Hamm's Slam Propels Falcons to Sunday Sweep

Sunday, March 13

Nashville, Tenn.

12:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

11-5

Pittsburgh

11-8

Pitt

Bowling Green

Payton Hamm's walk-off grand slam lifted the Falcons past Pitt on Sunday

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

March 13, 2022 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 BGSU-Pitt Stats BGSU-HBU Stats Support Our Softball Student-Athletes

Senior's walk-off grand slam downs Pitt before BG bests Houston Baptist

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Payton Hamm's walk-off grand slam lifted the Bowling Green State University softball team to an 8-5 victory over the University of Pittsburgh and propelled the Falcons to a Sunday (March 13) sweep at the Lady Bison Classic.

In the second game of the day at Draper Diamond, the Falcons took an early lead en route to a 7-4 victory over Houston Baptist University.

Payton Gottshall, who earned the win for the Falcons (now 12-5) in game one, came on to earn the save in the second contest. In the latter game, she struck out all three batters she faced, needing just 11 pitches to do so.

BGSU pounded out a total of 20 hits on the day, with a bevy of blistering batting performances, including (but not limited to)...

• Reagan Williamson, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles, four walks and two runs scored. She had an on-base percentage of .875 and a slugging pct. of 1.250 on the day.

• Sophie Weber, who was 4-for-7 with a stolen base and an RBI.

• Lexi Carver, who went 2-for-4 with a double, three walks, two RBI, a hit-by-pitch and an OBP of .750 on Sunday.

• Sarah Gonzalez, who also was 2-for-4 and added two walks, a sac bunt and a run scored. Gonzalez had a .667 OBP in the two games.

• Bailey Sample, who went 3-for-7 and scored three runs.

• Peyton Dolejs, who was 3-for-8 with a triple and also scored three runs on the day.

BGSU went 3-1 on the weekend, outscoring opponents by a 24-14 count in the four games in Nashville. Over the last seven contests, the Falcons are 6-1 and have scored 46 runs while allowing 17.

QUOTING COACH WILLIS
"The win over Pitt was a great team win for our program. We had a strong performance from Payton Gottshall in the circle, along with tremendous offensive support. I had so much confidence in our offense to not only tie the game back up in the seventh, but also secure the win. Payton Hamm came up bit for us with the blast to right field. That was the most hyped I have seen our team this season."

"Our second game against Houston Baptist was another good show offensively, although we failed to capitalize in a few situations and left too many runners on base. The pitching staff did a good job of piecing the game together for the win."

"We will need to sharpen some things defensively and with our baserunning as we head into our MAC-opening series against NIU."

BGSU-PITT – HOW IT HAPPENED
• For the second time on the weekend, a walk-off win decided a game between BGSU and Pittsburgh. The Panthers captured Friday's meeting, but it was Payton Hamm and the Falcons who came out on top on Sunday.
• The Panthers put runners at the corners in the first inning via an error and a two-out base hit, but Payton Gottshall got ahead of Sarah Seamans in the count, then induced the Pitt batter to hit a fly ball to left to end the threat.
• Then, the Falcons took an early lead against Panthers starter Dani Drogemuller. Peyton Dolejs drew a one-out walk, and went to third on Reagan Williamson's ground-rule double to left-center with two down. Lexi Carver followed with a drive to right-center, and Carver's double plated both Dolejs and Williamson.
• The Panthers evened the score in the second, as Kayla Lane was hit by a pitch, and Amanda Ramirez homered to left. That homer would be the last hit Gottshall allowed until the sixth inning.
• BGSU retook the lead in the third, as Dolejs led off with a single, then took second on a wild pitch. She advanced to third as the ball-four pitch that concluded Bailey Sample's plate appearance went to the backstop. Then, Sample was tagged out on a double-steal attempt, but kept the play alive long enough for Dolejs to score without a throw home.
• After a leadoff walk, Seamans advanced to third with one out in the fourth, but Gottshall struck out Lane, then won a nine-pitch battle with Ramirez, getting the Pitt catcher to fly out to Dolejs in left.
• BGSU added a run in the fifth, with a two-out rally. After Panther reliever Ally Mureskin struck out the first two hitters of the inning, both Williamson and Carver drew walks after lengthy at-bats. Then, Madison Hendrix came through with a pinch-hit single that plated Williamson. The next hitter, Sophie Weber, roped a ball to left, but the scorching liner was speared by a leaping leftfielder to end the frame.
• But, the Panthers would rally. After Cami Compson's one-out single in the sixth, Katlyn Pavlick homered with two down to tie the score. Then, in the top of the seventh, a pair of hit batters and an outfield error gave Pitt an unearned run, and the Falcons trailed, 5-4.
• But, BGSU would respond in a big way in the bottom of the seventh. Sample led off with a single, and Williamson walked. Carver's single to center loaded the bases with no outs.
• Then, on the very next pitch, Hamm scorched a ball to right, and the liner cleared the fence for a walk-off grand slam.

