Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, March 18
Bowling Green, Ohio
11:00 AM
Bowling Green State University
vs
Northern Illinois
Photo by: Evansville Athletics
Falcons Host NIU to Begin Home & MAC Portions of 2022 Schedule
March 17, 2022 | Softball
BGSU set to face the Huskies in a Friday DH, Saturday single game
THIS WEEK IN FALCON SOFTBALL
• BGSU vs. Northern Illinois • March 18-19 • Bowling Green, Ohio •
• The BGSU softball team begins both the home and the Mid-American Conference portion of the schedule this weekend. Head coach Sarah Willis and the Falcons welcome Northern Illinois University to Meserve Field for a three-game series, including a Friday (March 18) doubleheader and a Saturday (March 19) single game.
• NOTE: Due to the weather forecast, the weekend schedule has changed. The teams are slated to play a Friday DH beginning at 11:00 a.m., with a Saturday single game that is tentatively set to begin at 11:00 a.m. as well. Admission is free to all home games.
• The Falcons are 12-5 on the season, after going 3-1 for the second-straight weekend. BGSU captured the final three contests at last weekend's Lady Bison Classic in Nashville.
• BGSU outscored opponents by a 24-14 count in last weekend's four games. Over the last seven contests, the Falcons are 6-1 and have scored 46 runs while allowing 17.
• BGSU has completed four weekends of action this season, and Payton Gottshall has been named MAC Pitcher of the Week three times. Her latest honor came on Tuesday (March 15).
• Payton Hamm hit a walk-off grand slam to give the Falcons an 8-5 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday (March 13). Hamm has hit two homers this season, and both have been walk-offs.
• Gottshall earned the win vs. Pitt, then picked up the save vs. Houston Baptist later that day. 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 Sunday, with a bevy of blistering batting performances. Reagan Williamson 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 was 4-for-7 with a stolen base and an RBI on Sunday, while Lexi Carver went 2-for-4 with a double, three walks, two RBI, a hit-by-pitch and an OBP of .750.
• Sarah Gonzalez 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 went 3-for-7 and scored three runs in the two wins, while Peyton Dolejs was 3-for-8 with a triple and also scored three runs.
• On the season, Dolejs is hitting .382, while Greta L'Esperance is batting .345 and Williamson .333. Dolejs leads the team with 21 hits and 18 RBI, while L'Esperance has BG-best totals of 12 stolen bases and 20 runs scored.
• Williamson paces BGSU with four homers, and her total of seven extra-base hits ties her with Dolejs for the team lead.
• Weber and Wynnie Reid are batting .435 and .353, respectively, in limited at-bats this spring. Weber hit a team-leading .600 last weekend, going 6-for-10 in the four games in Nashville
• Last season, Williamson had two hits (both singles) and two RBI in 26 at-bats. This year, in 48 at-bats, Williamson has four homers and 15 RBI. Dolejs has 18 RBI this spring after driving in 10 runs last season.
• Gottshall leads the BGSU pitching corps with a 7-3 record, an ERA of 1.71 and 110 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings. Kiara Hurley is 3-1 with three saves and a 3.30 ERA, while Hannah Davies has a 2-1 record and an ERA of 4.63. Hurley's save total is the highest by a BGSU player in four years.
• Gottshall leads the MAC in five statistical categories, and is fifth in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (12.6), 11th in shutouts and 14th in overall strikeouts.
• Offensively, L'Esperance leads the MAC in runs per game, total stolen bases and steals per game, while Carver paces the league in both walks per game and sac bunts per contest. Hurley leads the MAC in saves.
• As a team, the Falcons top the conference in batting average (.287), on-base pct. (.380), runs per game (5.29), ERA (2.79), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.77) and winning pct. (.706).
• Gottshall struck out a school-record 282 batters last season, and obliterated the BGSU record for strikeouts per seven innings, averaging 9.79 (the old record was 8.46). Gottshall went 20-12 last spring, becoming just the fourth pitcher in school history, and the first since 1995, to win 20 games in a season.
• She moved up two spots on the career strikeout list during the trip to Nashville, and now has 520 strikeouts in just 350 innings pitched. She now trails only Liz Vrabel (768 strikeouts) and Hayley Wiemer (557) on that list. Vrabel and Wiemer pitched 754 2/3 and 693 2/3 career innings, respectively.
