Bowling Green State University Athletics
Thursday, February 12
Greenville, S.C.
4 p.m.
Bowling Green State University
at
Furman
Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics
Falcons Fly (Actually, Bus) to Furman for Purple & White Classic
February 11, 2026 | Softball
BGSU set to play five games in Thursday-Saturday tourney
• The Bowling Green State University softball team, off to a 2-0 start to the 2026 season, heads to Greenville, S.C., to take part in the Purple & White Classic. Head coach Michelle Gardner and the Falcons are slated to play five games in the tourney, which will begin on Thursday (Feb. 12) and run through Saturday (Feb. 14) at Pepsi Stadium.
• BGSU is scheduled to play a pair of games against the host school, Furman, on Thursday (Feb. 12), before meeting Towson and Lipscomb on Friday (Feb. 13). The Falcons' tourney action concludes with a Saturday (Feb. 14) tussle with Towson. As of Wednesday morning, none of BGSU's games in the Purple & White Classic are scheduled to be streamed. The complete tournament schedule follows...
PURPLE & WHITE CLASSIC
Pepsi Stadium; Greenville, S.C.
Thursday, Feb. 12 Bowling Green at Furman 4:00 p.m.
Bowling Green at Furman 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 13 Lipscomb vs. Towson 11:00 a.m.
Bowling Green vs. Towson 1:30 p.m.
Bowling Green vs. Lipscomb 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 14 Bowling Green vs. Towson 10:00 a.m.
Lipscomb vs. Towson 12:30 p.m.
Lipscomb at Furman 3:00 p.m.
LAST WEEKEND
• The Falcons began the 2026 season with a pair of come-from-behind victories at the 1868 Classic in Hampton, Va. BGSU defeated Queens, 7-5, before topping the host school, Hampton, 11-9, on Friday (Feb. 6). The remainder of the tournament was canceled due to inclement weather.
• The opening game saw BG go hitless until the sixth inning. But, four outs from defeat, the Falcons proceeded to score two runs in the sixth and five more in the seventh.
• In the nightcap, BGSU answered a five-run Hampton second inning with a five-spot in the top of the third. The back-and-forth scoring continued until Kendall Mathews hit a two-run double to give the Falcons a 10-9 lead in the sixth. BG would add an insurance run in the seventh.
• Alyvia Roth picked up the win in relief in the opening game, while Mackenzie Krafcik, who had started the opener, earned the victory in relief in game two.
• Roth pitched 3 2/3 innings, the longest of her collegiate career, and earned her first victory as a Falcon. Krafcik threw 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball in the nightcap, and struck out a career-high six batters.
• At the plate, Taylor Behrendt had two hits in each game and scored three runs, while Addie Martin had a homer and five runs batted in.
399
• With the two wins in Hampton, Michelle Gardner now has 399 career victories as a head coach. Gardner's storied career has included head-coaching stints at Nevada and Indiana, in addition to BGSU.
WALK IT OUT
• Senior Ashley Chevalier walked no fewer than four times in Friday's (Feb. 6) win at Hampton, the highest single-game total by a Falcon in nearly 15 years.
• No BGSU player had drawn four walks in a game since May 1, 2011. On that date, believe it or not, two Falcons turned the trick, as Paige Berger walked five times and Hannah Fulk four in a 5-4, 14-inning win over Ball State.
WINNING TAKES TIME
• The Falcons' win over Hampton took three hours and nine minutes to play. By comparison, none of BGSU's 52 games last season lasted more than 2:54, and that game (against Toledo) was a 10-inning contest.
• BGSU did not play a seven-inning game that lasted longer than 2:25 last season.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• Head coach Michelle Gardner and her assistants, Greg McQuillin and Indya Smith, welcome back 15 of 19 letterwinners from last year's team, including all nine positional starters and three of the six pitchers who saw action in 2025.
• That 2025 club surpassed the overall and Mid-American Conference win totals for the previous two years combined. BGSU went 16-36 last spring, after posting a combined record of 15-79 in the 2023 (9-41) and '24 (6-38) campaigns.
• In MAC play, BGSU was 7-19 last year, after going a combined 5-51 in the previous two seasons.
• BGSU had four seniors on last year's roster. Two of those four players did not see action in 2025, and only one of the four players saw action in any games after March 8.
• At the plate, the players returning in 2026 combined for ...
• 1,339 of the team's 1,362 at-bats (98.3%) in 2025;
• 212 of the 219 runs scored (96.8%);
• 195 of the Falcons' 198 RBI (98.5%); and
• 360 of the team's 361 total hits (99.7%).
• In the circle, returning players combined to pitch 215 of the 328 1/3 total innings (65.5%), including 134 1/3 of the 167 2/3 innings (80.1%) in MAC action.
• The 2025 Falcons scored 219 runs, the fourth-highest total in program history, and last year's BGSU club also ranked in the top five in school history in runs per game (4.21, fifth); RBI (198, third); walks (153; fifth); batters hit by pitch (32, third); on-base percentage (.350; fifth) and sacrifice flies (13, tie-third).
