Bowling Green State University Athletics
Saturday, February 22
Norman, Okla.
1:30 p.m.
Bowling Green State University
vs
Wichita State
Photo by: Daniel Carlson, BGSU Athletics
Falcons Head to Oklahoma for Three Games in Norman Tournament
February 20, 2025 | Softball
The trip includes a Saturday matchup with the No. 2 Sooners
FIRST PITCH...
• The BGSU softball team travels to Oklahoma this weekend, for three games in the Norman Tournament. Head coach Michelle Gardner and the Falcons are scheduled to face the number-two team in the country, Oklahoma, as well as Wichita State and Tulsa.
• Due to anticipated inclement weather in the Norman area, the tournament schedule was altered earlier this week. The Falcons are now scheduled to open the tournament on Saturday (Feb. 22), facing Wichita State at 1:00 p.m. ET. Then, the Orange and Brown will meet four-time defending national champion Oklahoma in a game slated to start at 3:30 p.m. ET.
• On Sunday (Feb. 23), the Falcons will wrap up the weekend slate with a 12:00 p.m. ET first pitch against Tulsa.
• The Wichita State and Tulsa games are scheduled to be played at Marita Hynes Field, while the game against the No. 2/2 Sooners will take place at Love's Field. The Oklahoma game is scheduled to be streamed on SEC Network+.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons are 2-3 on the young season. BGSU played five games at the Spartan Classic, hosted by USC Upstate, two weekends ago (Feb. 7-9). BG picked up a pair of wins over Monmouth in that tourney, including a 9-1 victory on day two. Head coach Michelle Gardner and her staff – Greg McQuillin, Tegan Cortelletti and Indya Smith – have 15 returning letterwinners, including four positional starters, from the 2024 club. Additionally, five of the seven pitchers from a season ago are on the '25 roster.
• The Falcons' lineup for game one of the 2025 season included two true freshmen, one redshirt freshman, three sophomores and four juniors. Six players – two juniors, the three sophs and one redshirt freshman – started all five games on the weekend, with five of the six hitting .300 or better.
• Redshirt frosh Addie Martin led the way with a .417 batting average, along with six runs scored, while sophomore Peyton Steffes hit .385 and led the Falcons with a .769 slugging percentage and 10 total bases. Both Martin (.533) and Steffes (.529) had an on-base pct. over .500, and the duo combined for six stolen bases.
• Junior Hannah Hunt and sophomore Cameron Kaufman each batted .333 in Spartanburg, while junior Katie Hutter hit .300. Hunt led the Falcons with six RBI, while Kaufman had a team-leading three doubles.
• In the circle, four different Falcons started at least one game. Freshman Sydney Marshall has a team-low 1.17 ERA, having allowed just one run and three hits in her lone appearance, while senior Scarlet Anderson has a 3.11 ERA. Anderson pitched in relief in three of the five games, throwing a BGSU-high nine innings.
• A total of 10 returnees made at least 10 starts last spring. Sophomores Kaufman and Taylor Behrendt started 40 and 28 games, respectively, as freshmen a year ago. Kaufman, a shortstop, hit .234 to lead the BG returnees. Wynnie Reid (26), Ashley Chevalier (24) and Anderson (22) each made over 20 starts in '24.
• In the circle, Mackenzie Krafcik made 16 appearances, including 12 starts, and threw 58 2/3 innings last season, leading the returning pitchers in all three categories.
WELCOME (BACK)!
• Michelle Gardner made her Falcon head-coaching debut at the Spartan Classic, but she is certainly no stranger to Bowling Green. Gardner's coaching career began at BGSU in 1992, as an assistant under head coach Jacquie Joseph.
• That 1992 team went 37-16 overall, setting school records for wins and winning percentage (.698). The '92 squad is still tied for the most wins in a season in BGSU history, while the winning percentage ranks second.
• The '92 team finished second in the MAC, and the 1993 season saw Joseph, Gardner and the Falcons win a MAC title and advance to the NCAA Championships. That team went 34-18 overall and 26-9 in conference play.
• Gardner's wealth of coaching experience includes head-coaching tenures at both Nevada (2003-08) and Indiana (2009-17), as well as time on the staffs at Arizona State, Florida State and Coastal Carolina.
FUN FALCON FACTS
• Junior Hannah Hunt drove in six runs in the Falcons' second win over Monmouth, the highest total by a Falcon in nearly six years. Evelyn Loyola had a six-RBI game against St. Bonaventure on March 16, 2019.
• No BGSU player has driven in more runs in a game since Katie Yoho's seven-RBI performance against Buffalo over a decade ago (April 18, 2014).
• The Falcons hit five home runs in the first three games of 2025. BGSU had a total of eight homers in 44 games during all of 2024.
