Sunday's Softball Results
Sunday's Softball Scoreboard
Akron 8, Ohio 1
Eastern Michigan 3, Toledo 2
Kent State 3, Northern Illinois 1
Bowling Green 3, Central MIchigan 2
Ball State 7, Miami 6
Buffalo 5, Western Michigan 0
Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications
Akron 8, Ohio 1
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio – The University of Akron softball team closed out the regular season with an 8-1 win at Ohio in Mid-American Conference action on Sunday afternoon at the Ohio Softball Field.
The Zips improved to 24-24 overall and 9-10 in MAC play, while the Bobcats fell to 15-30 overall and 7-11 in the league.
With the weekend victories, Akron earned the No. 7 seed for the 2015 MAC Softball Championship, to be held May 6-9 at Firestone Stadium in Akron. The Zips will face No. 2 seed Ball State on Wednesday, May 6, at 3:30 p.m. in the double elimination tournament. Tickets will be sold at Firestone Stadium only.
"We are happy with our weekend overall," head coach Julie Jones said. "We hit and ran the bases well. Erin and Sara did a great job keeping OU off balance. Our kids are playing with confidence, and we are in a good place heading into the week ahead."
Akron took the lead quickly, scoring two runs in the first. Senior outfielder Taryn Allmon (Grove City, Ohio) tripled to right field for two RBI, scoring sophomore third baseman Alyssa Nicholas (Cortland, Ohio), who reached on a fielder's choice, and sophomore outfielder Savannah Fruin (Del Ray Beach, Fla.), who was hit by a pitch.
Ohio responded with its lone run in the bottom of the first.
The Zips added four runs in the top of the third. Allmon tripled again, scoring freshman outfielder Taylor Kirian (New Riegel, Ohio), who singled. Fruin smacked an RBI bunt single to bring Allmon home before senior outfielder Sara Pearson (Somerville, Ohio) homered for two RBI, scoring Fruin.
With two outs, UA added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh. Pearson singled up the middle, bringing in Fruin and Allmon, who both reached on singles.
Junior right-hander Erin Seiler (Bowling Green, Ohio) earned her 23rd win on the season (23-16 overall, 9-9 MAC), hurling the first 5.0 innings. She struck out four batters and walked one. Pearson threw the final two innings, fanning two.
Overall, Akron out-hit Ohio, 11-8. Neither team committed an error.
Eastern Michigan 3, Toledo 2
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University softball team concluded its 2015 season with a victory over the University of Toledo, 3-2, in a Mid-American Conference Senior Day contest Sunday, May 3. The contest not only marked the end of the collegiate careers for Jenn Lucas and Lindsay Rich but also broke the all-time attendance record at Varsity Field.
The Eagles (18-32, 6-13) were paced by junior Abby Davidson, who went 3-for-3 at the dish, while Michelle Kriegshauser 2-for-3 at the plate with one RBI. In the circle, Rich pitched a complete game, giving up just six hits and two runs.
The Rockets (24-32, 7-15) were led by Jessica Lemieux and Nichole Toven, who each notched two hits on the day, while Lemieux brought in one run for the Midnight Blue and Gold. Emily Anderson suffered the loss for UT, pitching six innings and giving up seven hits.
Two errors early in the first inning and two singles to the grass put the Eagles behind early against the Rockets as Toledo put two runs on the board in the top of the first inning.
Eastern came within one of UT when Kriegshauser blasted a solo home run over the left field wall for the Green and White in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Kriegshauser came up big for EMU in the bottom of the sixth inning when she doubled to right center before pinch runner Myranda Barnes advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Abi Clark. With Rich up to bat, the Eagles executed a suicide squeeze in which Toledo made two throwing errors, allowing Rich to make a complete trip around the bases and give EMU the 3-2 lead.
The Eagles finished their season with an 18-32 overall record and a 6-13 MAC record, while breaking the Eastern Michigan single season home runs record with 41 round-trippers on the season. Furthermore, the Green and White ranks second all-time with 366 hits and fourth with 181 RBI.
