Bowling Green State University Athletics
Thursday, March 17
South Bend, IN
5:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
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Notre Dame
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Chelsea Raker continued her hot hitting, going 2-for-2 on Thursday at UND
Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications
Big First Inning Too Much for Falcons to Overcome at No. 19 Notre Dame
March 17, 2016 | Softball
Irish plate seven in the opening frame, en route to 10-0 win
The nationally-ranked University of Notre Dame scored seven times in the first inning, and the Fighting Irish never looked back in a 10-0 win over the Bowling Green State University softball team Thursday evening (March 17). The non-conference game was held at Melissa Cook Stadium.
BGSU-UND STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
The Irish, ranked No. 19 in the country in both polls, improved to 22-3 on the year, and UND has won 18-straight games. The Falcons fall to 11-11 on the season.
The Falcons got two of their four hits in the first inning, but could not push a run across the plate. Then, in the bottom of the inning, the Irish struck for seven runs to seize control. Aided by a BG error, UND completed the scoring with three runs in the fourth and retired the Brown and Orange in the fifth for the run-rule victory.
BGSU redshirt sophomore Chelsea Raker continued her hot hitting, going 2-for-2 at the plate in the game. Notre Dame's Melissa Rochford and Karley Wester each had two hits and scored two runs on Thursday afternoon.
Over her last 10 games, Raker has 20 hits in 31 at-bats, for an average of .645. She has eight multiple-hit contests in that 10-game span.
The top of the first saw sophomore Katee Hinkle line a one-out pitch up the middle, before Raker followed suit to put two runners aboard for the visitors. But, Notre Dame starting pitcher Rachel Nasland got a strikeout and a fly ball to left to end the threat.
Karley Wester got things started in the bottom of the inning, with a liner that glanced off the top of the glove of leaping shortstop Aspen Searle for a base hit. Her sister, Ali Wester, reached on a high chopper, as third baseman Raker charged in to field the ball, but had no play. Karley Wester, who had stolen second, wound up at third on the play.
A Rochford blooper to left plated the game's first run, and she took second on the throw to the plate. Caitlyn Brooks reached on an infield error, with the other runners holding, and the bases were loaded. Then, a grounder to the right side off the bat of Micaela Arizmendi got through to the outfield. The play was ruled a hit, and two runners scored to give the Irish a 3-0 lead.
After a walk reloaded the bases, BG starter Briana Combs got Casey Africano to pop up to Raker at third base. But, Megan Sorlie hit a ball into the gap in right-center, for a three-run double, and the hosts had a six-run lead. UND would score again when Bailey Bigler's single scored Sorlie.
Neither team scored in the second. After Falcon senior Braiden Dillow allowed a leadoff hit to Rochford, she got a fly ball to right, a foul pop to third and a grounder to Searle, who made a nice play to retire Morgan Reed for the third out.
Both Nasland and Dillow worked one-two-three half-innings in the third, and Raker led off the fourth with her second hit of the day. She hit the first pitch from reliever Katie Beriont for a bouncer over the third baseman's head. Senior Marisa Shook drew a walk, sending freshman pinch-runner Alex Sorgi to second. But, Beriont got a strikeout and a double-play grounder to escape the jam.
UND added to the lead in the bottom of the inning. Karley Wester beat out a bunt for a leadoff single, and stole second. She took third on Ali Wester's sacrifice bunt, and after a walk to Rochford, a fly ball to left off the bat of Brooks dropped in due to a miscommunication by a pair of BG fielders. The error allowed Karley Wester to score, and after a grounder produced the second out, Reed's double down the line allowed two more unearned runs to score.
The top of the fifth inning saw Dillow line a one-out single up the middle, but a strikeout and a soft liner to shortstop gave the Irish the win.
Nasland picked up the victory to improve to 7-0 on the year. She allowed two hits in three innings of work, while Beriont gave up a pair of hits in two innings of relief.
