Toledo 18, Charleston Southern 5
Toledo 5, Charleston Southern 4
Bowling Green 8, Butler 4
Bowling Green 6, Western Illinois 0
Ball State 7, Western Illinois 4
Kent State 5, LIU 4
Ohio State 8, Northern Illinois 1
Bethune-Cookman 2, Northern Illinois 1
St. Thomas 6, Ball State 5
Clemson 8, Kent State 0
Pittsburgh 10, Akron 0
Seattle 8, Western Michigan 1
DePaul 4, Western Michigan 3
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
T
oledo 18, Charleston Southern 5
Toledo 5, Charleston Southern 4
Boxscore 1 | Boxscore 2
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – Toledo softball started its season with two victories over Charleston Southern on Friday night. The Rockets captured an 18-5 run-rule win (5 inn.) in the opening game and a 5-4 victory in game two.
In the opening contest, the Rockets had an explosive fourth inning, bringing 10 batters to the plate and scoring 11 runs. It all started with senior Anna Dixon's single to center field that allowed junior Macey Moore to tie the game at 2-2, and the Rockets never looked back. Sophomore Jenna Kroll crushed a three-run homer, her first of the season, into center field that brought in senior Aubrey Reed and sophomore Alexis d'Alexander to put Toledo up 10-2. Senior Dayna Denner sent her first home run of the season over the center-field wall in the top of the fifth inning, bringing around two runs to put her team up 14-4. The Rockets would add four more runs and cap the game at the end of the inning, to secure their first win of the season 18-5.
"In that first game we had a ton of two-out runs," head coach Joe Abraham said. "It was just one clutch hit after another, which was a blast."
In the second game, Aubrey Reed got the Rockets' offense running in the top of the first inning, driving a double to right center, that allowed for Denner and junior Leah Munson to score. The Buccaneers pulled within one at the bottom of the fourth off from a single into left field. The Rockets had the bases loaded with no one out in the top of the sixth, but the Buccaneers' defense came to life as they only allowed one run to score and keep it a one-run ballgame. Kroll sent one to shallow center which ran in sophomore Sydney McKeever for the score.
"In the nightcap, we made some physical and mental errors, yet pulled it out," Abraham said. "We got some great pitching from Makenna Durieux and Annika Johnson in big-time situations. We haven't been outside since October, and we came out and got two wins and hit the ball really well. It was a great way to start the 2022 campaign."
Toledo was led offensively in the first game by Dixon and sophomore Lauren Erickson with three hits apiece. In the second game, Aubrey Reed, Kroll and junior Riley Mohr connected on two hits apiece.
Toledo will face UNC Wilmington and Charleston Southern tomorrow at noon and 2:30 p.m. respectively. The Rockets will close the weekend vs the Seahawks at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday.
Bowling Green 8, Butler 4
Bowling Green 6, Western Illinois 0
Boxscore 1 | Boxscore 2
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Bowling Green State University softball team got the 2022 season off to a successful start, picking up a pair of wins at the DePaul Dome Tournament on Friday (Feb. 11). The Falcons blanked Western Illinois, 6-0, before topping Butler by an 8-4 outcome.
Payton Gottshall picked up right where she left off last spring, firing a complete-game, two-hit shutout against the Leathernecks. She struck out 14 batters, whiffing WIU's number four and five hitters three times each, and took a perfect game into the fifth inning.
Meanwhile, the Falcons scored two runs in the third, fifth and sixth frames to slowly take control of Friday's opener.
The nightcap saw BGSU get off to a quick start, as Reagan Williamson blasted a three-run homer – the first of her collegiate career – in the first inning. Kiara Hurley picked up the win in relief in her BGSU debut.
Peyton Dolejs went 4-for-6 with three runs scored and four batted in on Friday. Bailey Sample was 3-for-5 on the day, and both Dolejs and Sample walked twice as well. Each player had an on-base percentage of .750 in the two games.
Greta L'Esperance had three hits, stole a base in each game, and scored four runs, including a career-high three in the win over Butler.