Kent State 3, Northern Illinois 1
Box Score
KENT, Ohio – Kent State received contributions from several players for a 3-1 Senior Day victory over Northern Illinois on Sunday afternoon.
Kent State (39-11, 17-4 MAC) used great pitching, timely hitting and solid defense to send seniors Emma Johnson, Kim Kirkpatrick, Ariele Patterson and Dani Ramos out with a win in their final home game at the Diamond at Dix.
The Golden Flashes' pitching staff totaled 15 strikeouts in the game while allowing only three hits. Johnson got the start in the circle and fanned all four batters she retired before leaving the game to a standing ovation in the top of the second inning. Ronnie Ladines (12-5) entered in relief and followed Johnson's example by striking out five of the first six batters she faced. Ladines finished with a career-high 11 strikeouts in 5.2 innings. She allowed one run, three hits and two walks.
Kent State threatened in the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back two-out hits. Maddy Grimm found the gap in left-center for a double. Holly Speers was able to beat out a ball hit hard back at the pitcher, and a throwing error by NIU allowed both players to move into scoring position. Huskies starter Jessica Sturm was able to escape the jam with a fly out to centerfield.
Kirkpatrick homered to straightaway centerfield to leadoff the bottom of the third to put the Flashes on the board. Speers came through with two outs once again, drawing a walk to extend the inning. Michele Duffy then delivered a two-run blast to left field for a 3-0 lead.
Northern Illinois' Kayti Grable answered with a solo shot to leadoff the top of the fourth, but Ladines settled back in by getting a groundout and two strikeouts to end the inning.
The Huskies' leadoff batter reached in the final three innings but was left stranded each time. In the sixth, a walk and passed ball moved a runner into scoring position. After a called third strike, the next batter hit a long fly ball to the warning track in center and Ramos made a spectacular diving play to make the catch and quickly get to her feet to throw the ball to the infield so the runner was only able to advance to third base. Ladines then brought the inning to a close with another strikeout.
Northern Illinois brought the potential go-ahead run to the plate following a walk and a single to start the seventh inning. A sacrifice bunt moved the tying run into scoring position and seemed to relax Ladines, who struck out the next two batters to finish the game.
Kent State takes a nine-game winning streak into the 2015 Mid-American Conference Tournament. The top-seeded Golden Flashes will open with a first round matchup against 7th-seeded Ohio on Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Firestone Stadium in Akron.
Bowling Green 3, Central MIchigan 2
Box Score
Bowling Green State University softball junior Braiden Dillow homered in the top of the ninth inning, then shut down host Central Michigan University in the bottom of the inning, as the Falcons downed the Chippewas, 3-2, Sunday afternoon (May 3). The Mid-American Conference game was held at Margo Jonker Stadium.
Freshman Morgan Evangelista had tied the contest with a two-run homer in the sixth inning, after BG (20-28, 8-14 MAC) had surrendered two runs in the first. Dillow, the third BGSU pitcher on the day, pitched two-and-two-thirds innings of scoreless relief to pick up the victory, aiding her own cause with her solo shot to left field -- the first homer of her collegiate career -- with two outs in the top of the ninth.
CMU pitcher Rachael Knapp threw a complete game, tying her career high with 13 strikeouts without walking a batter. And, the Chippewas (25-21, 12-8 MAC) had a veritable plethora of baserunners on Sunday, but BG did not allow a run after the opening inning, as Central left 11 runners on base in the contest.
Dillow and fellow junior Molly Holliday each had two hits to pace the Falcons in that department. Evangelista's homer was her fifth this season, but her third this week. She also went deep in BG wins over Valparaiso on Wednesday (April 29) and Eastern Michigan Friday (May 1).
Lacy Tolfree and Sara Hansen each had three hits for the hosts.
Early on, it looked as if the Falcons might strike first on Sunday. Senior Aspen Searle lined a single to left to begin the game, and Holliday followed suit, bunting and reaching safely. On Holliday's hit, the Chippewas had no chance to get her at first, and Searle beat the throw to second, putting a pair of runners on base with no outs.
