Falcons Head to Mobile for South Alabama Invitational

C O M I N G U P I N F A L C O N S O F T B A L L
South Alabama Invitational \|\| Fri.-Sun., Feb. 26-28 \|\| Mobile, Ala.
BGSU vs. Dartmouth	Fri., Feb. 26 \| 2:30 p.m. CT
BGSU at South Alabama	Fri., Feb. 26 \| 5:00 p.m. CT
BGSU vs. Dartmouth	Sat., Feb. 27 \| 10:00 a.m. CT
BGSU vs. Wichita State	Sat., Feb. 27 \| 12:15 p.m. CT
BGSU vs. Wichita State	Sun., Feb. 28 \| 10:00 a.m. CT

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South Alabama Invitational: Tournament Central
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LEADING OFF
The Bowling Green State University softball team hits the road for a third tournament in as many weekends. The Falcons of head coach Sarah Willis head to Mobile, Ala., to play five games in the South Alabama Invitational. BGSU will play two games each against Dartmouth and Wichita State and one contest vs. the host school, USA. The complete tournament schedule follows...

SOUTH ALABAMA INVITATIONAL
Friday, Feb. 26
(all times Central)
12:00 p.m. -- Wichita State vs. Dartmouth
2:30 p.m. -- Bowling Green vs. Dartmouth
5:00 p.m. -- Bowling Green at South Alabama

Saturday, Feb. 27
(all times Central)
10:00 a.m. -- Dartmouth vs. Bowling Green
12:15 p.m. -- Wichita State vs. Bowling Green
2:30 p.m. -- Dartmouth at South Alabama
4:45 p.m. -- Wichita State at South Alabama

Sunday, Feb. 28
(all times Central)
10:00 a.m. -- Wichita State vs. Bowling Green
12:30 p.m. -- Dartmouth at South Alabama

QUOTING COACH WILLIS
"This weekend we will face our toughest competition of the season to date. South Alabama is currently receiving votes on both national polls, and both Dartmouth and Wichita State are top competitors in their conferences. Our success this weekend will be based on our ability to perform consistently on the mound, in the lineup and in the field. It will be a tough weekend and our program is up for the challenge."

SHOOK NAMED MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
On Tuesday (Feb. 23), Falcon senior Marisa Shook was named Mid-American Conference Player of the Week, earning that honor for the first time in her BG career. Shook, a native of Maumee, Ohio (Anthony Wayne H.S.), hit .455 for the second consecutive week, going 5-for-11 as BG took part in the Rafter Memorial, hosted by Kennesaw State, last weekend. The leftfielder led the Brown and Orange in runs scored (five), home runs (two), walks (four), on-base percentage (.600 - tied for team lead) and slugging percentage (1.091) during the Falcons' four games in Georgia.

ALL SHOOK UP
• Senior Marisa Shook has gotten her 2016 season off to a tremendous start. She has four homers this season after hitting a total of three in her first three years with the Falcons. Shook also has nine runs scored and nine RBI this spring after totaling two runs and one RBI last year. She had a seven-game hitting streak to begin the year, and has an on-base pct. of .571 and a slugging pct. of 1.136.

• Shook is currently ranked among the top-15 players in the country in three categories in the latest NCAA statistics -- home runs (ninth), slugging pct. (11th) and home runs per game (0.50, 13th).

• As mentioned, Shook had totals of six hits (none for extra bases) and one run batted in during all of last season, but she has 10 hits (including seven extra-base hits) and nine RBI this year to date.

• After one at-bat this season, she had matched her RBI total for last year. Shook's first plate appearance of the 2015 season was a solo homer vs. Morehead State.