• In just her third year with the Falcons (including a shortened 2020 season), Gottshall already has added her name to numerous BGSU career lists, including strikeouts per seven innings (10.40, first), strikeouts (520, third), winning pct. (.655 [38-20], fourth), ERA (1.86, eighth), shutouts (15, T-eighth), wins (38, ninth), complete games (41, 10th) and saves (three, T-13th). In her first season with the Falcons, Hurley is tied with Gottshall for 13th on the saves list.
• With four more stolen bases last weekend, L'Esperance now has 41 in her BGSU career, and has moved into fourth place on that list. She has a career batting average of .348, good for third on that BGSU chart.
• Willis and assistant coaches Candace Fenton-Bockbrader and Michaela Bauer welcomed back a total of 16 letterwinners, including six positional starters, from last year's team. Additionally, four of the five pitchers who saw action last season returned, and that quartet combined to pitch 98% of the team's innings a year ago. The returnees also combined for 100% of the Falcons' wins.
• BGSU ended the 2021 season with an overall record of 27-27, and the Falcons went 19-20 in MAC action. BG, picked to finish eighth in the MAC in the preseason coaches' poll, ended the season in fifth place in the 11-team league. BGSU was one of two conference teams to finish as many as three places higher than predicted.
• The 2021 Falcons finished with the program's highest winning percentage in MAC play since 2012, and BGSU's overall total of 27 wins was the highest since the 2013 campaign.
• This season, BGSU was picked to place fourth in the MAC, according to the preseason coaches' poll.
• Northern Illinois is 6-9 on the young season. Katie Keller is hitting an eye-popping .510, with 12 extra-base hits and 20 RBI in just 15 games. In the circle, Emily Dato leads the way with three wins and a 3.61 ERA. Dato is one of three pitchers who have started five games apiece.
• Northern Illinois holds a slim 29-27 lead in the all-time series, but the Falcons captured three of last season's four meetings in DeKalb (May 7-8, 2021).
• BGSU vs. Northern Illinois • March 18-19 • Bowling Green, Ohio •
• The BGSU softball team begins both the home and the Mid-American Conference portion of the schedule this weekend. Head coach Sarah Willis and the Falcons welcome Northern Illinois University to Meserve Field for a three-game series, including a Friday (March 18) doubleheader and a Saturday (March 19) single game.
• NOTE: Due to the weather forecast, the weekend schedule has changed. The teams are slated to play a Friday DH beginning at 11:00 a.m., with a Saturday single game that is tentatively set to begin at 11:00 a.m. as well. Admission is free to all home games.
• The Falcons are 12-5 on the season, after going 3-1 for the second-straight weekend. BGSU captured the final three contests at last weekend's Lady Bison Classic in Nashville.
• BGSU outscored opponents by a 24-14 count in last weekend's four games. Over the last seven contests, the Falcons are 6-1 and have scored 46 runs while allowing 17.
• BGSU has completed four weekends of action this season, and Payton Gottshall has been named MAC Pitcher of the Week three times. Her latest honor came on Tuesday (March 15).
• Payton Hamm hit a walk-off grand slam to give the Falcons an 8-5 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday (March 13). Hamm has hit two homers this season, and both have been walk-offs.
• Gottshall earned the win vs. Pitt, then picked up the save vs. Houston Baptist later that day. 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 Sunday, with a bevy of blistering batting performances. Reagan Williamson 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 was 4-for-7 with a stolen base and an RBI on Sunday, while Lexi Carver went 2-for-4 with a double, three walks, two RBI, a hit-by-pitch and an OBP of .750.
• Sarah Gonzalez 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 went 3-for-7 and scored three runs in the two wins, while Peyton Dolejs was 3-for-8 with a triple and also scored three runs.
• On the season, Dolejs is hitting .382, while Greta L'Esperance is batting .345 and Williamson .333. Dolejs leads the team with 21 hits and 18 RBI, while L'Esperance has BG-best totals of 12 stolen bases and 20 runs scored.
• Williamson paces BGSU with four homers, and her total of seven extra-base hits ties her with Dolejs for the team lead.
