Williamson's Blast Helps BGSU Beat Bobcats

Friday, March 25

Athens, Ohio

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

13-8, 1-3

Ohio

8-15, 2-2

Bowling Green

Ohio

Reagan Williamson v Morehead State - March 6 2022

Reagan Williamson's BG-best fifth HR of the season broke a fifth-inning tie in game two

Photo by: Evansville Athletics

March 25, 2022 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 BGSU-Ohio Game-1 Stats BGSU-Ohio Game-2 Stats

Gottshall fires four innings of shutout relief as Falcons earn split of Friday twinbill

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

ATHENS, Ohio – Reagan Williamson's mammoth home run broke a fifth-inning tie and lifted the Bowling Green State University softball team to a 5-3 win over Ohio University on Friday afternoon (March 25) at the Ohio Softball Field.

The win gave the Falcons a split of the teams' doubleheader, as the Bobcats had taken the first game by a 2-1 score.

Williamson was 3-for-3 with a walk in Friday's second game. The Falcons (14-8, 2-3 Mid-American Conference) fell behind, 3-0, before scoring the game's final five runs, capped by the Williamson blast.

In the opening game, the Falcons were down to their last out before Payton Hamm doubled to score pinch-runner Marlie McNulty in the seventh. But, the Bobcats (8-16, 2-3 MAC through Friday's DH) walked it off in the bottom of the inning for a 2-1 win.

Payton Gottshall suffered the loss in game one despite throwing a complete-game four-hitter and allowing just one earned run. She picked up the win in the nightcap, firing four innings of two-hit shutout relief.

QUOTING COACH WILLIS
"We faced adversity early in both game one and game two with their offense striking first. It was good to see our players respond in both games, but it happened too late in game one. In the second game, our offense did a much better job of making adjustments at the plate, but we still left too many base runners stranded."

"Gottshall was strong for us in the circle and kept us in both games. She did everything she could to win both games today. We will look to carry over our adjustments from today into tomorrow's game, and we must find a way to get our offense going sooner!"

