Bowling Green State University Athletics
Saturday, March 5
Evansville, Ind.
5:30 PM
Bowling Green State University
8-4
13
vs
0
Green Bay
6-10
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Bowling Green
0
0
2
9
2
13
9
0
Green Bay
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
9
Payton Gottshall struck out 15 hitters -- Every. Batter. She. Faced.
Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics
Gottshall Gobsmacks Green Bay in Five-Inning Perfecto
March 05, 2022 | Softball
Falcon phenom strikes out all 15 Phoenix batters in 13-0 rout
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Payton Gottshall has recorded numerous prolific pitching performances during her career. But, her masterpiece from Saturday (March 5) will be hard to top.
The Bowling Green State University softball phenom threw a perfect game, striking out every batter she faced, as the Falcons rolled to a 13-0, five-inning victory over Green Bay.
The game, part of day-two action at the UE Softball Invitational, was held at Cooper Stadium.
Gottshall's perfect game was the second of her BGSU career and just the third in program history.
She needed only 56 pitches to set down 15 Green Bay batters, and threw 46 of those 56 pitches for strikes. Gottshall threw a first-pitch strike to 12 of the 15 batters, and only two hitters – the first two batters of the third inning – went as deep as a 2-2 count.
The Falcons (8-4) were retired in order in each of the first two innings, then scored twice in the third before exploding for a nine-run fourth frame. BG tacked on two more runs in the fifth to ensure the Phoenix (6-10 heading into a game later on Saturday) would not rise from the ashes.
In her first collegiate at-bat, freshman Wynnie Reid hit a sacrifice fly to plate what would prove to be the winning run. Reid recorded her first hit as a Falcon in her next trip to the plate, and went 2-for-2 with a double and a run scored in her first-ever start.
Greta L'Esperance also had a two-hit game, going 2-for 3 and tying her career high with three runs scored.
Freshman Bailey Sample hit her second homer of the season, while Lexi Carver and Peyton Dolejs each had a double as part of the Falcons' nine-hit attack.
NOTEWORTHY
• Payton Gottshall's perfect game was just the third in school history. Jennifer Wolf threw the first perfect game by a Falcon in a win over Dayton on April 7, 1993.
• Gottshall fired a perfect game just over a year ago (Feb. 13, 2021) at Cleveland State, striking out 16 of the 21 batters she faced.
QUOTING COACH WILLIS
"Payton executed with great focus and precision this evening. We have had recent conversations about pitch-count awareness and how she builds upon each pitch in a sequence. It was fun watching her execute this evening. She had laser focus and I don't think she was aware of the perfect game, let alone the strikeout count that was building. The game she threw had to have been the most efficient NCAA pitching performance in history. A 56-pitch game is unheard of!"
"It was a great showing from our offense with so many of our hitters stepping up and making a lot of things happen. The team was in sync this evening and it was fun watching them play."
QUOTING GOTTSHALL
(Were you aware you had a perfect game going?)
"I didn't know I had a perfect game going until the end of the game when everyone rushed out and just about tackled me. I try to keep a type of 'tunnel vision' during the game and not get too hyped up or excited, which is something that Coach Willis and I have been talking about lately."
(How did the lengthy wait during BGSU's nine-run inning affect you?)
"It honestly made it easier to go back out and pitch. I was so excited and pumped up from cheering for everyone that I carried that over onto the field. It's so easy to pitch for this team and do what I need to do when they're giving me everything I need. I want to do everything in my power to give back to them when they're working so hard for me. "It was great to see so many of our hitters stepping up and showing what they can do tonight. It made me so proud seeing all of their hard work pay off in a really big way!"
STRIKING OUT EVERY BATTER...
• For those wondering how many times an NCAA softball pitcher has thrown a perfect game and has struck out every batter she faced ... that answer is not readily available.
• Last season (April 11, 2021), Hope Trautwein of North Texas struck out all 21 batters she faced in a seven-inning perfect game vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff, becoming the first-ever NCAA Division-I hurler to do so. But, information is not immediately available to answer how many times a pitcher has struck out every batter in a run-rule perfect game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Gottshall and Green Bay starter Lauren King matched one another over the first two innings, as each pitcher faced the minimum six batters. But, BGSU broke on top in the third.
• Sarah Gonzalez reached on an error, and after a sacrifice bunt by Ally Bezjak moved Gonzalez to third, she came home on Reid's sac fly. That play would give Reid the first RBI – and the first game-winning RBI – of her BGSU career, and it came in her first-ever at-bat as a Falcon.
• L'Esperance followed with a bunt single, and Dolejs drove her home with a two-out double.
• BG broke the game wide open in the fourth, sending 14 hitters to the plate and scoring nine runs on five hits and a whopping seven Green Bay errors. Reagan Williamson and Carver each worked Green Bay reliever Brittany Baneck for walks, and Payton Hamm reached on an error and went all the way to third, with both pinch-runner Bre Cooper and Carver crossing the plate.
