Friday's Softball Results
Friday's Softball Scoreboard
Bowling Green 8, Eastern Michigan 2
Eastern Michigan 4, Bowling Green 3
Kent State 3, Western Michgian 0
Kent State 2, Western MIchigan 0
Toledo 2, Central Michigan 0
Central Michigan 7, Toledo 4
Northern Illinois 7, Buffalo 0
Buffalo 5, Northern Illinois 4
Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications
Bowling Green 8, Eastern Michigan 2
Eastern Michigan 4, Bowling Green 3
Box Score
Box Score
The Bowling Green State University softball team exploded for eight runs over the final three innings, posting an 8-2 win over host Eastern Michigan University Friday afternoon (May 1). But, in game two, the Eagles rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh, posting a 4-3 victory over the Falcons for a split of the teams' Mid-American Conference doubleheader at Varsity Field.
The second-game setback leaves the Falcons needing to win each of the final two games of the regular season to have a chance at qualifying for the MAC Tournament. BGSU plays single games at Central Michigan on Saturday and Sunday (May 2-3). BG needs to sweep the Chippewas, and the Falcons also need a sweep (by either team) in the Akron-Ohio series. The Zips play the Bobcats in Saturday and Sunday single games in Athens.
"Any time you give somebody free outs when they're itching to score, you put yourself in a tough situation," said BGSU head coach Shannon Salsburg. "They capitalized on it. A lot of different things kind of came together, but at the end of the day, you've got to close the game out and we didn't, and now we're off to Central and we've got to take two."
Sophomore Aspen Searle keyed the BG attack in Friday's opener, with a triple, a home run and five runs batted in. The Falcons tied a season best with three homers in that game, as freshmen Kayla Koch and Morgan Evangelista each hit round-trippers as well. Koch's homer, leading off the fifth inning, broke a scoreless tie, and after a single by senior Emily McClelland, Searle followed with a two-run shot to right-center.
BG took a 6-0 lead with three more runs in the top of the sixth en route to the win.
"Aspen was really squaring up the ball, which was great to see," said Salsburg. "It was great to see her back on the basepaths. That makes a huge difference, and really sets the tone for us."
In the second game, the Falcons took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, saw EMU cut that lead in half in the bottom of the inning, then scored what appeared to be an insurance run in the top of the seventh as an Evangelista single plated Searle. But, the Eagles rallied in a big way in the bottom of the inning.
The Eastern half of the seventh began when Michelle Kriegshauser led off with a fly ball that rightfielder Marina Cobbs lost in the sun. Then, on an 0-2 count, Abi Clark was hit by a pitch. The next batter, Lindsay Rich, hit a slow roller toward first base. BG pitcher Jamie Kertes grabbed it but had no play, and the bases were loaded with no outs.
Jenn Lucas followed with a hard shot that BG third baseman Chloe Giordano nearly grabbed. But, the smash deflected off the glove of the diving BG senior, and went for a run-scoring single to make it a 3-2 game. Kertes struck out Katy Wyman for the first out, then got a fielder's choice grounder, with first baseman Koch throwing home for the second out.
But, the next batter, pinch-hitter Aoife Duffy, hit a grounder up the middle. Second baseman McClelland made a diving stop and threw the ball to shortstop Searle, but Abby Davidson beat the throw. Meanwhile, Rich scored from third, and Lucas rounded third and came home, beating the throw for the winning run.
In the opener, as mentioned, BGSU's total of three homers tied a season high. The Falcons also had three round-trippers in a March 15 win over IPFW.
EMU starter Alyssa Huntley kept the Falcons off the scoreboard for the first four innings of the first game, before BG put crooked numbers on the scoreboard in each of the last three innings.
Huntley needed just seven pitches to get through the first inning, getting three ground balls for outs. Kriegshauser, who was a thorn in the Falcons' collective side all afternoon, doubled with two outs in the bottom of the inning, but BG starter Kertes got Clark to hit a weak popup to the circle, and the BG senior made the catch.
