Notre Dame Rallies for 10-9 Win After Valiant Effort by the Falcons on Tuesday

Tuesday, March 12

South Bend, Ind.

1 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

1-12

Notre Dame

13-9

Bowling Green

Notre Dame

Photo by: Emma Wanyek, BGSU Athletics

Notre Dame Rallies for 10-9 Win After Valiant Effort by the Falcons on Tuesday

March 12, 2024 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Irish capture twinbill at Melissa Cook Stadium

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Bowling Green State University softball team gave the University of Notre Dame a battle on Tuesday (March 12), but the Fighting Irish rallied for a 10-9 win in extra innings at Melissa Cook Stadium.

The win completed a sweep of the day's doubleheader, after Notre Dame captured the opener by a 4-0 score.

Freshman Emma Denison, making just her second collegiate start, pitched well in the opener. Denison allowed just one earned run and five hits in her four innings of work.

In the nightcap, BGSU batters pounded out nine hits and drew nine walks. Marti Henkel, Addie Martin and Reagan Williamson each reached base four times in the game. Henkel was 2-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run scored.

Martin went 2-for-3, and also walked twice and scored a run. Williamson, who had BGSU's lone hit in game one, had another hit in the second game, walking three times and scoring a run.

BGSU rallied from an 8-2 deficit in game two, exploding for a seven-run fourth inning. The Falcons' 9-8 lead held until the bottom of the seventh, when a solo homer by Rachel Allen knotted the score.

After providing the game-tying hit, Allen recorded the game-winning hit with a walk-off single in the eighth.

The @BGSUSoftball Falcons gave Notre Dame all they wanted & more on Tuesday. Catch BGSU in the home opener tomorrow at 3 pm at Meserve Field!#AyZiggy | 🟠🥎🟤 pic.twitter.com/MG3Pf9w3Mo
— BGSU Athletics (@BGSU_Athletics) March 14, 2024

GAME ONE – HOW IT HAPPENED
• Notre Dame pitcher Alexis Laudenslager had a dominant performance in Tuesday's first game, with a complete-game one-hit shutout. She faced just four batters over the minimum, and took a no-hitter into the seventh before allowing a leadoff single to Reagan Williamson.
• BGSU had a runner reach as far as second on three occasions. Marti Henkel led off the third inning with a walk, and took second on a grounder. In the sixth, Hannah Hunt pinch-hit to lead off the inning, and drew a base on balls. A sacrifice bunt by Aaralyn Nogay moved her to second, but Laudenslager ended both the third and sixth frames with strikeouts.
• In the seventh, Williamson led off with a base hit, and a sac bunt by Cameron Kaufman resulted in two runners on base when pinch-runner Peyton Steffes was safe at second on an error. But, Laudenslader struck out the next batter, then got a popup to third and a ground ball to second to end the game.
• Carlli Kloss paced the Notre Dame offense, going 3-for-3 with a walk, a run and a pair of RBI in the win. She led off the first inning with a walk before stealing second and scoring on Emily Tran's single up the middle.
• The Fighting Irish added to the lead with a pair of unearned runs in the second. With one out, a hit batter put a runner aboard, and a pair of errors on the same play allowed that runner to come around and score. Then, Kloss singled to drive home another run.
• BGSU starter Emma Denison then fired a pair of scoreless innings, and Taylor Turner came on in relief and allowed only a one-out walk in a scoreless fifth frame.
• In the sixth, Jane Kronenberger was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. She advanced to second base on a deep fly ball and scored on a Kloss double down the left-field line.
• Denison, as mentioned, allowed just one earned run and five hits over four innings of work, in just her second collegiate start. Turner gave up a run and two hits in two innings.
• In addition to the three-hit game by Kloss, Tran had a multiple-hit contest, going 2-for-3.

GAME TWO – HOW IT HAPPENED
• After managing just one hit in the first game, the Falcons got two hits – and two runs – in the first inning of game two.
• Kami Kamzik struck out the first two batters, but Williamson singled through the left side with two outs against the ND starter. Kamzik appeared to have ended the inning with a strikeout of Cameron Kaufman, but a wild pitch enabled Kaufman to reach first and extend the inning.
• Lexi Carver walked to load the bases, and Hannah Hunt followed with a single that plated both Williamson and Kaufman.
• The Irish got a run back as Kloss singled and wound up scoring on a two-out hit by Addison Amaral. The fourth strikeout of the inning by Kamzik produced the third out.
• BGSU loaded the bases in the second inning, but could not add to the lead. Henkel led off the inning with a base hit that chased Kamzik, but Addie Martin greeted Shannon Becker by drawing a walk. The runners advanced to second and third, but after an intentional walk to Williamson loaded the bases with two down, Becker got an inning-ending strikeout.
• And, the Irish responded by taking the lead. Kronenberger and Rachel Allen each singled, and a walk to Anna Holloway loaded the bases, before a Kloss single tied the game and a Tran grounder gave ND a 3-2 lead.
• It appeared the Irish had broken the game open with a five-run third. Cassidy Grimm had a two-run single, and three of the runs were unearned, a Kloss sac fly and a two-run single by Karina Gaskins came with two outs after a BG error earlier in the inning. Mackenzie Krafcik, the Falcons' third pitcher of the inning and the game, came on to get the final out.
• And, the Falcons responded in a big way, with a seven-run fourth. Henkel led off with a walk, and Martin singled. The next two batters were retired, before no fewer than seven-straight hitters reached base.
• Williamson walked to load the bases, before a Kaufman single scored both Henkel and Martin. Ashley Chevalier singled to plate pinch-runner Kaylee Cole, and Hunt greeted Irish reliever Micaela Kastor by drawing a walk. An infield error extended the inning and scored two runs to make it an 8-7 game. Then, after Henkel walked to reload the bases, Martin's single plated Hunt and Peyton Dolejs to give BG a 9-8 lead.
• Krafcik and Kastor bent, but didn't break, over the next three innings. Krafcik worked around a two-out single in the bottom of the fourth, getting a popup to third to end the inning, and she then worked a 1-2-3 fifth.
• Williamson and Chevalier both walked in the fifth, while Henkel singled in the sixth, but BG could not add to the one-run lead.
• The Irish put two runners on with one out in the sixth, but a pair of grounders ended the frame.
• But, Allen led off the bottom of the seventh with a homer to tie the game. Notre Dame put runners at the corners after a two-out walk to Tran and a Gaskins single, but Krafcik induced the next batter to hit an inning-ending grounder to short.
• Hunt singled with one out in the eighth, but a scorching liner to third resulted in an inning-ending double play.
• Then, in the bottom of the inning, Grimm singled with one down, and after a Kronenberger walk put runners at first and second, and Allen followed with a single to score Grimm with the winning run.
• Henkel went 2-for-2 with two walks and a run in the game, with Martin going 2-of-3 with two hits, a walk and two RBI. Williamson was 1-for-2 and walked three times.
• Hunt went 2-for-4 with a walk, a run and a pair of RBI, and Chevalier walked, singled and scored a run.
• Krafcik threw 4 2/3 innings of relief, allowing two runs and scattering seven hits.
• For the Irish, Allen had three hits to pace a 14-hit attack.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons begin the home portion of the schedule on Friday (March 15), beginning a Mid-American Conference three-game series with a 3:00 p.m. matchup with Buffalo at Meserve Field.
• Then, on Saturday (March 16), the Falcons and Bulls will play a doubleheader, beginning at 1:00 p.m. Admission is free to all BGSU home games.

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.