Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, April 29
Muncie, Ind.
1:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
at
Ball State
Photo by: Morgan Holscher, BGSU Athletics
Falcons End April Schedule with Weekend Trip to Muncie
April 28, 2022 | Softball
BGSU battles Ball State in Friday DH, Saturday single game
UP NEXT IN FALCON SOFTBALL
• BGSU at Ball State • April 29-30 • Muncie, Ind. •
• The BGSU softball team hits the road this weekend as the Mid-American Conference race heats up. Head coach Sarah Willis and the Falcons head to Muncie, Ind., for a three-game weekend series vs. Ball State. The teams are currently slated to play a doubleheader on Friday (April 29) and a single game Saturday (April 30). Action is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. on each day at the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
• Live stats will be available for all three games, along with a live stream.
• The Falcons are 25-14 overall and 11-8 in MAC play, and BGSU currently sits in fifth place in the 11-team league. BG is just a half game behind fourth-place BSU (12-8 MAC), as the second- through sixth-place teams are separated by just two-and-a-half games.
• BGSU captured two of three games against Akron at Meserve Field last weekend. The Falcons won the opener, 3-2, with Bailey Sample and Maycee Godbolt each homering. UA took the middle game of the series, 5-2, but BGSU responded with a 9-0, five-inning win on Senior Day. Seniors Sarah Gonzalez and Payton Hamm combined for three hits and three RBI in the win, while Payton Gottshall threw a perfect game.
• On Tuesday, Gottshall was named MAC Pitcher of the Week for the sixth time this season, and she was named the MAC's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week one day later.
• There have now been four perfect games in the history of BGSU softball. Gottshall has thrown three of those four gems.
• On the season, Gottshall is 19-9 with a 1.41 ERA and 281 strikeouts in 173 1/3 innings. She is just one strikeout away from tying her own BGSU single-season record.
• Gottshall has seen action in 17 of BGSU's last 20 games and 22 of the last 26 contests. She has an ERA of just 1.25 in MAC games this season.
• Kiara Hurley is 3-2 with four saves and a 3.56 ERA this spring, while Sydney Stepp is 1-2 with a 4.70 ERA. Hurley's save total is the highest by a BGSU player in eight years. Hannah Davies is 2-1 with an ERA of 5.25, while Madi Young has a 2.21 ERA in three appearances this spring.
• Gottshall currently leads the MAC in eight statistical categories, and is ranked among the top-20 pitchers in the nation on all eight of those lists. She is second in the country in total strikeouts, seventh in strikeout-to-walk ratio, ninth in innings pitched, 10th in strikeouts per seven innings, 14th in shutouts, 15th in wins, 16th in hits allowed per seven innings and 20th in ERA. She is the first player in school history to fire two perfect games in the same season.
• At the plate, Greta L'Esperance is batting a BGSU-best .385 on the season, and also leads the Falcons in stolen bases (28) and runs scored (35). Her 2022 totals place her fifth in steals and 10th in runs scored on those BGSU single-season lists.
• L'Esperance leads the MAC in stolen bases and steals per game, and is ranked 16th or better in the nation in both categories. She ranks fourth in the conference in both hits and batting average and fifth in runs.
• L'Esperance now 57 steals in her BGSU career, and has moved into a tie for third place in school history. She has a career batting average of .363, good for third on that BGSU chart.
• Reagan Williamson is hitting .319 on the year, with Peyton Dolejs and Sophie Weber batting .317 and .284, respectively.
• Williamson tops the team in homers (seven), runs batted in (29), total bases (63) and slugging percentage (.558). Dolejs, one of three Falcons (along with L'Esperance and Williamson) to start all 39 games, leads the club in walks (21) and is second in runs (26), extra-base hits (11), RBI (26) and slugging pct. (.475).
• Gonzalez, in her fifth year as a full-time starter, has played in 212 of BG's 213 games since her arrival on campus. She has made 211 starts, which places her fifth on that school career list.
• Gonzalez is also ranked among the top all-time Falcons in career games played (212, fifth), homers (15, 12th), walks (63, T-seventh), sacrifice flies (eight, T-third) and sac bunts (23, 13th).
• As a team, the Falcons lead the league in ERA (2.44) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.51), while ranking second in winning pct. (.641).
• Gottshall struck out a school-record 282 batters last season – a record that she is very close to breaking – 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.
• This season, Gottshall is averaging 11.35 strikeouts per seven innings, which would shatter the record she set last spring.
• Gottshall is now ranked second in school history with 691 career strikeouts, in just 462 innings pitched. She trails only BGSU Hall-of-Famer Liz Vrabel (768 strikeouts) on that list.
• Ball State is 19-25 on the season, and the Cardinals are 12-8 in the MAC, good for fourth place entering the weekend. BSU has won six of the last eight games. Faith Hensley is hitting .422 with 17 homers, and she is ranked third or higher in the MAC in 10 offensive categories. In the circle, Deborah Jones is 6-5 with a team-low 2.72 ERA, while Angelina Russo is 9-9 with a 4.56 ERA on the year.
• BGSU leads Ball State, 52-47, in the all-time series, but the Cardinals swept a four-game series in Muncie last season (March 26-28, 2021).
• Following the BSU series, the Falcons end the home portion of the schedule with a midweek series vs. Central Michigan (May 3-4), and the regular season concludes with a three-game set at Kent State next weekend (May 7-8). Then, the top-four teams in the league will head to the MAC Tournament (May 12-14), which will be hosted by the regular-season champion.