MORE ABOUT MARISA
Senior Marisa Shook is hitting a team-leading .455 on the season. In fact, she hit exactly .455 in each of the first two weekends, going 5-for-11 in the four games in Cleveland as well as in the four contests in Kennesaw, Ga. A week-by-week breakdown of Shook's season so far...
BA AB-R- H-RBI 2B-3B-HR Slg% BB OB%
Cleveland .455 11-4- 5-5 2- 0- 2 1.182 2 .538
Kennesaw .455 11-5- 5-4 1- 0- 2 1.091 4 .600
Total .455 22-9-10-9 3- 0- 4 1.136 6 .571

SCHROCK STEPS UP
• Junior Haley Schrock has gotten off to a successful start in 2016. The third baseman is hitting .444 on the young season, leading the Falcons in at-bats (27) and hits (12). She is tied for the team lead with three doubles.

• Last weekend at Kennesaw State's Rafter Memorial, Schrock hit .571, going 8-for-14 at the plate, with an on-base percentage of .600 and a slugging pct. of .786. She takes a five-game hitting streak into this weekend's tourney at South Alabama, and has a team-leading four multiple-hit games this year, including a pair of three-hit contests.

FALCONS GETTING IT DONE
Several other Falcons have had stellar performances in the first two weekends of the season...

• Sophomore Katee Hinkle was injured in the opening weekend of 2015, and was sidelined for nearly six weeks. She had a total of four hits on the season. This year, Hinkle is batting .400, having gone 6-for-15 to date. She has topped her totals for all of last year in runs (five this year, four last season), hits (6, 4) and walks (4, 3), and has tied her RBI total (four) for 2015.

• Redshirt sophomore Chelsea Raker missed all of 2015 due to injury, but has come back strong in '16. Raker has three extra-base hits among her six total hits this season, and is tied for the team lead with nine RBI to date. Raker drove in six runs, including a three-run homer, last weekend in Georgia.

WILLIS ERA BEGINS
The Cleveland State Dome Invitational marked the collegiate head-coaching debut of Sarah Willis, and the Falcons' 7-1 win over Robert Morris on Feb. 14 was her first victory as a head coach. Willis was hired at BGSU on July 1, 2015, after a highly-successful stint on the staff at the University of Dayton. During the 2015 season, her first with UD, Willis helped the Flyers to a 39-14 overall record and an Atlantic 10 Conference mark of 20-2. UD broke the school record for wins in a season, and the Flyers earned the first A-10 regular-season title in program history. Dayton also advanced to the A-10 Tournament Championship final for the first time in history.

Willis joined the Dayton program after spending two seasons (2012-14) as an assistant coach as Southeast Missouri State University. She also spent several years (2010-12) as an assistant coach at Princeton University. Willis began her coaching career as a student assistant coach at Texas Tech University, her alma mater. She pitched for the Red Raiders from 2005-08, and finished her career with 22 wins and 298 strikeouts in 113 appearances. She was named to the Texas Tech dean's and president's honor lists. In 2007, Willis had the highest GPA of any female athlete at the school.

Willis graduated from Texas Tech in 2008, with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She went on to earn her master's degree in exercise and sport sciences from TTU in 2010.

Brittany Lastrapes and Tiffany Ricks have joined the BGSU coaching staff, while BGSU softball alumna Kolleen Kopchak enters her third season on the staff.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons are 3-5 on the young season. BGSU opened the year at the CSU Dome Invitational, with losses to Morehead State, Niagara and host Cleveland State and a 7-1 win vs. Robert Morris. Last weekend, the Brown and Orange went 2-2 at the Rafter Memorial, hosted by Kennesaw State. BG defeated Rutgers and Morehead, but fell to Bradley and the host school.

• BGSU has outscored the opponents, 44-35, this season to date. Last weekend in Georgia, the Falcons scored 26 runs to the foes' 16.

• Seven Falcons have started all eight games. That group includes seniors Marina Cobbs, Molly Holliday and Marisa Shook, junior Haley Schrock, redshirt sophomore Chelsea Raker and true sophs Katee Hinkle and Kayla Koch.

• Shook, as mentioned earlier, leads the team with a .455 batting average. She also paces the Falcons in runs (nine), doubles (three - tied for team lead), homers (four), runs batted in (nine - tied for team lead), total bases (25), walks (six), on-base percentage (.571) and slugging pct. (1.136).

• Schrock is batting .444 on the year, and leads the team with 12 hits and 27 at-bats. She is tied for the team lead with three doubles, and has a .630 slugging pct.