• The lead was four as the Phoenix made a pitching change. Gonzalez greeted reliever Abby Freismuth with a fly ball to center, allowing Hamm to tag and score. Bezjak singled, and Reid followed with a base hit, and a L'Esperance single plated pinch-runner Marlie McNulty.
• King returned to the circle, and got Dolejs to hit into a fielder's choice. But, L'Esperance scored on an error during the play. Then, Sample unloaded on a pitch for a two-run homer and a 9-0 lead.
• Williamson, batting for the second time in the inning, reached on an error and came around on a Carver double. Hamm also reached on an error, with Carver scoring, and yet another miscue allowed Gonzalez to reach base before King finally got the third out on a liner to third.
• The fifth frame saw Reid double, then score when pinch-hitter Madison Hendrix reached on an error. Another pinch-hitter, Sophie Weber, singled to drive home BG's final run.
• And that was much, much more run support than Gottshall needed. In the bottom of the fifth, she struck out both Becca Edwards and Alicia Peters on three pitches, before getting two strikes on Daija Williams. Gottshall threw her only ball of the half-inning, then got Williams to swing and miss, ending the game and clinching her (Gottshall's) place in history.
STATS, LEADERS & NOTES
• L'Esperance went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and three runs scored, tying her career high in the latter category. She also drove in a run.
• Reid was 2-for-2 with a double, a sac fly, a run scored and the game-winning RBI in her first-ever start.
• Five other Falcons had a hit apiece, including a homer by Sample and doubles by Carver and Dolejs. Carver walked and scored a pair of runs in the win.
• Gottshall threw 11 pitches in the first inning, 13 in the second, 11 in the third, 11 in the fourth and 10 in the fifth. Seven of the 15 batters she faced – including four of the final six – struck out on three pitches.
UP NEXT
• The Falcons will return to Cooper Stadium for a pair of games on Sunday (March 6), concluding the UE Softball Invitational by meeting Morehead State at 3:00 p.m. ET and the host school, Evansville, at 5:30 p.m. ET.
• Then, BGSU will prepare for next weekend's (March 11-13) Lady Bison Classic in Nashville, Tenn., where the Falcons will face Houston Baptist, Lipscomb and Pittsburgh.
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.
The Bowling Green State University softball phenom threw a perfect game, striking out every batter she faced, as the Falcons rolled to a 13-0, five-inning victory over Green Bay.
The game, part of day-two action at the UE Softball Invitational, was held at Cooper Stadium.
Gottshall's perfect game was the second of her BGSU career and just the third in program history.
She needed only 56 pitches to set down 15 Green Bay batters, and threw 46 of those 56 pitches for strikes. Gottshall threw a first-pitch strike to 12 of the 15 batters, and only two hitters – the first two batters of the third inning – went as deep as a 2-2 count.
The Falcons (8-4) were retired in order in each of the first two innings, then scored twice in the third before exploding for a nine-run fourth frame. BG tacked on two more runs in the fifth to ensure the Phoenix (6-10 heading into a game later on Saturday) would not rise from the ashes.
In her first collegiate at-bat, freshman Wynnie Reid hit a sacrifice fly to plate what would prove to be the winning run. Reid recorded her first hit as a Falcon in her next trip to the plate, and went 2-for-2 with a double and a run scored in her first-ever start.
Greta L'Esperance also had a two-hit game, going 2-for 3 and tying her career high with three runs scored.
Freshman Bailey Sample hit her second homer of the season, while Lexi Carver and Peyton Dolejs each had a double as part of the Falcons' nine-hit attack.
NOTEWORTHY
• Payton Gottshall's perfect game was just the third in school history. Jennifer Wolf threw the first perfect game by a Falcon in a win over Dayton on April 7, 1993.
• Gottshall fired a perfect game just over a year ago (Feb. 13, 2021) at Cleveland State, striking out 16 of the 21 batters she faced.
QUOTING COACH WILLIS
"Payton executed with great focus and precision this evening. We have had recent conversations about pitch-count awareness and how she builds upon each pitch in a sequence. It was fun watching her execute this evening. She had laser focus and I don't think she was aware of the perfect game, let alone the strikeout count that was building. The game she threw had to have been the most efficient NCAA pitching performance in history. A 56-pitch game is unheard of!"
"It was a great showing from our offense with so many of our hitters stepping up and making a lot of things happen. The team was in sync this evening and it was fun watching them play."
QUOTING GOTTSHALL
(Were you aware you had a perfect game going?)
"I didn't know I had a perfect game going until the end of the game when everyone rushed out and just about tackled me. I try to keep a type of 'tunnel vision' during the game and not get too hyped up or excited, which is something that Coach Willis and I have been talking about lately."
(How did the lengthy wait during BGSU's nine-run inning affect you?)
"It honestly made it easier to go back out and pitch. I was so excited and pumped up from cheering for everyone that I carried that over onto the field. It's so easy to pitch for this team and do what I need to do when they're giving me everything I need. I want to do everything in my power to give back to them when they're working so hard for me. "It was great to see so many of our hitters stepping up and showing what they can do tonight. It made me so proud seeing all of their hard work pay off in a really big way!"
STRIKING OUT EVERY BATTER...