Sophomore Haley Schrock, in what would be a recurring theme on Friday, drew a walk with two outs in the second inning. Junior Braiden Dillow, part of the BG batting order for just the second time this season, beat out a slow roller toward third base, but Schrock was out as she attempted to go from first to third, ending the half-inning.
Taylor Wagner singled to start the Eastern half of the second, but Rich popped up a bunt attempt, and BG catcher Evangelista made a nifty diving catch for the first out. The Eagles loaded the bases on a Wyman single up the middle and a Davidson hit through the left side of the BG infield. But, with one down, pinch-hitter Duffy's grounder was grabbed by McClelland, who threw home for the second out, and a Haley Hostetler fly ball was caught by Schrock in left.
Koch led off the third inning by crushing a line drive to center. but Lucas made the catch as she retreated toward the fence. Then, McClelland was robbed of a base hit when shortstop Hostetler went deep into the hole to snag a grounder and throw to first. Those plays proved to be all the more important after the next three Falcons reached base. Searle walked, junior Molly Holliday lined a single to left, and Cobbs followed with a sharp single to left of her own, loading the bases, but the Eagles got out of the inning on a grounder to the right side.
Kertes worked around a one-out error in the bottom of the third, and Huntley set down the Falcons in order in the fourth, as Schrock gave a ball a ride, but it was tracked down in left field.
In the bottom of the fourth, Kertes struck out Rich, and after Wyman reached on a base hit to shallow left, Kertes whiffed Davidson on three pitches, then threw a 3-2 pitch past Elaine Whitbeck. After four innings, the teams were scoreless.
It didn't take long to the Falcons to break that scoreless deadlock in the fifth. Koch, who had hit a liner to the centerfielder in the third inning, made sure no EMU fielder would catch her drive in the fifth. The freshman hit a ball that went over the fence just to the left of the '220' sign in straightaway center, and the Falcons had the lead for good.
McClelland lined a single up the middle, and Searle went the other way, hitting a two-run shot to right-center. Abbie Minsker entered the game for the Eagles, and the pitcher was helped out by her defense, as second baseman Wyman made a dive to her right to grab a liner by Evangelista, and got out of the inning without further damage.
The Eagles put runners on second and third with one out in the fifth, after a walk to Lucas and a Kriegshauser single to right. The runners each took an extra base on a BG error. But, Clark hit a grounder to McClelland, who threw home to cut down Lucas attempting to score. Then, Wagner hit a foul pop that Koch caught for the third out.
The Brown and Orange doubled the lead in the sixth, putting three more runs on the board. After a long fly ball by Giordano was caught in center for the first out, Schrock drew her second walk of the game. Dillow followed with a bunt, and both runners were safe on the sacrifice as Schrock beat the third baseman's throw to second.
The Eagles got the second out of the inning on a foul pop to the catcher, but McClelland walked to load the bases, and Searle, after a long at-bat, tripled down the rightfield line. Pinch-runner Amanda Durham, Dillow and McClelland all scored on the bases-loaded, bases-clearing, three-base hit, and the Falcons had a 6-0 lead.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning. Rich led off with a single, and a grounder to the right side moved pinch-runner Myranda Barnes to second. Kertes and the Falcons got the second out of the inning, but a bad-hop grounder by Whitbeck plated Barnes to make it a 6-1 game.
BG answered in the seventh inning, as Evangelista drilled a pitch to left for her second homer in as many games. Durham beat out a two-out grounder to the second baseman, and the sophomore went from first to third on a single by Dillow that landed in front of charging centerfielder Lucas. Then, the Falcons executed a delayed double-steal to perfection.
Pinch-runner Katee Hinkle took off for second, and the throw toward second was cut off short of the base, as a middle infielder grabbed the ball and threw to the plate. But, Durham beat the throw, scoring the Falcons' eighth run of the game.