• Hinkle and fellow sophomore Morgan Evangelista are hitting .400 and .375, respectively. Hinkle is tied for second on the team with four walks, and has a .526 OBP to rank second on the Falcons in that category as well.

• Raker is hitting .250 and is tied for the team's RBI lead with nine. She returned to the field after missing all of the 2015 season due to injury. She was an All-Mid-American Conference Second-Team selection as a freshman in '14.

• Four different pitchers, including two freshmen, have seen action. First-year Falcons Brooke Parker and Kiley Sosby have earned-run averages of 2.92 and 3.15, respectively. Sosby leads the team in innings pitched (20) and strikeouts (16), and has thrown one of BG's two complete games this year to date.

• Senior Braiden Dillow has allowed opponents to hit just .237 against her, while junior Briana Combs has an opponent batting average of .250. Dillow threw a complete-game three-hitter in the win over Rutgers, and has 14 strikeouts in 15-plus innings of work.

• A total of 19 different players have seen action, with 13 of those 19 making at least one start.

THE RETURNEES
• A total of 14 letterwinners from a year ago return in 2016. That group includes eight starters. The returning players accounted for 82.8% of the team's at-bats, 87.1% of the runs scored, 85.2% of the Falcons' hits, 81.1% of the runs batted in, and 92.3% (26-of-27) of the team's home runs in 2015.

• Additionally, two of the three pitchers who saw time in the circle last year return. That duo, senior Braiden Dillow and junior Briana Combs, combined for 50% of the team's starts, 50% of the Falcons' wins and 75% of BGSU's saves in '15.

• Senior Molly Holliday and junior Aspen Searle each started all 48 games a year ago, and ranked one-two on the team in batting. Holliday hit a BG-best .354 last spring, stealing a team-high 15 bases and making just one error in 73 chances in the field (.986 fielding pct.).

• Searle hit .344 last year and led the Falcons in a multitude of categories, including at-bats (157), runs (35), hits (54), homers (nine), RBI (28) and slugging percentage (618). She tied for the team lead in both doubles (10) and triples (three).

• Searle missed the trip to Cleveland due to injury, marking the first time BG played a game without her in the lineup since she began her Falcon career. She played off the bench in each of the four games at Kennesaw State.

• Senior Marina Cobbs also started every game last year, and hit .314 to rank third on the club. Junior Haley Schrock and sophomore Morgan Evangelista each started 46 games last year, while sophomore Kayla Koch (36 starts) and junior Trista Mokienko (31) both were in the starting lineup more than 30 times.

• Schrock drew 22 walks to lead the Falcons in that category by a wide margin. Evangelista and Koch each had five homers as freshmen, tying for second on the team, while Mokienko homered four times in 2015.

• Sophomore Katee Hinkle missed six weeks due to an injury suffered in the opening weekend of the 2015 season, but still made 26 starts in the infield. Senior Marisa Shook and juniors Combs, Amanda Durham and Sami Parave each saw action in 50% or more of the Falcons' contests last spring.

• Sophomore Kayla Gregory rounds out the returning letterwinners.

• In addition to the 14 aforementioned letterwinners from a year ago, redshirt sophomore Chelsea Raker also returns to action this spring. Raker was named to the All-MAC Second Team and the league's all-freshman team in 2014, after starting all 52 games and hitting a team-leading .325 on the year. She missed all of 2015 due to injury.

• Other returning players include seniors Chandler Scott and Katie Turski and sophomores Alivia Forshey and Cassandra Plageman.

THE NEWCOMERS
A total of six freshman have joined the Falcons for the 2015-16 academic year. The list of newcomers includes Carly Allen, Hannah Giammarino, Brooke Parker, Alex Sorgi, Kiley Sosby and Paige Summers.

SIX OF ONE, HALF A DOZEN OF THE OTHER (& THE OTHER, & THE OTHER)
The Falcons' 2016 roster could not be more evenly distributed among the four classes. The 25-player group features six seniors, six juniors, six true sophomores (plus one redshirt sophomore) and six freshmen.