• For those wondering how many times an NCAA softball pitcher has thrown a perfect game and has struck out every batter she faced ... that answer is not readily available.
• Last season (April 11, 2021), Hope Trautwein of North Texas struck out all 21 batters she faced in a seven-inning perfect game vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff, becoming the first-ever NCAA Division-I hurler to do so. But, information is not immediately available to answer how many times a pitcher has struck out every batter in a run-rule perfect game.
Payton Gottshall faced 15 batters.
— BGSU Softball (@BGSUSoftball) March 6, 2022
Payton Gottshall struck out 15 batters.
Payton Gottshall now owns 2 of the 3 perfect games in BGSU softball history.#AyZiggy | 🥎🧡🥎🧡🥎 pic.twitter.com/G9Io3G87Mw
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Gottshall and Green Bay starter Lauren King matched one another over the first two innings, as each pitcher faced the minimum six batters. But, BGSU broke on top in the third.
• Sarah Gonzalez reached on an error, and after a sacrifice bunt by Ally Bezjak moved Gonzalez to third, she came home on Reid's sac fly. That play would give Reid the first RBI – and the first game-winning RBI – of her BGSU career, and it came in her first-ever at-bat as a Falcon.
• L'Esperance followed with a bunt single, and Dolejs drove her home with a two-out double.
• BG broke the game wide open in the fourth, sending 14 hitters to the plate and scoring nine runs on five hits and a whopping seven Green Bay errors. Reagan Williamson and Carver each worked Green Bay reliever Brittany Baneck for walks, and Payton Hamm reached on an error and went all the way to third, with both pinch-runner Bre Cooper and Carver crossing the plate.
• The lead was four as the Phoenix made a pitching change. Gonzalez greeted reliever Abby Freismuth with a fly ball to center, allowing Hamm to tag and score. Bezjak singled, and Reid followed with a base hit, and a L'Esperance single plated pinch-runner Marlie McNulty.
• King returned to the circle, and got Dolejs to hit into a fielder's choice. But, L'Esperance scored on an error during the play. Then, Sample unloaded on a pitch for a two-run homer and a 9-0 lead.
• Williamson, batting for the second time in the inning, reached on an error and came around on a Carver double. Hamm also reached on an error, with Carver scoring, and yet another miscue allowed Gonzalez to reach base before King finally got the third out on a liner to third.
• The fifth frame saw Reid double, then score when pinch-hitter Madison Hendrix reached on an error. Another pinch-hitter, Sophie Weber, singled to drive home BG's final run.
• And that was much, much more run support than Gottshall needed. In the bottom of the fifth, she struck out both Becca Edwards and Alicia Peters on three pitches, before getting two strikes on Daija Williams. Gottshall threw her only ball of the half-inning, then got Williams to swing and miss, ending the game and clinching her (Gottshall's) place in history.
STATS, LEADERS & NOTES
• L'Esperance went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and three runs scored, tying her career high in the latter category. She also drove in a run.
• Reid was 2-for-2 with a double, a sac fly, a run scored and the game-winning RBI in her first-ever start.
• Five other Falcons had a hit apiece, including a homer by Sample and doubles by Carver and Dolejs. Carver walked and scored a pair of runs in the win.
• Gottshall threw 11 pitches in the first inning, 13 in the second, 11 in the third, 11 in the fourth and 10 in the fifth. Seven of the 15 batters she faced – including four of the final six – struck out on three pitches.
UP NEXT
• The Falcons will return to Cooper Stadium for a pair of games on Sunday (March 6), concluding the UE Softball Invitational by meeting Morehead State at 3:00 p.m. ET and the host school, Evansville, at 5:30 p.m. ET.
• Then, BGSU will prepare for next weekend's (March 11-13) Lady Bison Classic in Nashville, Tenn., where the Falcons will face Houston Baptist, Lipscomb and Pittsburgh.
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.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gottshall, Payton (5-2)
L: L. King (1-3)
Batting:
2B: Dolejs, Peyton 1 ; Carver, Lexi 1 ; Reid, Wynnie 1
HR: Sample, Bailey 1
RBI: L'Esperance, Greta 1 ; Dolejs, Peyton 1 ; Weber, Sophie 1 ; Sample, Bailey 2 ; Carver, Lexi 1 ; Gonzalez, Sarah 1 ; Reid, Wynnie 1
SH: Hamm, Payton 1 ; Bezjak, Ally 1
SF: Gonzalez, Sarah 1 ; Reid, Wynnie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: L'Esperance, Greta 3 ; Dolejs, Peyton 1 ; Sample, Bailey 1 ; Williamson, Reagan 1 ; Cooper, Bre 1 ; Carver, Lexi 2 ; Hamm, Payton 1 ; Gonzalez, Sarah 1 ; McNulty, Marlie 1 ; Reid, Wynnie 1
SB: L'Esperance, Greta 1 ; Cooper, Bre 1 ; McNulty, Marlie 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
1B
/ Softball
C/IF
/ SoftballUtil.
/ Softball
3B
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
MI
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballUtil.
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballIF/C
/ Softball
C
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