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons got a pair of first-inning baserunners against Ohio starter Mackensie Kohl, with singles from Greta L'Esperance and Bailey Sample, but BGSU could not take an early lead. the Bobcats did take an early lead in the bottom of the inning, on a two-out solo homer by Megan McMenemy.
• Neither team had another baserunner until Yasmine Logan led off the Ohio half of the third inning with a single, then stole second. She tagged and took third on a fly-ball out, but Payton Gottshall struck out Caroline Spacek on three pitches to end the inning.
• Kohl retired nine in a row after Sample's first-inning single, before Reagan Williamson drew a two-out walk in the fourth. But, Williamson was stranded at first.
• Madison Hendrix was robbed of a hit by a diving catch in left-center in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the inning, Gottshall worked around a one-out walk to keep her team's deficit at a single run.
• L'Esperance banged a single through the left side of the Ohio infield in the sixth. It was her second hit of the game, but BG's first hit since the first inning. But, a popup to the right side and a fly ball to left ended the half-inning.
• Gottshall set down the Bobcats in order in the home sixth, and Lexi Carver singled sharply to left with one out in the seventh. Kohl got a popup to third, but Payton Hamm came through with a two-out double that hit the fence in left-center and scored pinch-runner Marlie McNulty from first base, tying the score.
• But, Ohio walked it off in the bottom of the frame. After Sophia Bernard led off by reaching on an infield error, Brooke Rice walked with one down. Then, Logan's liner down the left-field line scored pinch-runner Emily Walker with the winning run.
• In the second game, starting pitchers Kylie Coffelt and Sydney Stepp each set down three-straight batters in the opening inning. Stepp, making her first start of the season, got three infield grounders, fielding the last two herself.
• Both Williamson and Hamm drew second-inning walks, but the Falcons were unable to break the scoreless tie.
• The 'Cats did break that tie in the bottom of the second. Annalia Paoli led off with a triple, and Bernard reached on a slow roller toward third, putting runners at the corners. Ohio took the lead when, on a steal of second, Paoli took off for home and beat the return throw. And, pinch-runner CiCi Keidel would score on Rice's two-out single.
• Ohio got a third-inning run, as Allie Englant led off with a single and scored from second on a McMenemy double. Kiara Hurley entered the circle and retired both batters she faced in the inning.
• BGSU tied the game in the top of the fourth, as the Falcons batted around (depending upon your definition of 'batted around'). Sample reached on an error, and Williamson singled up the middle. After a grounder moved each runner 60 feet, though, Coffelt induced another grounder, and this time the runners had to hold.
• But, Sophie Weber singled to plate Sample, and after Weber took second on a passed ball, Hendrix drew a pinch-hit walk to load the bases. Then, Wynnie Reid roped a single to right, scoring both Williamson and Weber to tie the contest. L'Esperance walked to reload the bases, but Kohl replaced Coffelt in the circle, and Ohio escaped further damage when a Peyton Dolejs drive was caught on the warning track in left-center.
• Ohio threatened, but did not score, in the home half of the fourth. After a leadoff walk to Tori Walker, interference was called on a Logan grounder, and the 'Cats had two on with no outs.
• Gottshall entered the circle, and after the runners advanced on a sac bunt, a grounder by Lauren Yuhas saw third baseman Sarah Gonzalez throw out Walker attempting to score. Gottshall got Englant to hit a popup that Weber grabbed in foul ground near first.
• In the fifth, BGSU struck quickly. Sample led off with a sharp single off the glove of diving third baseman Paoli, and Williamson crushed a ball to left for a two-run homer that gave the Falcons a 5-3 lead.
• McMenemy doubled with one out for the 'Cats, but Gottshall got each of the other three fifth-inning batters to hit infield popups. In the sixth, Tori Walker reached on a bloop single down the left-field line, but Logan popped up to Reid at second before Gottshall got the next two batters looking.
• BG put a pair of runners on base in the seventh, on back-to-back singles by Williamson and Carver. But, the Falcons could not add to the two-run lead.
• Englant led off the seventh with a hard grounder to the right side, but Weber went to her right to make the stop, then made a dive the other way to tag the bag just ahead of Englant. Then, Gottshall needed just two more pitches to get the final two outs, as Spacek and McMenemy each hit routine fly balls.

STATS, LEADERS & NOTES
• BGSU had a narrow 5-4 lead in hits in the opening game, with L'Esperance going 2-for-3 at the plate for the Falcons.
• Hamm had the Falcons' lone extra-base hit, with her two-out RBI double in the seventh, while Carver and Sample each singled.
• Gottshall took the loss despite allowing just one earned run and four hits. She walked two batters and struck out nine.
• Gottshall struck out Spacek three times in three at-bats in game one, and needed just nine pitches to do so.
• McMenemy homered in the first, for the game's only scoring until the seventh, while Logan's two hits included the walk-off knock.
• BGSU had an 8-6 advantage in hits in the second game, with Williamson leading the way. She was 3-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and the two-run homer.
• Sample also scored a pair of runs, while Reid drove in a pair of teammates with her base hit.
• McMenemy had two hits – both doubles – for the Bobcats.
• Gottshall earned the win with four innings of shutout, two-hit relief.
• Kohl, the game-one winner, took the loss in relief, allowing two runs and five hits in three innings.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons and Bobcats are scheduled to wrap up their three-game weekend series on Saturday (March 26), with a single game beginning at 12:00 p.m. (weather permitting) at the Ohio Softball Field.
• Then, the Falcons will head to Ann Arbor for a non-conference game against nationally-ranked Michigan on Tuesday (March 29). That game is set for a 4:00 p.m. start.
• Next weekend, the Orange and Brown will host Toledo, with the arch-rival schools playing a Friday (April 1) single game and a Saturday (April 2) twinbill at Meserve Field.

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.