Seniors Lead the Way as Falcons Stop UMass, 5-1, Friday Afternoon

Friday, April 24

Bowling Green, Ohio

12 p.m. (NOTE THE TIME CHANGE)

Bowling Green State University

18-24, 6-15

Massachusetts

16-27, 7-15

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Massachusetts	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	2
Bowling Green	0	2	0	3	0	0	X	5	9	1

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

Seniors Lead the Way as Falcons Stop UMass, 5-1, Friday Afternoon

April 24, 2026 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Minutewomen hold off a late BG rally to take game two

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Senior Mackenzie Krafcik threw a complete game, and classmates Ashley Chevalier and Katie Hutter combined to go 5-for-6 at the plate, as the Bowling Green State University softball team posted a 5-1 win over the University of Massachusetts on Friday afternoon (April 24) at Meserve Field, in the opening game of a Mid-American Conference doubleheader.

In the nightcap, the Falcons nearly came all the way back from a six-run deficit, getting the potential winning run on base before the Minutewomen hung on for a 6-5 win.

Chevalier was 3-for-3 for the Falcons (18-25, 6-16 MAC) in the opening game, with Hutter going 2-for-3 at the plate. After the Minutewomen (17-27, 8-15 MAC) scored an unearned run in the first inning, BG plated two in the second and three in the fourth to take control.

The nightcap saw the visitors take a 6-0 lead before the Falcons scored four times in the fifth frame and once in the sixth. BGSU put two runners on base with two outs in the seventh, but the visitors hung on for the victory.

Junior Taylor Behrendt was 2-for-4 with RBI singles in back-to-back innings in game two, while sophomore Hanna Massaro had a two-run double and made several sparkling defensive plays in right field. Hutter and fellow senior Hannah Hunt each doubled in Friday's second game.

Chevalier and Hutter each reached base four times in the DH, and each had a .571 on-base percentage on the afternoon. Behrendt paced the team with three RBI in the twinbill.

NOTE OF THE DAY
• Junior Cameron Kaufman made her first – then her second – collegiate start at first base on Friday. Prior to the UMass doubleheader, Kaufman had made 118 career starts as a Falcon, with all 118 coming at shortstop.

ADDITIONAL STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• Two Falcons were hit by pitches in Friday's second game. BGSU batters have reached base via HBP a total of 49 times this season to date, shattering the old school record of 35 (2018).
• BGSU, as mentioned, went 5-for-5 in stolen-base attempts in Friday's opener. The Falcons now has 86 stolen bases on the season, the second-highest total in program history. The record is 104, set in 1988.
• BG batters drew three walks on Friday, upping the season total to 175. That is just two shy of matching the school record of 177, set in 2012.

𝘾𝙀𝙍𝙀𝙈𝙊𝙉𝙄𝘼𝙇 𝙁𝙄𝙍𝙎𝙏 𝙋𝙄𝙏𝘾𝙃

The one and only Steve Messenger will be retiring from BGSU Athletics at the end of June after more than a decade with BGSU Athletics.

What better way to celebrate this than have him throw the first pitch ahead of today's softball game… pic.twitter.com/R1HEMYxqX6
— BGSU Softball (@BGSUSoftball) April 24, 2026

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS 🎥

The Falcons score 5 runs in game one behind a complete game from Mackenzie Krafcik. The Falcons take down UMASS 5-1!#AyZiggy pic.twitter.com/WkTRJeT0JY
— BGSU Softball (@BGSUSoftball) April 24, 2026

BGSU-UMASS GAME ONE – HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Minutewomen got on the board in the top of the first, after Mackenzie Krafcik retired the first two hitters of the game. Odyssey Torres and Lillie Scheivert each singled to put runners on the corners, and an infield error allowed Torres to score the game's first run.
• But, that would be the only run the visitors would score in the game. After UMass starter Hannah Streicher retired the first three Falcons she faced, Addie Martin reached on an error to begin the bottom of the second, advancing to second base on the play.
• Cameron Kaufman followed with a bunt single, and a double steal produced the game's first run. Kaufman took third on a grounder, and Ashley Chevalier then hit a ball into the hole, as shortstop Torres made a diving stop but had no play at first. Katie Hutter followed by lining a ball through the right side of the infield for an RBI single that gave the Falcons the lead for good.
• Chevalier and Hutter began a fourth-inning uprising for the Falcons, as Chevalier led off with a base hit up the middle, and Hutter followed with a bunt single. Hanna Massaro also laid down a bunt, and all three Falcons were safe as Streicher's throw was off line. Chevalier scored on the play, and Hutter advanced to third.
• With Taylor Behrendt at the plate, Massaro stole second, and Behrendt then singled to score Hutter. Hannah Hunt's sac fly allowed Massaro to tag and score from third, giving the Falcons a 5-1 lead.
• Krafcik retired the side on three ground balls in the fifth, and worked around a pair of singles in the sixth. With runners at first and second in that inning, she got Grace Colucci to hit a fly ball to Peyton Steffes in center to end the threat.
• And, in the seventh, the senior retired the side in order to close out the win.
• Krafcik scattered seven hits and allowed just one run (and zero earned runs) in her complete-game victory. She threw 56 of her 82 pitches for strikes.
• Streicher threw a complete game for the Minutewomen, allowing three earned runs.
• Chevalier was 3-for-3 with a run scored, while Hutter went 2-for-3, scoring a run and driving in a run. BGSU went 5-for-5 in stolen-base attempts in the opener.