• Weber and Wynnie Reid are batting .435 and .353, respectively, in limited at-bats this spring. Weber hit a team-leading .600 last weekend, going 6-for-10 in the four games in Nashville
• Last season, Williamson had two hits (both singles) and two RBI in 26 at-bats. This year, in 48 at-bats, Williamson has four homers and 15 RBI. Dolejs has 18 RBI this spring after driving in 10 runs last season.
• Gottshall leads the BGSU pitching corps with a 7-3 record, an ERA of 1.71 and 110 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings. Kiara Hurley is 3-1 with three saves and a 3.30 ERA, while Hannah Davies has a 2-1 record and an ERA of 4.63. Hurley's save total is the highest by a BGSU player in four years.
• Gottshall leads the MAC in five statistical categories, and is fifth in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (12.6), 11th in shutouts and 14th in overall strikeouts.
• Offensively, L'Esperance leads the MAC in runs per game, total stolen bases and steals per game, while Carver paces the league in both walks per game and sac bunts per contest. Hurley leads the MAC in saves.
• As a team, the Falcons top the conference in batting average (.287), on-base pct. (.380), runs per game (5.29), ERA (2.79), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.77) and winning pct. (.706).
• Gottshall struck out a school-record 282 batters last season, and obliterated the BGSU record for strikeouts per seven innings, averaging 9.79 (the old record was 8.46). Gottshall went 20-12 last spring, becoming just the fourth pitcher in school history, and the first since 1995, to win 20 games in a season.
• She moved up two spots on the career strikeout list during the trip to Nashville, and now has 520 strikeouts in just 350 innings pitched. She now trails only Liz Vrabel (768 strikeouts) and Hayley Wiemer (557) on that list. Vrabel and Wiemer pitched 754 2/3 and 693 2/3 career innings, respectively.
• In just her third year with the Falcons (including a shortened 2020 season), Gottshall already has added her name to numerous BGSU career lists, including strikeouts per seven innings (10.40, first), strikeouts (520, third), winning pct. (.655 [38-20], fourth), ERA (1.86, eighth), shutouts (15, T-eighth), wins (38, ninth), complete games (41, 10th) and saves (three, T-13th). In her first season with the Falcons, Hurley is tied with Gottshall for 13th on the saves list.
• With four more stolen bases last weekend, L'Esperance now has 41 in her BGSU career, and has moved into fourth place on that list. She has a career batting average of .348, good for third on that BGSU chart.
• Willis and assistant coaches Candace Fenton-Bockbrader and Michaela Bauer welcomed back a total of 16 letterwinners, including six positional starters, from last year's team. Additionally, four of the five pitchers who saw action last season returned, and that quartet combined to pitch 98% of the team's innings a year ago. The returnees also combined for 100% of the Falcons' wins.
• BGSU ended the 2021 season with an overall record of 27-27, and the Falcons went 19-20 in MAC action. BG, picked to finish eighth in the MAC in the preseason coaches' poll, ended the season in fifth place in the 11-team league. BGSU was one of two conference teams to finish as many as three places higher than predicted.
• The 2021 Falcons finished with the program's highest winning percentage in MAC play since 2012, and BGSU's overall total of 27 wins was the highest since the 2013 campaign.
• This season, BGSU was picked to place fourth in the MAC, according to the preseason coaches' poll.
• Northern Illinois is 6-9 on the young season. Katie Keller is hitting an eye-popping .510, with 12 extra-base hits and 20 RBI in just 15 games. In the circle, Emily Dato leads the way with three wins and a 3.61 ERA. Dato is one of three pitchers who have started five games apiece.
• Northern Illinois holds a slim 29-27 lead in the all-time series, but the Falcons captured three of last season's four meetings in DeKalb (May 7-8, 2021).
# BGSU FALCON SOFTBALL #
Players Mentioned
C/IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
Util.
/ Softball
3B
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
Util.
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF/C
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballSB: First Pitch Dinner Recap (Jan. 11, 2024)
Wednesday, January 24
BGSU-CMU Softball Highlights (May 13, 2022)
Saturday, May 14
BGSU In The Nest : Nikki and Alex Sorgi (Softball)
Wednesday, May 08
BG Softball Beats Akron in Game 1 on Senior Day 4.27
Saturday, April 27