Knapp, however, responded by striking out the next three batters. In fact, she would strike out six-straight Falcons, with a one-two-three second inning. In between, the Chippewas struck for a pair of first-inning markers.
Tolfree led off with an infield single, and took second on Kristen Kuhlman's sacrifice bunt. Trista Cox followed with a double to the wall in center, with Tolfree scoring easily. Then, Katelyn Rentschler lined a double to right, trading places with Cox, and the Chippewas had a 2-0 lead
The Falcons got out of the inning when Chelsea DeLamielleure hit a soft liner to Searle at shortstop. The sophomore grabbed the ball out of the air and flipped it to second baseman Emily McClelland, easily doubling Rentschler off second.
In the final game of her BGSU career, senior Jamie Kertes allowed a leadoff bunt single to Sara Hansen in the second, but induced Maison Kalina to hit a popup to Searle at short, then got Karly Hansen to hit a double-play grounder that retired the side.
BG was retired in order in the third, but two Falcon pitchers combined to set down three-straight CMU batters in the home half of the inning. Kertes got Danielle Marlink to hit a grounder to third for the first out, and BGSU head coach Shannon Salsburg then took Kertes out of the game. Sophomore Briana Combs replaced Kertes in the circle, hugging the Falcon senior as she left the circle for the final time. Then, Combs proceeded to get both Tolfree and Kuhlman to hit infield grounders, and the Falcons had a one-two-three inning.
BG's first baserunner of the game came with two outs in the fourth, as Dillow's looper fall in front of a diving Sara Hansen in center, but Knapp got a strikeout for the third out.
Cox led off the bottom of the inning by hitting a liner off the glove of BG third baseman Chloe Giordano for a base hit. Cox was retired on a Rentschler grounder to third, but DeLamielleure lined a single to right. The next hitter, Sara Hansen, hit a grounder to Searle, and the BG sophomore tagged pinch-runner Kelly Barnes for the second out of the inning.
Kalina lined a single to center, but Holliday quickly came up with the ball to keep the lead runner from attempting to score, and the bases were loaded with two down. That play by Hollliday paid off as Combs whiffed Karly Hansen for out number three.
The fifth inning was a quick one, as Knapp set down the Falcons in order, including back-to-back strikeouts. But, Combs retired three-straight Chippewas, with a pair of grounders followed by a blooper toward shortstop. Searle made a nifty play on the last out, charging in and grabbing the ball just about the infield dirt.
The sixth inning saw Holliday single up the middle with one out. Knapp got the second out, as a bunt attempt was popped up and caught by the third baseman. But, Evangelista then lined a pitch over the wall in left-centerfield, and suddenly, the game was tied.
The Chippewas looked to regain the lead in the bottom of the inning. Cox reached on a double error, advancing to second base. Rentschler, however, grounded out to short, with Cox forced to hold at second. Cox attempted to advance to third when the next batter, DeLamielleure, hit a grounder to Searle at shortstop as well. Searle threw the ball to Giordano at third, and Cox was out by approximately 30 feet.
Sara Hansen followed with a single to put a pair of runners on base, but Kalina hit a grounder to Giordano, who stepped on the third-base bag for the third out.
BG went down in order in the top of the seventh, and Combs struck out Karly Hansen to begin the home half of the inning. Pinch-hitter Kristen Goodall, though, followed with a chopper that bounced over the head of Giordano and into left field. Tolfree hit a ball up the middle that was just out of the reach of a diving Searle, and Kuhlman hit a ball to nearly the same spot. Suddenly, the bases were loaded with just one out.
Dillow came on to pitch, and got Cox to hit a popup that was gloved by freshman first baseman Kayla Koch for the second out. Then, Dillow won a battle with Rentschler, as her popup was caught by Searle on the outfield grass. BG was out of the jam, and the game headed to extra innings.
Knapp retired the Falcons in order in the eighth, with the last two hitters, Searle and Holliday, hitting fly balls to right-center. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Sara Hansen blooped a ball to shallow center, and it landed just in front of a charging Holliday. Dillow got Kalina to hit a foul pop to Haley Schrock down the left-field line, with Hansen forced to hold at first. But, she stole second as her sister, Karly, took a pitch for a ball and a full count. Dillow's next pitch, however, was a called third strike, and the inning was over.