BGSU-HBU – HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons scored five times in the first two innings, and BGSU was able to fend off a surge by the Huskies.
• The first inning saw BGSU plate three runs vs. HBU starter Sarah Venker. Greta L'Esperance drew a walk to lead off the game, and promptly stole her 12th base of the season. L'Esperance would score easily on a triple by Dolejs, and Dolejs continued on home as the result of an error. Two batters in, the Falcons had a 2-0 lead.
• The first five Falcons would reach base as Sample followed with a single and Williamson drew a walk. Carver was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and one out later, Sophie Weber singled to score Sample. Venker was able to get an inning-ending double play, but BG led by three.
• The Falcons added to that lead in the second. L'Esperance reached on a one-out bunt single, and took second on an infield grounder. She would score on Sample's single, and after Williamson reached on an error, both Carver and Hamm drew walks, with the latter free pass allowing Sample to trot home.
• The Huskies, however, responded in the third. Shelby Echols reached on an error to begin the inning, and after Caitlyn Brockway's two-out infield single, an inside-the-park homer by Haylie Savage cut the BGSU lead to 5-3. On the latter play, the BGSU outfielders claimed that the ball was unplayable, as Savage's liner went under the fence in right-center. After a meeting, however, the umpires ruled that the play stood as a homer.
• Avery Drake led off the fifth with a double, and when Jasie Roberts followed with a single, Hannah Davies replaced starter Kiara Hurley in the circle. Davied go Brockway to foul out to catcher Williamson, but walks to Savage and Riley Martin forced home a run. Davies then struck out Justice Palmer and got Venker to ground out, ending the threat.
• BGSU loaded the bases in the sixth, on a Dolejs single and walks to Williamson and Carver, but Venker was able to escape the jam with an inning-ending strikeout.
• Davies worked around a one-out walk in the bottom of the inning, striking out Roberts to send the game to the seventh, where BGSU would extend the lead.
• Weber began the seventh with a single, and pinch-runner Bre Cooper stole second. Sarah Gonzalez drew a walk, and Wynnie Reid's sac bunt put both runners in scoring position.
• Then, L'Esperance's sac fly plated Cooper, and an error allowed Gonzalez to come all the way around to score as well.
• In the bottom of the seventh, Brockway led off with a single up the middle. Gottshall entered the circle and proceeded to strike out Savage on four pitches, Martin on three and Palmer on four, giving the Falcons the victory and the Sunday sweep.

STATS, LEADERS & NOTES
• BGSU outhit Pitt, 11-4, in the opener, with Carver, Weber and Williamson all registering two hits. Williamson was 2-for-2 with two walks, two doubles and two runs scored.
• Weber and Carver each went 2-for-3, with a double among Carver's hits. Weber had a stolen base, while Carver scored one run and drove in two.
• Dolejs and Sample each had a hit and a walk, with Dolejs crossing the plate twice and Sample once. Hendrix had an RBI single in her lone plate appearance, and Gonzalez was 1-for-2 with a sac bunt in the win.
• Compson had two of Pitt's four hits, while Pavlick and Ramirez each had a two-run homer.
• In the circle, Gottshall allowed four earned runs and four hits, walking one and striking out 11. She fired 100 strikes among her 133 total pitches.
• Muraskin took the loss for Pitt, allowing five earned runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings. Drogemuller, the starter, had surrendered three earned runs and five hits before leaving with one out in the third.
• In the HBU contest, each team had at least one baserunner in every single inning. BGSU left 10 runners on base and the Huskies nine.
• Dolejs, Sample and Weber each had two of BGSU's nine hits. Williamson and Gonzalez each had a hit and two walks, while Carver walked twice and was also hit by a pitch.
• L'Esperance and Sample each scored two runs in the victory.
• Hurley, the first of three BGSU pitchers, allowed one earned run in four innings, while Davies and Gottshall combined for three scoreless frames.
• Hurley picked up the win to improve to 3-1 on the year, while Gottshall earned her second save of the season.
• Brockway and Roberts had two hits apiece for the Huskies, while Savage walked twice and had the three-run homer.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons are scheduled to begin both the home and conference portions of the 2022 schedule next weekend. BGSU is slated to host Northern Illinois in a three-game series, including a Friday (March 18) single game and a Saturday (March 19) doubleheader at Meserve Field.
• Friday's action will begin at 3:00 p.m., with first pitch of Saturday's first game set for 1:00 p.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.