• Addie Martin was named to the MAC's All-Freshman Team. She hit 13 homers, the second-highest single-season total in program history.
• Martin became the first player in program history to hit at least 12 homers and steal at least 12 bases in the same season.
ADDIE. MARTIN.
• Redshirt freshman Addie Martin hit 13 homers last season, putting her in sole possession of second place on the BGSU single-season list. Martin fell just two round-trippers shy of the school record of 15, set by Hannah Fulk in 2012.
• Martin also had a team-leading 15 stolen bases last year. She became the first player in school history with at least a dozen homers and a dozen steals in the same season.
• In addition to the single-season mark for dingers, she also finished near the top of several other BGSU single-season lists. Those rankings are listed in the PDF version of these notes.
THE OPPONENTS / THE SERIES
• Furman is 0-6 on the young season, after a Tuesday-night loss at #18 Clemson. First-year head coach Mary Beth Dennison and the Paladins opened the season at Gardner-Webb's Runnin' Bulldogs Classic. Sylvia Burroughs was a preseason All-Southern Conference Team choice. The Paladins returned five positional starters from a 2025 team that went 15-38 overall and 5-16 in SoCon play.
• Lipscomb is 2-3 heading into the weekend, after picking up wins over UAB and Southeast Missouri State at last weekend's Southern Miss Tournament. Head coach Kristin Ryman's team finished the 2025 campaign with a 25-30 overall record and an 11-13 mark in Atlantic Sun Conference action.
• Towson has a 2-2 record after splitting four games at USC Upstate's Founders Classic. The Tigers posted wins over the host school and Saint Francis, while dropping two games against Ohio. Head coach Lisa Costello's club was picked to finish third in the North Division of the Coastal Athletic Association in 2026, after finishing 23-29 overall and 11-16 in the CAA last season.
• The Falcons trail Furman, 2-1, in the all-time series. The teams played a pair of games two seasons ago at the Battle at the Beach tourney in Conway, S.C., with BG posting a 7-3 win (Feb. 24, 2024) and the Paladins picking up a 5-3 victory the following day. The only other meeting came in 2021, with Furman posting a 10-3 win at a tourney hosted by Winthrop.
• BGSU trails Lipscomb, 4-2, in that series. The teams last met four years ago (March 11, 2022), with the Orange and Brown winning a 5-0 verdict at Lipscomb's own Lady Bison Classic in Nashville.
• The Falcons lead Towson, 2-0, including a 7-3 road win at the Tiger Clash a decade ago (March 6, 2026). The teams' only other meeting came almost exactly a decade prior to that (March 17, 2006), and resulted in a 10-0, five-inning BGSU win in Tampa, Fla.
DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the Purple & White Classic, BGSU will head to Johnson City, Tenn., for five games in next weekend's ETSU Tournament (Feb. 20-22).
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 is scheduled to play a pair of games against the host school, Furman, on Thursday (Feb. 12), before meeting Towson and Lipscomb on Friday (Feb. 13). The Falcons' tourney action concludes with a Saturday (Feb. 14) tussle with Towson. As of Wednesday morning, none of BGSU's games in the Purple & White Classic are scheduled to be streamed. The complete tournament schedule follows...
PURPLE & WHITE CLASSIC
Pepsi Stadium; Greenville, S.C.
Thursday, Feb. 12 Bowling Green at Furman 4:00 p.m.
Bowling Green at Furman 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 13 Lipscomb vs. Towson 11:00 a.m.
Bowling Green vs. Towson 1:30 p.m.
Bowling Green vs. Lipscomb 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 14 Bowling Green vs. Towson 10:00 a.m.
Lipscomb vs. Towson 12:30 p.m.
Lipscomb at Furman 3:00 p.m.
LAST WEEKEND
• The Falcons began the 2026 season with a pair of come-from-behind victories at the 1868 Classic in Hampton, Va. BGSU defeated Queens, 7-5, before topping the host school, Hampton, 11-9, on Friday (Feb. 6). The remainder of the tournament was canceled due to inclement weather.
• The opening game saw BG go hitless until the sixth inning. But, four outs from defeat, the Falcons proceeded to score two runs in the sixth and five more in the seventh.
• In the nightcap, BGSU answered a five-run Hampton second inning with a five-spot in the top of the third. The back-and-forth scoring continued until Kendall Mathews hit a two-run double to give the Falcons a 10-9 lead in the sixth. BG would add an insurance run in the seventh.
• Alyvia Roth picked up the win in relief in the opening game, while Mackenzie Krafcik, who had started the opener, earned the victory in relief in game two.
• Roth pitched 3 2/3 innings, the longest of her collegiate career, and earned her first victory as a Falcon. Krafcik threw 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball in the nightcap, and struck out a career-high six batters.
• At the plate, Taylor Behrendt had two hits in each game and scored three runs, while Addie Martin had a homer and five runs batted in.
399
• With the two wins in Hampton, Michelle Gardner now has 399 career victories as a head coach. Gardner's storied career has included head-coaching stints at Nevada and Indiana, in addition to BGSU.