• Lucas Gardner, a graduate assistant with the Oklahoma softball team, is the son of BGSU head coach Michelle Gardner. Lucas is in his first season with the Sooners after four years as a student manager at LSU.
THE OPPONENTS / THE SERIES
• Wichita State enters the weekend with a 6-4 record. Lauren Lucas has hit a team-leading .500 so far this season, leading the Shockers with 10 runs and nine RBI. In the circle, Chloe Barber has a team-low 1.47 ERA, with a 2-2 record and 27 strikeouts in 28.2 innings. Head coach Kristi Bredbenner and the Shockers were picked to win the American Athletic Conference in the 2025 preseason coaches' poll, after going 28-22 overall and 16-11 the American a year ago.
• Oklahoma is 10-0, and the Sooners are ranked second in the nation in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll and the NFCA Coaches poll this week. OU posted four run-rule wins in as many games last weekend, including two against then-No. 23/24 Baylor at BU's own tournament. Head coach Patty Gasso welcomed back eight letterwinners from the 2024 team that won the national championship for a fourth-straight season. Last year's squad went 59-7 overall en route to the title.
• Tulsa enters the weekend with a 5-5 overall record. The Golden Hurricane went 30-23 overall and 14-13 in the American Athletic Conference last season, and head coach Chrissy Strimple's team was picked to finish sixth in the league in the 2025 preseason coaches poll. Amber Turner and Claira Skaggs are hitting .367 and .346, respectively, this season to date, while Maura Moore is 4-2 with a 2.36 ERA in the circle.
• The Falcons trail Wichita State, 3-2, in the all-time series, with all five previous meetings coming at neutral sites. The teams last met on back-to-back days in late February of 2016 in Mobile, Ala., with the Shockers winning both contests.
• BGSU trails Oklahoma, 2-0, in that series, with both prior meetings coming in the state of California. The Sooners picked up a 7-2 win in 1994 and an 8-0 outcome in 2009.
• BGSU leads Tulsa, 1-0, with the only prior meeting coming in March of 2004. The Falcons posted a 1-0 win in Marietta, Ga.
DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the Norman Tournament, BGSU will head to Conway, S.C., to play a total of six games next Friday through Monday (Feb. 28-March 3). The Falcons will play two games each against Connecticut, Wisconsin and host Coastal Carolina.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on the BGSU softball team, follow the Falcons on Twitter/X (@BGAthletics and @BGSUSoftball) and Instagram (@bgsu_softball) as well as on the web at BGSUFalcons.com.
• The BGSU softball team travels to Oklahoma this weekend, for three games in the Norman Tournament. Head coach Michelle Gardner and the Falcons are scheduled to face the number-two team in the country, Oklahoma, as well as Wichita State and Tulsa.
• Due to anticipated inclement weather in the Norman area, the tournament schedule was altered earlier this week. The Falcons are now scheduled to open the tournament on Saturday (Feb. 22), facing Wichita State at 1:00 p.m. ET. Then, the Orange and Brown will meet four-time defending national champion Oklahoma in a game slated to start at 3:30 p.m. ET.
• On Sunday (Feb. 23), the Falcons will wrap up the weekend slate with a 12:00 p.m. ET first pitch against Tulsa.
• The Wichita State and Tulsa games are scheduled to be played at Marita Hynes Field, while the game against the No. 2/2 Sooners will take place at Love's Field. The Oklahoma game is scheduled to be streamed on SEC Network+.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons are 2-3 on the young season. BGSU played five games at the Spartan Classic, hosted by USC Upstate, two weekends ago (Feb. 7-9). BG picked up a pair of wins over Monmouth in that tourney, including a 9-1 victory on day two. Head coach Michelle Gardner and her staff – Greg McQuillin, Tegan Cortelletti and Indya Smith – have 15 returning letterwinners, including four positional starters, from the 2024 club. Additionally, five of the seven pitchers from a season ago are on the '25 roster.
• The Falcons' lineup for game one of the 2025 season included two true freshmen, one redshirt freshman, three sophomores and four juniors. Six players – two juniors, the three sophs and one redshirt freshman – started all five games on the weekend, with five of the six hitting .300 or better.
• Redshirt frosh Addie Martin led the way with a .417 batting average, along with six runs scored, while sophomore Peyton Steffes hit .385 and led the Falcons with a .769 slugging percentage and 10 total bases. Both Martin (.533) and Steffes (.529) had an on-base pct. over .500, and the duo combined for six stolen bases.
• Junior Hannah Hunt and sophomore Cameron Kaufman each batted .333 in Spartanburg, while junior Katie Hutter hit .300. Hunt led the Falcons with six RBI, while Kaufman had a team-leading three doubles.