In the bottom of the seventh, EMU scored a meaningless run, as Kriegshauser legged out a bloop double, Clark reached on an error and a grounder by Wagner plated Kriegshauser. But, sophomore Briana Combs got Wyman to hit a grounder to first baseman Koch, who stepped on the bag to end the game.
Searle went 2-for-3 with a run scored in the opener, and her total of five RBI was the highest by a Falcon this season. Dillow also was 2-for-3 at the plate, scoring a run, while Durham was 1-for-1 with two runs scored. McClelland also scored a pair of runs, going 1-for-2. Schrock drew a pair of walks in the game-one win.
Kertes got the win in the circle, allowing six hits and no runs in four-and-a-third innings of work. She walked one batter and struck out three. Three pitchers worked in each game for the Falcons. Both Dillow (one and two-thirds innings pitched) and Combs (one inning) allowed one run and two hits in the opener, with the run against Combs an unearned run.
Kriegshauser led the EMU attack, going 3-of-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored, while Rich and Wyman had two hits apiece.
Game two saw EMU starter Rich walk no fewer than six Falcons, including four in the first two innings. But, she worked out of trouble in each of those opening two frames, as BG left five on base during that time.
Searle began the game with a base on balls, and after Holliday bunted her to second, Cobbs also drew a walk. But, Rich got out of the inning as two ground balls resulted in a fielder's choice and a putout at first, respectively.
Hostetler led off the bottom of the inning with a walk, but Giordano fielded a bunt by Wagner and threw to McClelland to erase the lead runner. Another fielder's choice led to the second out, and after Clark singled through the right side, BG starter Combs got Rich to fly out to right.
Schrock began the second with a walk, and Dillow bunted her to second. After a lengthy plate appearance, Koch trotted to first base via a base on balls, and McClelland's line-drive single to center loaded the bases. But, BG left them loaded, as a strikeout and a grounder to short retired the side.
Combs allowed a two-out single to Davidson in the bottom of the inning, but responded by getting a grounder to short. After BG was retired in order in the third, though, back-to-back singles put a pair of EMU runners aboard in the bottom of the inning with two outs. Dillow replaced Combs in the circle and proceeded to get a strikeout of Rich.
In the fourth, the Falcons broke the scoreless tie with a pair of unearned runs. Schrock, after a 13-pitch at-bat in which she fouled off eight pitches, drew a walk for the second time in the game and the fourth time on the day. She has a BG-high 22 walks this season to date, nine more than any of her teammates.
The next hitter, Dillow, bunted toward the circle, and both runners were safe when Rich threw the ball wide of first base and down the rightfield line. Pinch-runner Durham took third on the play, with Durham continuing on to second.
Koch, after fouling off several pitches, was a strikeout victim for the first out, but on a bunt by McClelland, Durham broke for home, and the throw by Clark was off the mark. The ball sailed to the backstop as Durham was safe and Dillow came around to score as well. BG had a 2-0 lead.
Eastern answered with an unearned run in the bottom of the inning. Lucas led off with a walk, and with Wyman at the plate, a pickoff throw toward first was off the mark, allowing Lucas to take second. BG got a strikeout, but after a steal by Lucas, a single by Davidson cut the BG lead in half. Pinch-hitter Brandice Olmos reached on an error, but on a grounder to Searle, Davidson was erased at third, and Wagner's foul pop to first base ended the threat.
BG's half of the fifth inning was just four pitches in duration. Cobbs singled on the first pitch, and the next three pitched resulted in a popup to the circle, a fly-ball out to left-center, and a caught stealing.
Dillow worked a one-two-three fifth frame, but Koch was stranded at first after a two-out walk in the sixth, and the Eagles threatened in the bottom of the inning.
Wyman walked with one out, and a Davidson grounder was deflected by Dillow. Second baseman McClelland, forced to change direction, fielded the ball, but her throw to second was not in time as both EMU runners were safe.
