RedHawks Take Twinbill From Falcons

Wednesday, April 20

Oxford, Ohio

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

23-12, 9-6

Miami (OH)

25-13, 16-3

Bowling Green

Miami

Photo by: Chad Huffman, BGSU Athletics

April 20, 2022 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 BGSU-MU Game 1 Stats BGSU-MU Game 2 Stats Support Our Student-Athletes

BGSU returns home for the next five games

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

OXFORD, Ohio – Holly Blaska's homer in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted Miami University to a 1-0 win over the Bowling Green State University softball team and a sweep of the teams' Wednesday (April 20) doubleheader. The Mid-American Conference-leading RedHawks captured game one by a 9-0 score at Miami Softball Stadium

Payton Gottshall took a one-hit shutout into the seventh inning of the nightcap for the Falcons (23-13, 9-7 MAC), but Blaska's leadoff round-tripper gave MU (26-13, 17-3 MAC) the victory and enabled the RedHawks to capture the three-game series. BGSU had picked up a 4-2 win in Tuesday's series opener.

Miami scored six times in the first two innings to take control of Wednesday's first contest, and MU starting pitcher Brianna Pratt retired all 15 Falcons she faced. Pratt pitched into the sixth inning of Wednesday's second game, before Courtney Vierstra came on to get the victory in relief.

Gottshall struck out 12 batters in the series finale, marking her 13th double-digit strikeout game this season to date.

NOTEWORTHY
• Payton Gottshall now has 259 strikeouts this season, the second-highest total in BGSU history. She needs 23 more to tie the school record she set last season. Gottshall whiffed 282 batters in 2021.
• Gottshall now has 667 career strikeouts, and ranks second on that BGSU list as well. She trails only Liz Vrabel (2003-06), who struck out 768 batters during her Hall-of-Fame career.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Miami scored six times in the first two innings to take control of game one. The big blows were homers from Holly Blaska in the first inning and Karli Spaid in the second.
• The RedHawks added a run in the third inning when Maggie Murphy doubled with one out and eventually came around to score.
• Meanwhile, MU starter Brianna Pratt shut down the Falcon offense, striking out eight of the 15 batters she faced.
• After the first two RedHawks were retired in the fifth, Chloe Parks tripled and Allie Cummins followed with a homer to give the hosts the victory.
• Pratt started game two, and she and Payton Gottshall matched zeroes for most of the game. Gottshall walked the first two MU batters of the game, then struck out seven of the next eight Redhawks before spaid singled with two outs in the third. Spaid's single was the first hit of the game for either team.
• After the Spaid single, Gottshall then retired 10 batters in a row.
• Pratt hit Peyton Dolejs with a pitch in the first inning, and walked Dolejs to lead off the fourth. After the walk, Pratt got a strikeout, but Reagan Williamson doubled down the left-field line to put runners at second and third. The MU hurler, however, got a ground ball to third for the second out, with the runners forced to hold, then induced another grounder that ended the inning.
• The game's next baserunner(s) came in the sixth. Greta L'Esperance led off with a bunt single, and Bailey Sample was hit by a pitch with one out. Courtney Vierstra replaced Pratt in the circle and was greeted by Williamson, who watched the 10th pitch of her plate appearance go wide of the strike zone for ball four. But, with the bases loaded, Vierstra struck out the next two Falcons.
• Gottshall worked a one-two-three sixth, but Vierstra returned the favor in the bottom of the inning before Blaska led off the MU seventh with a walk-off homer to center.

STATS, LEADERS & NOTES
• Spaid and Adriana Barlow each went 2-for-3 in Wednesday's opener, pacing MU's nine-hit attack. Six of those nine hits went for extra bases.
• Blaska homered in all three games of the series.
• Pratt struck out eight batters in her five-inning perfect game in the opener.
• For the Falcons, Sydney Stepp took the loss. Kiara Hurley allowed three runs and four hits in three innings of relief.
• Both teams had just two hits in the nightcap, with Williamson's double and Blaska's homer the only extra-base knocks. Williamson also drew a walk for the Falcons, while L'Esperance singled and Dolejs walked and was hit by a pitch.
• Gottshall walked two batters and allowed just two hits, striking out 12 RedHawks. She struck out at least two batters in five of her six innings.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons return home for the next five games, beginning with this weekend's Akron series. BGSU will meet the Zips in a Saturday (April 23) doubleheader, beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Meserve Field.
• Then, the Falcons will face UA in a single game on Sunday (April 24), with first pitch at noon.
• Saturday will be Alumnae Day, and Sunday is Senior Day. The latter day will see Sammy Dees, Sarah Gonzalez, Payton Hamm and Kiara Hurley recognized in pregame ceremonies at Meserve.
• All three games can be seen on BCSN in the Toledo area, or online via the BCSN app as well as on ESPN3.

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.