Toledo Takes Two on Saturday

Saturday, March 23

Bowling Green, Ohio

1 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Toledo

Photo by: Lauren Laudato, BGSU Athletics

March 23, 2024 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Falcons host Detroit Mercy next weekend

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University softball team dropped a pair of games against the University of Toledo on Saturday afternoon (March 23). The Rockets held off the Falcons by a 7-4 score in the opening game of the Mid-American Conference doubleheader at Meserve Field.

In the second contest, UT picked up a 12-0 win in five innings.

Freshman Aaralyn Nogay went 3-for-4 in the opening game, and had a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double in the second inning. Junior Wynnie Reid was 2-for-4 and scored a pair of runs in the opener.

In the three-game weekend series, Nogay hit .556 (5-for-9) against the Rockets, and the freshman had the first double, the first triple and the first three runs batted in of her young Falcon career. She raised her season batting average 141 points in the three games.

BGSU-UT GAME ONE – HOW IT HAPPENED
• Both starting pitchers, BGSU's Taylor Turner and Toledo's Kylee Graham, began the same with a shutout inning. UT's Eli Enriquez began the game with a bunt single, and the Falcons' Reagan Williamson drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the inning. But, Turner retired three-straight Rockets after Enriquez, and Graham got an inning-ending grounder.
• The teams then combined for seven runs in the second inning. Kendra VanderLugt had a one-out hit for the visitors in the top of the inning, and that was the first of four-straight singles as UT went station to station. The fourth hit in that stretch saw VanderLugt score on a Lauren Erickson hit.
• The Falcons got the second out of the inning when shortstop Wynnie Reid fielded an Enriquez grounder and threw home for a force play. But, Sidney Griffith followed with an infield single that scored a run, and Riley Mohr's base hit to left plated a pair and gave the Rockets a 4-0 lead.
• But, BGSU responded quickly. Reid led off with a line-drive single to right, and after Graham struck out the next two hitters, Mackenna Fry walked, and Peyton Steffes reached on an infield single that loaded the bases. Then, Aaralyn Nogay drove a ball to the gap in right-center, for a bases-clearing double that cut the Rockets' lead to 4-3.
• In the third, the visitors scored a run to make it a two-run game. VanderLugt led off with a single, took second on a sacrifice bunt and went to third on an Erickson single. After Enriquez walked to load the bases, Griffith singled to score VanderLugt, but Falcon freshman phenom Nogay fired a strike to the plate to cut down Erickson trying to score, with catcher Ashley Chevalier applying the tag for the inning-ending out.
• BGSU threatened in the bottom of the inning, but after a Marti Henkel walk and a fielder's choice, a diving catch in left-center took a hit away from Lexi Carver, and Chevalier's hard-hit ball through the right side was fielded by outfielder VanderLugt in shallow right, resulting in an out at first.
• BG put a pair of runners aboard in the fourth, on an infield single by Fry and a one-out hit off the bat of Nogay. But, Graham responded by getting back-to-back ground balls that kept the runners where they were and kept the visitors up by two.
• In the fifth, a VanderLugt single, a sac bunt and an Erickson base hit added to the Rockets' lead. BG got a run back in the bottom of the inning.
• Henkel walked for the second time in the game, and Reid's infield single put two runners on. Carver singled through the right side, and the bases were loaded. Chevalier followed with a hard-hit ball to the left side, but third baseman Emily Bracamonte grabbed it and fired home for a force play. A throw to first by Maris Barbato, however, was off line as the catcher attempted to complete the double play. The ball went into the outfield as Reid came around to score.
• A sac bunt moved Chevalier to second, but a hot shot to the circle by Steffes was deflected by Graham, with second baseman Griffith grabbing the ball and throwing to first just in time for the third out.
• UT got a run in the sixth, as a double by Griffith and a Mohr single put runners at the corners with one out. A fly ball by Jenna Kroll was dropped in the outfield, with Griffith scoring from third. The Falcons then got a Reid-to-Fry-to-Henkel double play, and Fry then gloved a soft liner by VanderLugt for the third out.
• Nogay led off the BG sixth with a single to center, but Peyton Dolejs was robbed as her liner to right was grabbed by a diving VanderLugt. Then, the rightfielder began her second 9-3 out at first of the game, before Griffith made a nice pick of a hard-hit ball toward second, throwing to first for the final out.
• The Rocket seventh saw a pair of singles and a sac bunt put two runners in scoring position with just one out. But, Dolejs caught an Enriquez fly ball to center, then fired home to cut down pinch-runner Grace O'Malley attempting to score.
• Carver was hit by a pitch with one out in the home half of the seventh, but Graham got a fly ball to right and a grounder to second to close out the win.
• UT had 17 hits in the win, with Erickson going 3-for-3 and Griffith and VanderLugt 3-for-4 each. VanderLugt scored three runs while Erickson, Griffith and Mohr each drove in two.
• For the Falcons, Nogay was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI, while Reid went 2-for-4 and scored two runs. Henkel walked twice in the game, while Fry walked and singled. Carver also reached base twice, on a single and a hit-by-pitch.
• Graham and Turner each pitched a complete game for their respective teams.

BGSU-UT GAME TWO – HOW IT HAPPENED
• Toledo took an early lead thanks to BG errors and two-out hitting, and pitchers Sophia Knight and Mady Yackee combined to retire all 15 BG hitters they faced in the game.
• In the first inning, BG starter Mackenzie Krafcik retired the first two Rockets before Mohr reached on an error. Kroll followed with a single, and another infield error allowed a run to score. Singles by VanderLugt and Barbato each allowed another unearned run to cross the plate.
• The second inning saw Krafcik again set down the first two hitters, before Griffith and Mohr each singled. Kroll then doubled to center to score both runners and make it a 5-0 game.
• In the third, Barbato led off by reaching on an error. A fielder's choice resulted in a force play at second, and Chevalier fired to second to cut down a runner attempting to steal. With two outs and none aboard, however, the Rockets mounted a rally. Erickson walked, Enriquez reached on an error, and Griffith singled to score two runs. A hit-by-pitch was followed by Mohr's run-scoring single.
• The fourth inning saw the Rockets score four runs on just one hit. The inning included four walks, one hit-by-pitch and roughly six and one-half pinch-hitters. Six different UT players made pinch-hitting appearances in the inning, including Reis Sjoholm, who led off the inning and then batted again as the visitors sent 10 batters to the plate. Sjoholm made the first and last outs of the inning.
• Kroll led UT's nine-hit attack by going 3-for-3 and driving in four runs. Griffith had two hits in three at-bats for the Gold and the Midnight Blue.
• Knight worked the first three innings, striking out five batters, while Yackee pitched the final two frames and had three strikeouts.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will step outside of MAC play next weekend, hosting Detroit Mercy in a Saturday (March 30) double-dip at Meserve Field. First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m., and admission is free.

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.