Kertes entered the game and immediately struck out Whitbeck for the second out. She walked Hostetler, but then won a long battle with Wagner, which resulted in a harmless grounder to Koch. Koch fielded the ball and stepped on the first-base bag for out number three.
Searle began the seventh with a single over the first-base bag, and she took second on a passed ball. Holliday grounded out to short, but Searle broke for third when the shortstop fired to first, and the sophomore slid in safely ahead of the return throw. Eastern got the second out of the inning, but Evangelista singled up the middle to score Searle and give the visitors a 3-1 lead. Giordano followed with a sharp single to center, but Schrock's soft liner was grabbed by the shortstop, setting the stage for the EMU uprising in the bottom of the inning.
Eastern outhit the Falcons, 9-5, in the second game. Lucas scored a pair of runs, while three of her teammates had two hits apiece. Schrock drew a pair of walks for the second-straight game for BG, and Koch also walked twice in the nightcap.
Three different BG pitchers worked the game, with each of the three throwing between 41 and 57 pitches.
"Overall, I thought we hit the ball pretty well today," said Salsburg. "Our pitchers pitched pretty well. We got a couple clutch hits; Mo (Evangelista) got a clutch hit on a change-up to push across what could have been an insurance run in the second game. But, again, you've got to close it out, and if you don't, that's what happens. Kudos to them, they got the runs they needed.
"Now, any leeway we had is gone at this point. Now, we've just got to go to Central, play our tails off and see what we can do."
The Falcons' Saturday game at CMU is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. Then, BGSU will meet the Chippewas in a 1:00 p.m. start on Sunday.
Kent State 3, Western Michgian 0
Kent State 2, Western MIchigan 0
Box Score
Box Score
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State softball program clinched its seventh Mid-American Conference East Division title in the past decade by taking a pair of games from Western Michigan at the Diamond at Dix on Friday. The Golden Flashes won the opening game, 3-0, and completed the sweep with a 2-0 victory.
Kent State (37-11, 15-4 MAC) once again received dominant pitching performances from senior Emma Johnson and sophomore Ronnie Ladines to extend its shutout streak to six games. The Flashes have not allowed a run since the fourth inning against Robert Morris on April 22 to extend the scoreless streak to 43.1 innings.
"Today was exciting, and I was really pleased with the pitching performances today," said head coach Karen Linder. "Emma and Ronnie did great jobs. There were times Western Michigan had runners on base and we were able to get out of jams because of what our pitchers were doing and our defense came through at the right times. And offensively, it was great to see Dani and Lauren hit home runs. It's exciting for the team when they see people who are normally just contact hitters being able to put it out of the park."
Offensively, the Flashes outhit the Broncos, 10-9. Eight different players collected a base hit with senior Dani Ramos and sophomore Maddy Grimm leading the way with two each.
Game 1: Kent State 3, Western Michigan 0
Kent State scored in the bottom of the first, which began with Kim Kirkpatrick drilling the first pitch she saw back up the middle. Kirkpatrick moved to third after a sacrifice bunt and groundout. A wild pitch then allowed her scamper home.
Dani Ramos made it a 2-0 game with a solo home run to leadoff the fourth inning for the Flashes.
Back-to-back two-out hits gave the Flashes an insurance run in the sixth inning. Holly Speers hit a long single and hustled around to score on a double by Michele Duffy.
Emma Johnson (20-5) recorded 12 strikeouts in extending her scoreless innings streak to 37. It was the MAC-leading 11th shutout of the season for the reigning NFCA Division I National Pitcher of the Week. Johnson surrendered only three hits and allowed a runner to advance past second base just once.
Game 2: Kent State 2, Western Michigan 0
The Flashes used the long ball to score both of its runs in the bottom of the third inning. Lauren Kesterson homered to right-center to start the frame and break the scoreless tie. Maddy Grimm added a solo home run later in the inning to add her Kent State single-season record. Grimm also set a new record with her 49th RBI of the season on the blast.
