Stats BGSU-NC State Stats

Williamson's homer gives Falcons the lead in Friday's opener; BG splits on first day of NC State Invite

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

RALEIGH, N.C. – Reagan Williamson's homer broke a tie game in the fifth, and Payton Gottshall slammed the door as the Bowling Green State University softball team picked up a 6-5 win over the University of Delaware on Friday (Feb. 25). The game was the opening contest at the NC State Invitational.

In BGSU's second game of the day, host North Carolina State University used a pair of long balls to take control en route to a 4-0 win over the Falcons.

The Falcons (5-2) pounded out 12 hits in the opener, with four players posting multiple-hit games. Peyton Dolejs continued her hot start to the season, going 3-for-4 and driving in two runs, while Williamson was 2-for-4 with the homer and a pair of RBI.

Sarah Gonzalez and Greta L'Esperance each went 2-for-4 vs. Delaware (5-5 after the BGSU game) as well, and Ally Bezjak reached base twice, via a hit and a walk. Payton Hamm had an RBI double in the fifth inning.

Kiara Hurley pitched into the sixth inning to pick up the win, while Gottahall came on to get the final six outs and earn the save.

In the second game of the day, NC State (11-1 after the BGSU contest) got a two-run homer in the third inning, and Wolfpack starting pitcher Maddie McPherson worked out of jams in both the fifth and sixth frames. McPherson allowed just one hit, but Aisha Weixlmann came on in relief and struck out all five batters she faced.

BGSU-UD – HOW IT HAPPENED
• Delaware starter Graceyn Frost worked around a two-out walk to Lexi Carver in the top of the first, before the Blue Hens staked her to an early lead with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Hanna Garber led off with a bunt single and stole second. Halle Kisamore was hit by a Kiara Hurley pitch, and with runners at second and third, a fly ball to left by Brittney Mendoza allowed Garber to tag and score. Then, Kailey Christian homered to give UD a 3-0 lead after one inning of play.
• But, the Falcons struck right back with three runs in the top of the second. Bailey Sample was hit by a pitch, and Maycee Godbolt bunted her to second. Frost struck out the next batter for the second out, but BG proceeded to string together four-straight singles.
• Sarah Gonzalez began the hit parade, putting a ball through the right side of the infield to score Sample. Ally Bezjak and Greta L'Esperance followed with singles to load the bases for Peyton Dolejs, and Dolejs came through. The sophomore's base hit scored both Gonzalez and Bezjak to tie the game at 3-3.
• BGSU loaded the bases in the fourth inning, on a Gonzalez single, a walk to Bezjak and an infield hit by Dolejs, but Frost was able to escape the jam.
• The Falcons quickly took the lead in the next inning, as Reagan Williamson led off the fifth frame with a homer to dead center. Megan Stauffer replaced Frost in the circle, but Sample greeted her with a single, then continued to second on an error. One batter later, Payton Hamm roped a double to right to score Sample and give the Orange and Brown a 5-3 lead.
• Hanna Garber quickly cut that lead in half in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff homer, but Hurley worked around a two-out hit-by-pitch to keep the Falcons in the lead.
• BG manufactured a run in the sixth, as L'Esperance and Dolejs singled to chase Stauffer from the game. Emily Winburn entered the game, and Carver's sacrifice bunt moved the runners up 60 feet before L'Esperance came home on a Williamson grounder.
• Again, though, the Blue Hens responded with a run, as Morgan Olynyk led off the home half of the sixth with a homer. Payton Gottshall entered the game and retired the next three batters, striking out the first two.
• Winburn struck out the side in the seventh, and the Blue Hens worked Gottshall for a pair of walks in the bottom of the inning, as both Hanna Garber and Kisamore won lengthy battles. But, Gottshall proceeded to catch both Mendoza and Christian looking, locking down the win.

BGSU-NCSU – HOW IT HAPPENED
• Both starting pitchers, Gottshall and NC State's Maddie McPherson, began the game by working two perfect innings. McPherson struck out three of the first six batters, and retired eight in a row before Marlie McNulty worked a two-out walk in the third. Gottshall struck out two batters in each of the first two frames.
• In the third, however, the Wolfpack took the lead. After Michele Tarpey drew a leadoff walk, Taylor Johnson homered to center to give the hosts a 2-0 advantage. Taylor Ensley reached on a bloop double before Gottshall set down the next three hitters.
• Sample singled to center with one out in the fourth, for BG's first hit of the game, but McPherson got a fly ball to left and a grounder to second to retire the side. Gottshall and the Falcons worked around a one-out hit in the bottom of the inning, with the BG ace whiffing Tarpey to end the frame.
• In the fifth, Gonzalez was robbed of a base hit when the NC State second baseman, Kaylee Lambrecht, ranged to her left, made a diving stop and while lying on her stomach, flipped the ball to first for the second out of the inning. Instead of a runner on first with one out, the bases were empty with two down.
• That play proved pivotal after Bezjak drew a walk and McNulty reached on a throwing error by McPherson that put runners at second and third. But, the NC State hurler recovered to retire the next hitter and keep BG off the scoreboard.
• The Wolfpack loaded the bases in the home half of the fifth. A walk and an error began the inning, and after Gottshall retired the next two hitters, a Logan Morris liner hit the BG pitcher in the leg, loading the bases. Gottshall proceeded to end the inning by striking out Randi Farricker for the third time.
• The Falcons threatened, but did not score, in the sixth. Dolejs drew a walk, and after a sharply-hit ball by Sample resulted in a fielder's choice, a throwing error on a Williamson grounder put runners at first and second. After a wild pitch, pinch-hitter Sophie Weber was hit by a pitch to load the bases and prompt a pitching change. But, reliever Aisha Weixlmann recorded a pair of strikeouts to enable the Wolfpack to escape the jam.
• In the bottom of the inning, Sam Sack gave her team some insurance with a leadoff homer to center. The Wolfpack picked up another run with back-to-back singles and a sac fly to right, and Weixlmann set down the Falcons in the seventh.

UP NEXT
• The NC State Invitational continues on Saturday (Feb. 26). BGSU will face Central Connecticut State in a 10:00 a.m. start, then will meet Delaware once again, with first pitch at 12:30 p.m.
• BG will conclude tourney action with a Sunday (Feb. 27) rematch with CCSU, starting at 10:00 a.m.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
For more information on 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.