WALK IT OUT
• Senior Ashley Chevalier walked no fewer than four times in Friday's (Feb. 6) win at Hampton, the highest single-game total by a Falcon in nearly 15 years.
• No BGSU player had drawn four walks in a game since May 1, 2011. On that date, believe it or not, two Falcons turned the trick, as Paige Berger walked five times and Hannah Fulk four in a 5-4, 14-inning win over Ball State.
WINNING TAKES TIME
• The Falcons' win over Hampton took three hours and nine minutes to play. By comparison, none of BGSU's 52 games last season lasted more than 2:54, and that game (against Toledo) was a 10-inning contest.
• BGSU did not play a seven-inning game that lasted longer than 2:25 last season.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• Head coach Michelle Gardner and her assistants, Greg McQuillin and Indya Smith, welcome back 15 of 19 letterwinners from last year's team, including all nine positional starters and three of the six pitchers who saw action in 2025.
• That 2025 club surpassed the overall and Mid-American Conference win totals for the previous two years combined. BGSU went 16-36 last spring, after posting a combined record of 15-79 in the 2023 (9-41) and '24 (6-38) campaigns.
• In MAC play, BGSU was 7-19 last year, after going a combined 5-51 in the previous two seasons.
• BGSU had four seniors on last year's roster. Two of those four players did not see action in 2025, and only one of the four players saw action in any games after March 8.
• At the plate, the players returning in 2026 combined for ...
• 1,339 of the team's 1,362 at-bats (98.3%) in 2025;
• 212 of the 219 runs scored (96.8%);
• 195 of the Falcons' 198 RBI (98.5%); and
• 360 of the team's 361 total hits (99.7%).
• In the circle, returning players combined to pitch 215 of the 328 1/3 total innings (65.5%), including 134 1/3 of the 167 2/3 innings (80.1%) in MAC action.
• The 2025 Falcons scored 219 runs, the fourth-highest total in program history, and last year's BGSU club also ranked in the top five in school history in runs per game (4.21, fifth); RBI (198, third); walks (153; fifth); batters hit by pitch (32, third); on-base percentage (.350; fifth) and sacrifice flies (13, tie-third).
• Addie Martin was named to the MAC's All-Freshman Team. She hit 13 homers, the second-highest single-season total in program history.
• Martin became the first player in program history to hit at least 12 homers and steal at least 12 bases in the same season.
ADDIE. MARTIN.
• Redshirt freshman Addie Martin hit 13 homers last season, putting her in sole possession of second place on the BGSU single-season list. Martin fell just two round-trippers shy of the school record of 15, set by Hannah Fulk in 2012.
• Martin also had a team-leading 15 stolen bases last year. She became the first player in school history with at least a dozen homers and a dozen steals in the same season.
• In addition to the single-season mark for dingers, she also finished near the top of several other BGSU single-season lists. Those rankings are listed in the PDF version of these notes.
THE OPPONENTS / THE SERIES
• Furman is 0-6 on the young season, after a Tuesday-night loss at #18 Clemson. First-year head coach Mary Beth Dennison and the Paladins opened the season at Gardner-Webb's Runnin' Bulldogs Classic. Sylvia Burroughs was a preseason All-Southern Conference Team choice. The Paladins returned five positional starters from a 2025 team that went 15-38 overall and 5-16 in SoCon play.
• Lipscomb is 2-3 heading into the weekend, after picking up wins over UAB and Southeast Missouri State at last weekend's Southern Miss Tournament. Head coach Kristin Ryman's team finished the 2025 campaign with a 25-30 overall record and an 11-13 mark in Atlantic Sun Conference action.
• Towson has a 2-2 record after splitting four games at USC Upstate's Founders Classic. The Tigers posted wins over the host school and Saint Francis, while dropping two games against Ohio. Head coach Lisa Costello's club was picked to finish third in the North Division of the Coastal Athletic Association in 2026, after finishing 23-29 overall and 11-16 in the CAA last season.
• The Falcons trail Furman, 2-1, in the all-time series. The teams played a pair of games two seasons ago at the Battle at the Beach tourney in Conway, S.C., with BG posting a 7-3 win (Feb. 24, 2024) and the Paladins picking up a 5-3 victory the following day. The only other meeting came in 2021, with Furman posting a 10-3 win at a tourney hosted by Winthrop.
• BGSU trails Lipscomb, 4-2, in that series. The teams last met four years ago (March 11, 2022), with the Orange and Brown winning a 5-0 verdict at Lipscomb's own Lady Bison Classic in Nashville.
• The Falcons lead Towson, 2-0, including a 7-3 road win at the Tiger Clash a decade ago (March 6, 2026). The teams' only other meeting came almost exactly a decade prior to that (March 17, 2006), and resulted in a 10-0, five-inning BGSU win in Tampa, Fla.
DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the Purple & White Classic, BGSU will head to Johnson City, Tenn., for five games in next weekend's ETSU Tournament (Feb. 20-22).
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.
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
3B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballSB: First Pitch Dinner Recap (Jan. 11, 2024)
Wednesday, January 24
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