SCOUTING DARTMOUTH
• Dartmouth is beginning the 2016 season this weekend in Mobile.
• The Big Green finished the 2015 campaign with an overall record of 25-18 and an Ivy League mark of 16-4. Dartmouth won the Ivy League and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year.
• Shannon Doepking's team hit .286 last year, and she was named the league's coach of the year.
• Senior SS Katie McEachern is the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year. She led the league with a .449 batting average and 10 homers last spring.
• Senior Morgan McCalmon headlines the returning pitchers. She won 10 games and had a 2.43 ERA a season ago.

SCOUTING SOUTH ALABAMA
• South Alabama is 6-4 on the season. The Jaguars are receiving votes in both national polls.
• USA garnered votes in the USA Today/NFCA Division I poll this week after being ranked No. 23 in the nation in last week's poll. The Jaguars also picked up votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25.
• The Jaguars fell, 5-0, to No. 5 LSU on Wednesday night (Feb. 24).
• Senior Emily Messer is hitting an incredible .615 on the season, having gone 24-for-39 through the first 19 games.
• In the circle, junior Destin Vicknair and sophomore Devin Brown have combined to start nine of the 10 games. Brown has thrown 37 innings and has allowed opponents to hit just .164 against her. Vicknair has a team-low 1.27 ERA (Brown's is 1.51) and a 3-0 record to date.
• The Jaguars were picked to finish second in the Sun Belt Conference in 2016.
• Head coach Becky Clark welcomed back seven letterwinners, including one pitchers and five positional starters, from last year's team that went 40-13 overall, 16-4 in the Sun Belt and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

SCOUTING WICHITA STATE
• Wichita State is 4-6 on the season, having gone 2-3 in tournaments at Texas A&M and in Las Vegas to begin 2016.
• Last weekend in Vegas, the Shockers picked up wins over San Jose State and Boise State, falling to Hawai'i, Cal State Northridge and Oregon State.
• Junior Kelli Spring and redshirt sophomore Paige Luellen each are hitting .333 on the young season. Luellen leads the Shockers with six extra-base hits and 13 RBI.
• Sophomore Mackenzie Wright is batting .314, and leads the team with 27 at-bats, 11 hits and eight runs scored.
• In the circle, junior Jenni Brooks has a team-leading 3.23 ERA and a 3-1 record. Junior Kaitlyn Malone leads the Shockers with 31 2/3 innings pitched and 16 strikeouts.
• WSU returned eight starters from last year's team, and the Shockers were picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference in the 2016 preseason coaches poll.
• Head coach Kristi Bredbenner's team went 34-23 overall and 16-11 in the MVC last year.

THE SERIES
• BGSU leads Dartmouth, 1-0, in the all-time series between the teams. The teams' lone previous meeting came in 2010, at the Buzz Classic in Georgia, with the Falcons picking up a 3-0 win.

• The Falcons have never met South Alabama on the softball diamond.

• BGSU leads Wichita State, 2-1, in that series. The Falcons picked up 3-2 wins in both 1986 and 2004, while the Shockers posted a 3-0 victory in the 2000 season. All three meetings were neutral-site affairs.

COMING UP...
Following the weekend trip to Alabama, the Falcons will venture to Towson, Md., next weekend (March 5-6), for the Tiger Clash. BGSU will play two games apiece against Morgan State and the host school, Towson. Then, the Brown and Orange will head to Tampa, Fla. for five games in the USA Under Armour Showcase from March 11-13.

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Carly Allen

Marina Cobbs

Briana Combs

Braiden Dillow

Amanda Durham

Morgan Evangelista

Alivia Forshey

Hannah Giammarino

Kayla Gregory

Katee Hinkle

Molly Holliday

Kayla Koch

Trista Mokienko

Sami Parave

Brooke Parker

Cassandra Plageman

Chelsea Raker

Haley Schrock

Chandler Scott

Aspen Searle

Marisa Shook

Alex Sorgi

Kiley Sosby

Paige Summers

Katie Turski

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