Ronnie Ladines (10-5) delivered one of her best outings of the season with a complete game shutout to lead Kent State to victory in the second game. Ladines kept the Broncos off-balance throughout the game and finished with five strikeouts while awarded just one walk and allowing six hits.
Western Michigan threatened in each of the first two innings before Ladines worked her way out of trouble. Ivy Schaaf singled to leadoff the game, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Remaining poised, Ladines fielded a bouncer back to the circle and looked Schaaf back to third before throwing to first for the second out. The next batter flied out to right field to end the threat.
A leadoff double and sacrifice double gave the Broncos a runner on third with only one out again in the second inning. Ladines responded with a big strikeout. Following a walk, Ladines got a groundout to escape unscathed.
Kent State is back in action at the Diamond at Dix with single games against Northern Illinois on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. to end the regular season.
Toledo 2, Central Michigan 0
Central Michigan 7, Toledo 4
Box Score
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Chelsea DeLamielleure had three hits including a triple and Kristen Goodall homered Friday as the Central Michigan softball team downed Toledo, 7-4, to earn a split of a Mid-American Conference doubleheader at Margo Jonker Stadium.
Toledo won the opener, 2-0. CMU is 24-20 overall, 11-7 MAC, and has wrapped up a berth in the league tournament, which begins next week, in Akron.
Where the Chippewas will be seeded will be determined over the next two days. CMU plays host to Bowling Green on Saturday and Sunday. The Chippewas are tied for fourth place with Northern Illinois.
The Chippewas scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 4-4 tie in the nightcap on Friday.
The rally started with two out and none on when Trista Cox doubled, Katelyn Rentschler singled and DeLamielleure was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Sara Hansen was hit by a pitch to force in a run and break the tie, then freshman Maison Kalina delivered a big two-run single to make it 7-4.
Sophomore Rachael Knapp (16-9) went the final 1 2/3 innings in relief of starter Hanna Warren to earn the win. Warren, a freshman, allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits while walking three and striking out two over 5 1/3 innings.
Kristen Kuhlman, Hansen and Kalina finished with two hits apiece and Hansen drove in three runs. Goodell's homer, a two-run shot in the second, was her eighth of the season.
Emily Anderson (11-17) took the loss. She allowed 12 hits, walked three and struck out three.
Anderson won a pitchers duel with Knapp in the opener.
Knapp surrendered just two hits, walked four and struck out eight. Anderson allowed six hits, walked one and struck out one. The Chippewas stranded seven baserunners, including two in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh.
Toledo got its runs in the top of the seventh after Knapp retired the first two batters. A single and two walks loaded the bases, and the Rockets scored the game's runs on a wild pitch and an error.
"I thought Knapp pitched well in the first game until the last inning," Jonker said. "She all of a sudden couldn't find the plate and threw some wild pitches."
Goodall doubled for the Chippewas, who also stranded two runners in the fourth and sixth innings.
"We had a lot of situations where we weren't getting very many key hits at all," Jonker said. "We weren't driving the ball very well. We just didn't get much solid contact and when we did, they made a great play."
Northern Illinois 7, Buffalo 0
Buffalo 5, Northern Illinois 4
Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Northern Illinois University softball team added to its record-breaking season and gained ground in the conference race Friday with a doubleheader split at Buffalo.
Sophomore Kayti Grable (Santee, Calif./Santana) set the new single-season school record with her 12th home run of the season for the Huskies (28-21, 11-7 MAC) in a game one win over the Bulls (12-37, 4-15 MAC). Additionally, NIU moved up to fifth in the conference standings by passing Western Michigan.
"With us breaking several records this year, it's kind of attributed to their hard work and it has paid off on the field," said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe.
Game One: Grable's Record-Setter Highlights 7-0 Huskie Win
NIU opened the day in a big way both offensively and defensively, as it rolled to a 7-0 victory over UB.