Williamson, Sarah Gonzalez and Payton Hamm all had two hits on Friday, with Gonzalez walking twice and Williamson once.
In all, BGSU batters pounded out 18 hits and drew 10 walks on the day.
Ball State 7, Western Illinois 4
Boxscore
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Ball State softball team closed opening day with a 7-4 win over Western Illinois in its second game Friday afternoon in the DePaul Tournament at the Rosemont Dome.
After suffering a 6-5 loss to St. Thomas in the season-opener, the Cardinals (1-1) scored the first six runs in the nightcap to take early control of the contest.
Overall, the Cardinals pounded 17 hits over the two games with junior third baseman Haley Wynn and sophomore shortstop Kayla Lissy leading the way with four hits apiece. Wynn provided Ball State's first home run of the season with a two-run blast in the fifth inning of the season-opener.
Ball State also received a home run from senior center fielder Faith Hensley, who recorded two hits in the opener and one in the nightcap, while tying Wynn for team-high honors with three RBI on the day.
Freshman Angelina Russo made the most of her collegiate debut versus the Leathernecks (0-2), earning her first career win by throwing the first 6.0 innings and along just three hits and four runs (three earned). She also struck out three batters.
After suffering the pitching loss in the opener versus the Tommies (2-0), freshman Madison Taylor rebounded to earn the save against WIU by holding the designated guests off the board in the top of the seventh.
The defense also gave Ball State a big lift in the nightcap, as the Cardinals turned four double plays in the game.
The Ball State softball team returns to action Saturday with two more games at the Rosemont Dome; a 1 p.m. ET / Noon CT contest versus Murray State and an 8:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. first pitch versus Seattle.
Kent State 5, LIU 4
Boxscore
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Senior Alexandria Whitmore delivered a walk-off single in the eighth inning to give Kent State a 5-4 win over LIU in the first game of opening day. The Golden Flashes then fell to No. 15/14 Clemson, 8-0, to finish 1-1 on Friday at the FGCU Kickoff Classic.
Sophomore Jessica LeBeau had a career day at the plate, batting 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs while reaching safely in all four plate appearances of the first game. Senior Brenna Brownfield also had a multi-hit day with doubles in her first two trips to the plate.
"We learned some things today," said head coach Eric Oakley. "There were some bright spots, like Jess's home run, Emily's throw outs, Savannah's first hit, and the walk-off win. And of course, just seeing Andrea and Brenna take the field today was worth the trip. We also found some things we need to work on, and that's what we will do. But overall, the energy was very good. We are happy to be playing again."
Game 1: Kent State 5, LIU 4 (8 innings)
An error allowed LIU to score twice in the top of the first inning. Kent State got on the board for the first time in the third, as Brooklyn Whitt singled and scored on a double down the third base line by Brenna Brownfield to get within 2-1.
The Golden Flashes collected three straight hits with two outs in the bottom of the fifth to take their first lead of the season. Chloe Cruz started the rally with her first career triple. Savannah Wing followed with a single to right field, recording her first collegiate RBI. Jessica LeBeau then blasted her first home run in a Kent State uniform to go ahead 4-2.
Starting pitcher Andrea Scali struck out the first two batters in the top of the sixth, but one hit, three walks, a wild pitch and an error gifted the Sharks two runs to tie it up.
Anilese Kelly (1-0) worked out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the seventh and then prevented LIU from scoring in the eighth with the international tiebreaker in effect.
Jess Dodd was placed on second base to start the bottom of the eighth, and LeBeau was then intentionally walked to setup a potential double play. Julia Mazanec executed a sac bunt to move the winning run to third. Emily Lippe was then walked on four pitches to load the bases for Alexandria Whitmore, who hit a bouncing single back at the pitcher that brought Dodd home for the walk-off victory.
Scali totaled eight strikeouts and did not allow an earned run on three hits over six innings. Kelly received the win, tossing two scoreless innings in relief. She had one strikeout and allowed two hits.
