Sunday's Scoreboard
Akron 4, Bryant 1
Miami 4, St. Louis 2
Ohio 1, App State 9
Central Michigan 0, James Madison 8
Ball State 7, Indiana State 5
Bowling Green 7, Creighton 1
Story Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Akron 4, Bryant 1
Box Score
MERCER, Ga.– The Akron softball team closed out the 2020 Mercer Tournament picking up a 4-1 victory over Bryant behind a big day at the plate from junior Lauren Holdsworth (Howell, Mich.) and a two hitter inside the circle for the Zips at Sikes field on Sunday morning.
"This weekend we did a great job staying composed and working on all the components of our game. Including figuring out how to execute and win while manufacturing runs when we needed them. Everyday this team amazes me with their never ending fight," said head coach Meaggan Pettipiece.
After falling behind 1-0 in the third inning, Akron scored four unanswered runs to secure the Zips sixth victory of the young campaign.
Sophomore Lexie Petrof (Ligonier, Pa.) picked up her second win of the season after giving up just one run on two hits while striking out one, forcing five groundouts, and five flyouts. Senior Adrian Smith (St. Clairsville, Ohio) entered the game in relief in the bottom of the fifth inning and slammed the door closed on the Bulldogs allowing no hits, no runs, and struck out five en route to earning a save.
Offensively, Holdsworth tallied a game-high two hits and one RBI. The freshman pair of Bailey Drapola (Brookfield, Ohio) and Maggie Sons (Dalzel, Ill.) each notched one hit in the affair.
Akron took its first lead of the contest in the top of the fourth inning. After two Zips reached in back-to-back at bats, a double by Drapola and walk by redshirt junior Sydney Jascoe (Commerce, Mich.), freshman Tiffany Stevens (Toledo, Ohio) put a ball in play towards Bryant's second baseman who misplayed the ball that allowed Drapola to score from second. In the ensuing at-bat, Holdsworth singled right back up the middle driving in Jascoe and the go-ahead run.
The Zips added two insurance runs in the top half of the seventh to extend its lead to 4-1 and Smith put down the Bulldogs 1-2-3 for the win.
Akron heads back down to the Sunshine State to take part in the Jacksonville/North Florida Tournament on Feb. 28-March 1. The Zips are slated for five games in three days against Stony Brook, Jacksonville, North Florida and Purdue.
Miami 4, St. Louis 2
Box Score
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Miami University softball team (5-5) wrapped up play at the Frost Classic with a 4-2 win against Saint Louis on Sunday.
Courtney Vierstra earned the win, pitching six complete innings and giving up only one earned run. Vierstra became the fifth player in program history to pass 500 career strikeouts as she now has 501. Brianna Pratt pitched a hitless seventh inning and earned the save.
Miami took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Jada Dotson hit a two-out double to center field and scored on a fielding error that saw Allie Cummins safe at first. Hannah Obrey hit a bunt single to advance Cummins to second but that's where they'd stay to end the inning.
Saint Louis answered with a run in the bottom of the first inning to tie the game at one. The Billikens scored on a single and a double despite Vierstra earning all three outs by strikeout.
The RedHawks left the bases loaded in the top of third as Dotson and Cummins hit two-out singles and Obrey was walked. A force-out at home kept the game tied.
The Billikens took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third. A fielding error with two outs allowed a runner on base before a pair of singles brought the run around.
Miami responded with a run in the top of the fourth inning to tie the game at two. Adriana Barlow drew the lead-off walk and advanced to second on an error that saw Mackenzie Moore safe at first. Dotson brought Barlow around with Dotson's third hit of the game.
The RedHawks broke the 2-2 tie in the top of the sixth inning. Morgan Lott hit a one-out single and advanced to second on a walk drawn by Holly Blaska. Both runners scored on an RBI double off the bat of Dotson. A single by Cummins would force a Saint Louis pitching change but Cummins would be left at second to end the inning with a 4-2 RedHawks lead.
Dotson led Miami's offense with a perfect (4-of-4) day at the plate. Dotson had all three of the RedHawks' RBIs, hit two doubles and scored a run.
Ball State 7, Indiana State 5
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - - The Ball State softball team has blasted 19 home runs over the first 15 games this season. It's safe to say, however, that the latest was the biggest.
Trailing 5-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh in the championship game of the Hilltopper Classic, the Cardinals (10-5) managed to post six runs on the scoreboard and cap an already impressive weekend with a three-run walk-off home run from senior center fielder Kennedy Wynn for a 7-5 victory over in-state rival Indiana State.
"Indiana State is a tough match up for us," head coach Megan Ciolli Bartlett said after the win. "They play a fast style of softball and apply consistent pressure at the plate. I thought we did a nice job of staying disciplined at the plate and executing our offensive game plan, even when we didn't get results right away. We showed a lot of maturity. The pitchers did a nice job of moving the ball around and keeping their hitters off balance."
It was not the only home run of the inning at the Western Kentucky Softball Complex, however, as junior catcher Stacy Payton got the bombardment started with her team-leading sixth blast of the season which also scored sophomore shortstop Amaia Daniel who reached on an error.
The Sycamores (5-9) took control of the game early, scoring two runs in the third and another in the fifth to pull ahead 3-0.
The Cardinals were able to cut the lead to two with a single tally in the bottom of the fifth, courtesy of an RBI single from Daniel, her team-leading third hit of the game.
Things began to look bleak for Ball State after ISU was able to cushion its lead with two more runs in the top of the seventh. While Payton's home run in the bottom of the frame looked to give the Cardinals momentum, a pair of ground outs following the blast looked to give control back to the Sycamores.
Ball State would not relent, however, as senior first baseman Janae Hogg singled through the left side to keep the Cardinals alive. With freshman pinch runner Shelby Westbrook at first, junior right fielder Kendall Fields was hit by the next pitch to give Ball State a pair of two-out baserunners.
Enter sophomore pinch hitter Trinity Eckerty who punched a double down the left field line which allowed the speedy Westbrook to score and cut the ISU lead to 5-4. Wynn then ended the game with her first home run of the season, taking a 2-1 pitch over the fence in right-center field.
Overall, eight different Cardinals tallied a hit in the game, including a 2-for-2 effort from Fields to go along with being hit by two pitches. In addition, seven different players accounted for Ball State's seven runs in the game.
"The girls believe in one another," Ciolli Bartlett said about another great team effort. "Teams win championships, not one or two players. And we have had so many different players come up in clutch moments!"
In the circle, freshman Deborah Jones threw the final 4.0 innings to pick up the win and improve to 4-1 on the year. She allowed just three hits and three runs, only two of which were earned, while striking out one. Senior Alyssa Rothwell pitched the first 3.0 innings, allowing four hits and two runs, while striking out a pair.
Bowling Green 7, Creighton 1
Box Score
The Bowling Green softball team capped a perfect weekend in Nashville with a 7-1 win over Creighton on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 23). The victory was the Falcons' final game in the Tiger Classic, hosted by Tennessee State.
BGSU, now 6-3 on the season, was a perfect 4-0 on the weekend, downing the host school on Friday and both Central Connecticut State and Rider on Saturday before topping the Bluejays Sunday.
Freshman pitcher Payton Gottshall allowed just two hits in a complete-game effort, walking two batters and striking out eight.
At the plate, three Falcons had multiple-hit games to pace BG's eight-hit attack. Senior Logan Everett was one of those three, and drove in three runs in the win.
Freshman Greta L'Esperance, like Everett, was 2-for-4 at the plate, and L'Esperance stole two bases and scored two runs. Junior Sarah Gonzalez went 2-for-3 against the Bluejays.