BGSU-UMASS GAME TWO – HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Minutewomen again took an early lead. After both starting pitchers – BGSU's Morgan Beckham and UMass's Kelsey Blanchette – retired the side in order in the first, Scheivert began the second by reaching on an error. Back-to-back one-out walks loaded the bases, and Colucci came through with a two-run single to right.
• Olivia Packard then hit a fly ball to right, with Massaro making the catch in medium right field near the foul line, Katarine Heslin tagged from third, but Massaro fired a laser to catcher Chevalier, who caught the ball on one bounce and tagged Heslin just as she started her slide toward the plate for an inning-ending double play.
• Blanchette retired the first seven Falcons she faced before Hutter roped a ball to right-center for a one-out double in the third. But, a strikeout and a ground ball to short ended the inning.
• And, Colucci and the Minutewomen added to the lead in the fourth. After a one-out single by Lily Woodworth, Tiegan Walsh drew a walk. Left fielder Hannah Simko made a running catch of a liner off the bat of Heslin, but Colucci's two-out single up the middle made it a 3-0 game.
• Hunt was hit by a pitch and Martin singled in the home half of the fourth, but a scorching liner off the bat of Kaufman was caught by center fielder Brook Musch, and a ground ball ended the inning.
• The visitors doubled the lead with a three-run fifth frame. Riain Keefe walked, and Musch bunted for a base hit. After a sac bunt by Torres, Scheivert walked to load the bases, and a Woodworth walk plated a run. A sac fly by Walsh and a base hit by Heslin each scored a teammate, and UMass had a 6-0 lead.
• But, the Falcons responded in the bottom of the fifth. Chevalier reached on an error, and on a bunt by Hutter, pinch-runner Jilliyn Gardner was safe at second when a throw was off-line. Massaro then lined a ball to the wall in right-center to score both baserunners.
• Blanchette got the first out of the inning, but Behrendt singled to score Massaro, and Behrendt then came all the way around to score on a double by Hunt.
• Olivia Cutuli entered the circle and proceeded to hit Martin with an 0-2 pitch, but got a fly ball to right for the second out. Simko lined a ball back toward the circle, and Cutuli somehow got her glove up and held on to the scorcher for the third out.
• Krafcik, who had entered the game the previous inning, worked a 1-2-3 sixth frame, and Hutter drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the inning. Steffes walked with two outs, sending pinch-runner Kendall Mathews to second, and Mathews scored when Behrendt singled up the middle, for Behrendt's second RBI in as many innings.
• In the seventh, Scheivert doubled with one out, and a ground ball sent pinch-runner Eliana Raposo to third, but she was stranded there as Krafcik got Walsh to pop up to Hunt at second.
• Cutuli retired the first two batters of the BG seventh, but Simko drew a walk, and Chevalier singled to center to put the tying run at second and the potential winning run at first. But, Cutuli was able to get a game-ending strikeout.
• The Falcons had a 7-6 advantage in hits, with Behrendt going 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI. Massaro also drove in a pair of runs, while Hutter walked and singled.
• For the visitors, Colucci went 2-for-3 and had three RBI.
• Blanchette picked up the win, allowing three earned runs and five hits before leaving with one out in the fifth. Cutuli earned the save with two and two-thirds innings of one run, two-hit relief.
• Beckham took the loss for the Falcons, and Friday marked her first start in MAC play in which she did not throw a complete game.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons and Minutewomen will conclude their three-game weekend series with a Saturday (April 25) game at Meserve Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., and Senior Day ceremonies will take place on the field following the conclusion of the game.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will close out the home portion of the 2026 schedule with a Tuesday (April 28) doubleheader vs. Oakland University. That twinbill will begin at 2:00 p.m. at Meserve.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on BGSU softball, follow the Falcons on Twitter/X (@BGAthletics and @BGSUSoftball) and Instagram (@bgsu_softball) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.