Sixth Inning Pivotal in Friday DH at KSU

Friday, April 3

Kent, Ohio

10 a.m.

Bowling Green State University

15-16, 3-7

Kent State

15-16, 5-5

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Bowling Green	0	0	0	5	1	0	0	6	8	0
Kent State	0	0	0	3	0	4	X	7	9	2

Peyton Steffes vs Buffalo | March 28, 2026

Peyton Steffes had 4 hits in Friday's DH at Kent State, & is now hitting .469 in MAC play

Photo by: Daniel Carlson, BGSU Athletics

April 03, 2026 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Flashes pick up a pair of one-run wins

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

KENT, Ohio – The sixth inning proved pivotal in each of Friday's (April 3) two games, as Kent State University captured a Mid-American Conference doubleheader against the Bowling Green State University softball team. The Golden Flashes picked up a pair of one-run wins, by scores of 7-6 and 1-0, at Devine Diamond.

In the opener, KSU (16-16, 6-6 MAC) used a four-run sixth to take the lead, while game two saw the Golden Flashes score the only run of the contest in the sixth frame.

Senior Hannah Hunt drove in three runs for the Falcons (15-17, 3-8 MAC) in the opener, which gave her 12 RBI in a three-game stretch.

In the nightcap, junior Peyton Steffes had three of BGSU's six hits, going 3-for-4 with a pair of stolen bases. Steffes had four hits in the twinbill.

Hunt and junior Cameron Kaufman each were 2-for-3 in the opener, while junior Taylor Behrendt went 2-for-4. Kaufman also walked and stole a base in the game, with Hunt recording a steal as well.

Sophomore Morgan Beckham threw a complete game in the second contest, allowing just one run and three hits. She had one strikeout and did not walk a batter.

NOTE OF THE DAY
• Junior Peyton Steffes entered Friday's action with a batting average of .440 in MAC play, having gone 11-for-25 in the Falcons' first three league weekends of action. After picking up four hits in seven at-bats on Friday, Steffes is now hitting .469 in conference contests to date.

BGSU-KSU GAME ONE – HOW IT HAPPENED
• In the opening game, each team had a first-inning hit, as Taylor Behrendt singled with two down for the Falcons, while Caleigh Shaulis did the same for the Flashes. But, in each case, the next batter was retired.
• The second inning saw the hosts pick up a pair of hits, but third baseman Addie Martin made a spectacular diving grab of a Brooke Aberle line drive in foul ground to end the inning.
• KSU starter Riley allowed just one hit in the first three innings, but the Falcons exploded for five runs in the fourth. Peyton Steffes led off by drawing a walk, and Behrendt singled up the middle for the second-straight at-bat. Cameron Kaufman laid down a bunt, and beat the throw for a single that loaded the bases with no outs.
• Miller retired the next batter, but Hannah Hunt then lined a ball between first baseman Megan Claerhout and the bag for a two-run single that put BG on the board. Then, after a double steal, Martin was hit by a pitch to load the bases once again.
• The next batter, Katie Hutter, lined a single to center to plate another run, and after a force play at the plate produced the second out, Hannah Simko reached on an infield error and Steffes beat out a roller to the right side of the infield for a single, with a run scoring on each play. Behrendt, the 10th batter of the inning, hit a line drive, but it was directly at the center fielder for the third out.
• The Golden Flashes answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning. KSU, like BGSU in the top of the frame, loaded the bases with no outs. After three-straight singles, a wild pitch produced a run. A second run scored on a ground ball by Alex Trevena, and a third run came home on a sacrifice fly by Aberle. Mackenzie Krafcik ended the inning by striking out her former teammate, Aaralyn Nogay.
• BG answered with a run in the fifth. Kaufman led off with a single, ending Miller's outing, and Ashley Chevalier hit a line drive off of reliever Alena Hillyard. That ball was caught by third baseman Gabby Quinn, but Quinn's throw to first was wild as she attempted to double up the runner, and Kaufman advanced to second. Hunt followed with a double down the left-field line that scored Kaufman for a 6-3 lead.
• Krafcik worked around a two-out single to retire the Flashes in the fifth, but KSU would rally in the sixth. Quinn led off with a homer, and Ciara Camacho walked. Morgan Beckham entered the circle for the Falcons, but on back-to-back bunts, everyone was safe. The first bunt saw Camacho beat the BG throw to second, and a BG infielder slipped and fell while fielding the next bunt, loading the bases. Nogay walked to force home a run, before Beckham struck out Brynn Libler on three pitches.
• But, Shaulis blooped a ball to left-center for a two-run single. Beckham bounced back by striking out both Claerhout and Ashlyn Porter, but the Flashes had the lead.
• In the seventh, Kaufman and Chevalier drew back-to-back one-out walks, but Meadow Ferri came on in relief and got a strikeout and a popup to close out the win.

BGSU-KSU GAME TWO – HOW IT HAPPENED
• The second game saw the starters, Beckham and Ferri, post matching goose eggs until the late stages. Steffes led off the game with an infield single, and got as far as third base after a stolen base and a grounder to the right side, but Ferri got the third out.
• Chevalier walked to begin the second inning, but – aided by a diving catch by second baseman Libler near the right-field line – Ferri set down the next three Falcons.
• Claerhout led off the KSU second with a single, and Quinn was hit by a pitch to put two on with one out, but Beckham got Lailani Johnson to hit a fly ball to left before striking out Trevena.
• Steffes had a one-out single in the third, and Behrendt walked on four pitches with two down, but the runners were stranded at first and second. Hunt drew a four-pitch walk in the fourth, while Simko singled and Izzy Ray walked (also on four pitches) in the fifth, but the game remained scoreless.
• After the second-inning HBP, Beckham retired 11 consecutive Flashes before Aberle led off with a single in the sixth. Then, with one out, Libler doubled to the gap in left-center, putting runners at second and third, and Aberle would tag and score on a sac fly off the bat of Shaulis, for what would prove to be the game's only run.
• In the seventh, both Steffes and Ray singled with two outs, but a line drive off the bat of Behrendt was hit directly at left fielder Aberle for the final out.
• As mentioned, BGSU had a 6-3 advantage in hits, with Steffes going 3-for-4 with a pair of stolen bases.
• Beckham allowed just three hits and one run in her complete-game effort, while Ferri surrendered six hits and walked four batters, but did not allow a run.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons and Flashes will conclude the weekend series with a single game on Saturday (April 4), with first pitch set for 12:00 p.m.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will return home to face Toledo in a single game Tuesday (April 7) and a doubleheader the following day at Meserve Field.

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.