Kayti Grable's record-setting home run in the second capped a four-run second inning, while a dominant complete-game effort from Keegan Hayes (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) kept the Bulls off the board.
"We were able to get some key hits in that one inning," Sutcliffe said. "Obviously, the home run helped. Later on in the game, we were able to get on the second pitcher they put in and had some good at-bats."
After coming up empty on a bases-loaded opportunity in the first, the Huskies got four runs on the board in the second inning. Caitlyn Warren (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) started things with a two-out triple off the wall in right-center, while Bryanna Phelan's (Coal City, Ill./Coal City) single and subsequent steal put two runners in scoring position. Kali Kossakowski (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) brought both home with a single up the middle. Moments later, Grable got a hold of a pitch from UB's Bobbi Langlois and sent it over the wall in left field to push the Huskie lead to 4-0.
Conversely, Hayes was doing a number on the Bulls' lineup. Following a lead-off walk to Alexis Curtiss, the freshman did not allow a hit until the third inning and only allowed multiple baserunners in the second inning, both of whom reached base on errors.
"Keegan did a nice job of, once runners got on, she could make the pitch to get out of the inning," Sutcliffe said. "Kali had a great game at short again."
Meanwhile, the Huskies added some insurance runs on the board in the later innings to put the game out of reach. In the sixth, a Kossakowski single, a Grable walk and an Emily Naegele (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) fielder's choice loaded the bases. Bekah Harnish (Maple Park, Ill./Burlington Central) converted for NIU, lacing a double into left-center to score two runs and make it a 6-0 contest.
NIU added the final touches to the victory in the seventh. With Haley Wroten (Belleville, Ill./Belleville East) on second, Tara Thacker (Uniontown, Ohio/North Canton Hoover) stepped to the plate and doubled to left field, scoring Wroten for the final run of the game.
Game Two: NIU Falls in Eight Innings, 5-4
The Huskies raced out to an early lead in game two, but Buffalo rallied to tie the game in the fifth and won on a walk-off in the eighth, 5-4.
NIU got four runs in the first inning on RBIs from Kayti Grable, Emily Naegele and Jessica Sturm (Wichita, Kan./Goddard). However, two runs each by the Bulls in the first and fifth innings sent the game to extras, where UB's Hayley Barrow won it on a solo home run.
"I don't think (Langlois) did anything different," Sutcliffe said. "I think we did a bad job at the plate. We were swinging at pitches we shouldn't have been swinging at and going up to the box without a plan."
Much like the first game, the Huskies got on the board quickly with four runs in the first inning. Bryanna Phelan and Kali Kossakowski both reached on errors to get in scoring position for Kayti Grable, whose sacrifice fly plated Phelan and moved Kossakowski to third. Emily Naegele followed that with a single to score Kossakowski. Three batters later, Sturm doubled home a pair of runs for a 4-0 NIU advantage.
UB, though, had an answer in the bottom half of the frame. Following two quick outs, the Bull offense got going on a Barrow single and a Makayla Kowaliuk walk. That allowed Danielle Lallos to cut NIU's lead in half with a two-RBI double, making it a 4-2 contest.
After an eventful first inning, Sturm and UB pitcher Bobbi Langlois settled down, exchanging scoreless frames in the second, third and fourth. However, the Bulls managed to tie the game back up in the fifth. Leandra Jew led off with an infield single, while Alexis Curtiss hit a two-run home run to center field for a 4-4 contest. Sturm was summarily replaced by Tara Thacker, who got out of the fifth without any further damage and sat the UB lineup down in order in the sixth and seventh innings.
The Huskies had a shot to take the lead in the seventh, as Kossakowski singled and Grable walked to put two on with one out, only to come up empty to force extra innings. After NIU went down in order in the top of the eighth, Barrow ended the game with a walk-off solo homer to lead off the bottom of the inning.
The Huskies head back to Ohio Saturday for the start of a two-game set with the Kent State Golden Flashes. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. CT.