After the last two BG batters hit fly balls in the eighth, each of the first three hitters in the ninth inning put the ball in the air. Amanda Durham led off by driving a ball to the warning track in left, but it was caught for the first out. Evangelista, like Durham, gave the ball a ride, but leftfielder Tolfree made a running catch for out number two.
The next hitter, Dillow, also hit a drive to left, and Tolfree had no chance to make the catch, as the ball cleared the wall in left-center. The homer, as mentioned, was her first as a Falcon. Dillow, who did not have a plate appearance in BG's first 43 games of the 2015 season, went 6-for-13 (.462) over the last five, and her final at-bat of the season gave the Brown and Orange the lead for good.
Marlink hit the first pitch of the home half of the ninth, but her soft liner was easily grabbed by Dillow for the first out. Tolfree reached base, however, hitting a ball that seemed ticketed for center field. Searle made a nifty diving stop of the ball, but had no play as Tolfree was safe without a throw.
Dillow, undaunted, proceeded to get Kuhlman to swing and miss at a two-strike pitch for the second out, but Cox was hit by a pitch to move the potential tying run to second. Then, a passed ball put that run just 60 feet away, while the winning run moved into scoring position. But, with those runners at second and third, Dillow got Rentschler to swing and hit a lazy fly ball to center. Holliday came in a few steps and made the catch, and the Falcons' come-from-behind win was complete.
Sunday's win concluded the 2015 season for the Brown and Orange. It also marked the final collegiate contest for Giordano, Kertes, McClelland and Shelby Fink.
Ball State 7, Miami 6
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio - - In a game which saw just about everything, it was a pinch hit grand slam from sophomore utility player Amanda Arnett (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) which turned the tide for the Ball State softball team in a thrilling 7-6 victory over Miami to close the regular season Sunday at MU Softball Stadium.
With the win, the Cardinals (29-23, 14-5 Mid-American Conference) secured the No. 2 seed in next week’s MAC Softball Championship and will face No. 7 seeded Akron (24-24, 9-10 MAC) in the 3:30 p.m. contest Wednesday at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio.
“We did what we had to do to win today,” Ball State head coach Tyra Perry said. “We saw some outstanding things from Hanne, while Kelsey did an excellent job managing the game. Nicole also came in strong and confident to finish off the win. I am also proud of Amanda for coming up with a key hit today, her first career grand slam. She just missed tying yesterday’s game with a ball which landed foul by inches, but didn’t let that missed opportunity get to her and came up with an even bigger hit today.”
Overall, the Cardinals pounded out nine hits in Sunday’s win over the RedHawks (31-22, 13-7 MAC), with three coming from junior first baseman Sammi Cowger (Fenton, Mich./Fenton). Cowger, who drove in what proved to be the game-winning run with a RBI double in the seventh, was also hit by a pitch to finish the game 3-for-3 with one RBI and a run scored.
Senior right fielder Hanne Stuedemann (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) and junior shortstop Selena Reyna (Houston, Texas/South Houston) also collected a pair of hits each, including Reyna’s 10th home run of the year.
“There were a lot of positives from today’s game and I am looking for us to catch our stride in the tournament,” Perry continued. “We are starting to believe in ourselves and believe in what we can do.”
Miami opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the top of the first on back-to-back RBI singles from Taylor Shuey and Megan Mattera. Reyna was able to cut the lead in half, however, with a leadoff home run deep over the center field wall in the top of third.
The RedHawks countered with a two-out, two-run single from Bree Lipscomb in the bottom of the third to pull ahead by three at 4-1. Ball State looked poised to respond in the top of the fourth, loading the bases with two outs, but a groundout ended the threat.