• In the circle, four different Falcons started at least one game. Freshman Sydney Marshall has a team-low 1.17 ERA, having allowed just one run and three hits in her lone appearance, while senior Scarlet Anderson has a 3.11 ERA. Anderson pitched in relief in three of the five games, throwing a BGSU-high nine innings.
• A total of 10 returnees made at least 10 starts last spring. Sophomores Kaufman and Taylor Behrendt started 40 and 28 games, respectively, as freshmen a year ago. Kaufman, a shortstop, hit .234 to lead the BG returnees. Wynnie Reid (26), Ashley Chevalier (24) and Anderson (22) each made over 20 starts in '24.
• In the circle, Mackenzie Krafcik made 16 appearances, including 12 starts, and threw 58 2/3 innings last season, leading the returning pitchers in all three categories.
WELCOME (BACK)!
• Michelle Gardner made her Falcon head-coaching debut at the Spartan Classic, but she is certainly no stranger to Bowling Green. Gardner's coaching career began at BGSU in 1992, as an assistant under head coach Jacquie Joseph.
• That 1992 team went 37-16 overall, setting school records for wins and winning percentage (.698). The '92 squad is still tied for the most wins in a season in BGSU history, while the winning percentage ranks second.
• The '92 team finished second in the MAC, and the 1993 season saw Joseph, Gardner and the Falcons win a MAC title and advance to the NCAA Championships. That team went 34-18 overall and 26-9 in conference play.
• Gardner's wealth of coaching experience includes head-coaching tenures at both Nevada (2003-08) and Indiana (2009-17), as well as time on the staffs at Arizona State, Florida State and Coastal Carolina.
FUN FALCON FACTS
• Junior Hannah Hunt drove in six runs in the Falcons' second win over Monmouth, the highest total by a Falcon in nearly six years. Evelyn Loyola had a six-RBI game against St. Bonaventure on March 16, 2019.
• No BGSU player has driven in more runs in a game since Katie Yoho's seven-RBI performance against Buffalo over a decade ago (April 18, 2014).
• The Falcons hit five home runs in the first three games of 2025. BGSU had a total of eight homers in 44 games during all of 2024.
• Lucas Gardner, a graduate assistant with the Oklahoma softball team, is the son of BGSU head coach Michelle Gardner. Lucas is in his first season with the Sooners after four years as a student manager at LSU.
THE OPPONENTS / THE SERIES
• Wichita State enters the weekend with a 6-4 record. Lauren Lucas has hit a team-leading .500 so far this season, leading the Shockers with 10 runs and nine RBI. In the circle, Chloe Barber has a team-low 1.47 ERA, with a 2-2 record and 27 strikeouts in 28.2 innings. Head coach Kristi Bredbenner and the Shockers were picked to win the American Athletic Conference in the 2025 preseason coaches' poll, after going 28-22 overall and 16-11 the American a year ago.
• Oklahoma is 10-0, and the Sooners are ranked second in the nation in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll and the NFCA Coaches poll this week. OU posted four run-rule wins in as many games last weekend, including two against then-No. 23/24 Baylor at BU's own tournament. Head coach Patty Gasso welcomed back eight letterwinners from the 2024 team that won the national championship for a fourth-straight season. Last year's squad went 59-7 overall en route to the title.
• Tulsa enters the weekend with a 5-5 overall record. The Golden Hurricane went 30-23 overall and 14-13 in the American Athletic Conference last season, and head coach Chrissy Strimple's team was picked to finish sixth in the league in the 2025 preseason coaches poll. Amber Turner and Claira Skaggs are hitting .367 and .346, respectively, this season to date, while Maura Moore is 4-2 with a 2.36 ERA in the circle.
• The Falcons trail Wichita State, 3-2, in the all-time series, with all five previous meetings coming at neutral sites. The teams last met on back-to-back days in late February of 2016 in Mobile, Ala., with the Shockers winning both contests.
• BGSU trails Oklahoma, 2-0, in that series, with both prior meetings coming in the state of California. The Sooners picked up a 7-2 win in 1994 and an 8-0 outcome in 2009.
• BGSU leads Tulsa, 1-0, with the only prior meeting coming in March of 2004. The Falcons posted a 1-0 win in Marietta, Ga.
DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the Norman Tournament, BGSU will head to Conway, S.C., to play a total of six games next Friday through Monday (Feb. 28-March 3). The Falcons will play two games each against Connecticut, Wisconsin and host Coastal Carolina.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on the BGSU softball team, follow the Falcons on Twitter/X (@BGAthletics and @BGSUSoftball) and Instagram (@bgsu_softball) as well as on the web at BGSUFalcons.com.
#BGSU FALCON SOFTBALL #
Players Mentioned
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OF
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