• More information is available in the PDF version of these notes.
• BGSU at Ball State • April 29-30 • Muncie, Ind. •
• The BGSU softball team hits the road this weekend as the Mid-American Conference race heats up. Head coach Sarah Willis and the Falcons head to Muncie, Ind., for a three-game weekend series vs. Ball State. The teams are currently slated to play a doubleheader on Friday (April 29) and a single game Saturday (April 30). Action is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. on each day at the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
• Live stats will be available for all three games, along with a live stream.
• The Falcons are 25-14 overall and 11-8 in MAC play, and BGSU currently sits in fifth place in the 11-team league. BG is just a half game behind fourth-place BSU (12-8 MAC), as the second- through sixth-place teams are separated by just two-and-a-half games.
• BGSU captured two of three games against Akron at Meserve Field last weekend. The Falcons won the opener, 3-2, with Bailey Sample and Maycee Godbolt each homering. UA took the middle game of the series, 5-2, but BGSU responded with a 9-0, five-inning win on Senior Day. Seniors Sarah Gonzalez and Payton Hamm combined for three hits and three RBI in the win, while Payton Gottshall threw a perfect game.
• On Tuesday, Gottshall was named MAC Pitcher of the Week for the sixth time this season, and she was named the MAC's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week one day later.
• There have now been four perfect games in the history of BGSU softball. Gottshall has thrown three of those four gems.
• On the season, Gottshall is 19-9 with a 1.41 ERA and 281 strikeouts in 173 1/3 innings. She is just one strikeout away from tying her own BGSU single-season record.
• Gottshall has seen action in 17 of BGSU's last 20 games and 22 of the last 26 contests. She has an ERA of just 1.25 in MAC games this season.
• Kiara Hurley is 3-2 with four saves and a 3.56 ERA this spring, while Sydney Stepp is 1-2 with a 4.70 ERA. Hurley's save total is the highest by a BGSU player in eight years. Hannah Davies is 2-1 with an ERA of 5.25, while Madi Young has a 2.21 ERA in three appearances this spring.
• Gottshall currently leads the MAC in eight statistical categories, and is ranked among the top-20 pitchers in the nation on all eight of those lists. She is second in the country in total strikeouts, seventh in strikeout-to-walk ratio, ninth in innings pitched, 10th in strikeouts per seven innings, 14th in shutouts, 15th in wins, 16th in hits allowed per seven innings and 20th in ERA. She is the first player in school history to fire two perfect games in the same season.
• At the plate, Greta L'Esperance is batting a BGSU-best .385 on the season, and also leads the Falcons in stolen bases (28) and runs scored (35). Her 2022 totals place her fifth in steals and 10th in runs scored on those BGSU single-season lists.
• L'Esperance leads the MAC in stolen bases and steals per game, and is ranked 16th or better in the nation in both categories. She ranks fourth in the conference in both hits and batting average and fifth in runs.
• L'Esperance now 57 steals in her BGSU career, and has moved into a tie for third place in school history. She has a career batting average of .363, good for third on that BGSU chart.
• Reagan Williamson is hitting .319 on the year, with Peyton Dolejs and Sophie Weber batting .317 and .284, respectively.
• Williamson tops the team in homers (seven), runs batted in (29), total bases (63) and slugging percentage (.558). Dolejs, one of three Falcons (along with L'Esperance and Williamson) to start all 39 games, leads the club in walks (21) and is second in runs (26), extra-base hits (11), RBI (26) and slugging pct. (.475).
• Gonzalez, in her fifth year as a full-time starter, has played in 212 of BG's 213 games since her arrival on campus. She has made 211 starts, which places her fifth on that school career list.
• Gonzalez is also ranked among the top all-time Falcons in career games played (212, fifth), homers (15, 12th), walks (63, T-seventh), sacrifice flies (eight, T-third) and sac bunts (23, 13th).
• As a team, the Falcons lead the league in ERA (2.44) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.51), while ranking second in winning pct. (.641).
• Gottshall struck out a school-record 282 batters last season – a record that she is very close to breaking – 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.
• This season, Gottshall is averaging 11.35 strikeouts per seven innings, which would shatter the record she set last spring.
• Gottshall is now ranked second in school history with 691 career strikeouts, in just 462 innings pitched. She trails only BGSU Hall-of-Famer Liz Vrabel (768 strikeouts) on that list.
• Ball State is 19-25 on the season, and the Cardinals are 12-8 in the MAC, good for fourth place entering the weekend. BSU has won six of the last eight games. Faith Hensley is hitting .422 with 17 homers, and she is ranked third or higher in the MAC in 10 offensive categories. In the circle, Deborah Jones is 6-5 with a team-low 2.72 ERA, while Angelina Russo is 9-9 with a 4.56 ERA on the year.
• BGSU leads Ball State, 52-47, in the all-time series, but the Cardinals swept a four-game series in Muncie last season (March 26-28, 2021).
• Following the BSU series, the Falcons end the home portion of the schedule with a midweek series vs. Central Michigan (May 3-4), and the regular season concludes with a three-game set at Kent State next weekend (May 7-8). Then, the top-four teams in the league will head to the MAC Tournament (May 12-14), which will be hosted by the regular-season champion.
• More information is available in the PDF version of these notes.
# BGSU FALCON SOFTBALL #
Players Mentioned
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3B
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OF
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OF
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IF
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IF/C
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/ SoftballSB: First Pitch Dinner Recap (Jan. 11, 2024)
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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