The Cardinals would not be kept off the board much longer, however, as they rallied for five runs in the top of the fifth to take a 6-4 advantage. Junior second baseman Emily Dabkowski (Plainfield, Ind./South Putnam) and Stuedemann opened the inning with back-to-back singles, while a Miami error on a grounder from sophomore catcher Shelbie Scamihorn (Terre Haute, Ind./South Vigo) allowed Dabkowski to score from second. After Cowger was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Arnett became the fifth different Ball State player to hit a grand slam this season with a blast over the left-center field wall.
Miami would not let its senior day celebration slip away easily, however, capitalizing on two hits and a Ball State error in the bottom of the sixth to bring in a pair of runs to tie the score. The RedHawks even tried to push the go-ahead run across in the rally, but Stuedemann came up with a perfect throw home on a RBI single from Remy Edwards, while Scamihorn successfully tagged the Miami runner out at the plate who tried to score from second.
With the game tied at 6-6, Scamihorn was hit by a pitch to open the seventh inning, and sophomore pinch runner Taylor Cooley (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) made the RedHawks pay by scoring from first on a double by Cowger which split the Miami defense in left-center field.
The RedHawks had one more chance to rally in the bottom of the seventh, but a spectacular catch from Stuedemann in right field robbed Miami of a sure double for the second out of the inning. After a single, which would have driven in the tying run had it not been for Stuedemann, junior pitcher Nicole Steinbach (Merrillville, Ind./Andrean) induced a game-ending pop fly to give the Cardinals a 7-6 victory.
Steinbach earned the win after a solid 2.0 innings of relief work, limiting the RedHawks to two hits to improve to 14-13 on the year. Junior Kelsey Schifferdecker (Belton, Mo./Belton) started the game in the circle for Ball State, holding the RedHawks to seven hits and six runs, only four of which were earned, over 5.0 innings of work.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB and @TyraPerry13 / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSoftball.
Buffalo 5, Western Michigan 0
Box Score
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, softball team capped off the 2015 season on a winning note Sunday afternoon as the Bulls defeated Western Michigan, 5-0.
The Bulls got solid contributions from all five seniors, highlighted by Hayley Barrow, who not only pitched a complete-game two hitter, but also connected for a two-run home run. Fellow senior Alexis Curtiss had a historic day of her own as she became UB's all-time hits leader with 198.
Both pitchers were impressive early on as they both put up zeros on the scoreboard through the first four innings. In fact, Barrow did not allow her first hit until the top of the fourth inning. The game remained scoreless into the bottom of the fifth as freshman Leandra Jew led off the inning with a bunt single. She moved to third with two outs and then Barrow came to plate and hit a long home run to left field, putting the Bulls ahead 2-0.
The Broncos went down in the order in the top of the sixth and UB then tacked on three more runs in the bottom half of the inning. Senior Stephanie Beuther opened the frame with a double to right center. A bunt single from freshman Karly Nevez put runners on the corners, but Nevez would steal second to put two in scoring position. Sophomore Ashton Earnhardt came on as a pinch hitter, driving in both runs with a double to left field. UB again placed runners on the corners with one away when Curtiss dumped a single into left field, scoring Earnhardt. That hit was her 198th making her UB's all-time leader.
Following a leadoff single in the top of the seventh, Barrow got a pair of fly outs and a ground out to end the game and give UB the Senior Day win.
"Holy Senior Day!! All five of our seniors ended their careers the right way and Hayley pitched out of her mind today," said head coach Trena Peel. "I wish we had 50 of these games throughout the season because we played UB Softball this afternoon. I am just grateful for the moment and we went out with a bang today and that is all I can ask for. We fought, we played with heart and we bled Blue and White and this is a great way to end the season. This was a storybook ending to a challenging year, but we are going to smile and celebrate today."
Barrow picked up the victory as she went the distance, allowing just two hits and striking out six Western Michigan batters. Eight different Bulls reached the hit column today as UB put up 10 hits for the second straight game. Barrow went 2-for-3 from the plate, while Jew reached base three times, going 2-for-2, while also being hit by a pitch.
Today's game was the final one for Beuther, Barrow, Curtiss, Nevez and Nora McGuire. The last three finished with 73 wins over their four years, the most of any class in program history.