For the Falcons, Combs suffered the loss to drop to 2-4 on the season. Dillow pitched three-and-two-thirds innings of four-hit ball. All three runs she allowed were unearned.
BGSU now heads to Bloomington, Ind., for four games in the Hoosier Classic. The Falcons will face IPFW and Western Illinois on Friday (March 18), before meeting Michigan State and UIC Saturday (March 19).
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BGSU-UND STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
The Irish, ranked No. 19 in the country in both polls, improved to 22-3 on the year, and UND has won 18-straight games. The Falcons fall to 11-11 on the season.
The Falcons got two of their four hits in the first inning, but could not push a run across the plate. Then, in the bottom of the inning, the Irish struck for seven runs to seize control. Aided by a BG error, UND completed the scoring with three runs in the fourth and retired the Brown and Orange in the fifth for the run-rule victory.
BGSU redshirt sophomore Chelsea Raker continued her hot hitting, going 2-for-2 at the plate in the game. Notre Dame's Melissa Rochford and Karley Wester each had two hits and scored two runs on Thursday afternoon.
Over her last 10 games, Raker has 20 hits in 31 at-bats, for an average of .645. She has eight multiple-hit contests in that 10-game span.
The top of the first saw sophomore Katee Hinkle line a one-out pitch up the middle, before Raker followed suit to put two runners aboard for the visitors. But, Notre Dame starting pitcher Rachel Nasland got a strikeout and a fly ball to left to end the threat.
Karley Wester got things started in the bottom of the inning, with a liner that glanced off the top of the glove of leaping shortstop Aspen Searle for a base hit. Her sister, Ali Wester, reached on a high chopper, as third baseman Raker charged in to field the ball, but had no play. Karley Wester, who had stolen second, wound up at third on the play.
A Rochford blooper to left plated the game's first run, and she took second on the throw to the plate. Caitlyn Brooks reached on an infield error, with the other runners holding, and the bases were loaded. Then, a grounder to the right side off the bat of Micaela Arizmendi got through to the outfield. The play was ruled a hit, and two runners scored to give the Irish a 3-0 lead.
After a walk reloaded the bases, BG starter Briana Combs got Casey Africano to pop up to Raker at third base. But, Megan Sorlie hit a ball into the gap in right-center, for a three-run double, and the hosts had a six-run lead. UND would score again when Bailey Bigler's single scored Sorlie.
Neither team scored in the second. After Falcon senior Braiden Dillow allowed a leadoff hit to Rochford, she got a fly ball to right, a foul pop to third and a grounder to Searle, who made a nice play to retire Morgan Reed for the third out.
Both Nasland and Dillow worked one-two-three half-innings in the third, and Raker led off the fourth with her second hit of the day. She hit the first pitch from reliever Katie Beriont for a bouncer over the third baseman's head. Senior Marisa Shook drew a walk, sending freshman pinch-runner Alex Sorgi to second. But, Beriont got a strikeout and a double-play grounder to escape the jam.
UND added to the lead in the bottom of the inning. Karley Wester beat out a bunt for a leadoff single, and stole second. She took third on Ali Wester's sacrifice bunt, and after a walk to Rochford, a fly ball to left off the bat of Brooks dropped in due to a miscommunication by a pair of BG fielders. The error allowed Karley Wester to score, and after a grounder produced the second out, Reed's double down the line allowed two more unearned runs to score.
The top of the fifth inning saw Dillow line a one-out single up the middle, but a strikeout and a soft liner to shortstop gave the Irish the win.
Nasland picked up the victory to improve to 7-0 on the year. She allowed two hits in three innings of work, while Beriont gave up a pair of hits in two innings of relief.
For the Falcons, Combs suffered the loss to drop to 2-4 on the season. Dillow pitched three-and-two-thirds innings of four-hit ball. All three runs she allowed were unearned.
BGSU now heads to Bloomington, Ind., for four games in the Hoosier Classic. The Falcons will face IPFW and Western Illinois on Friday (March 18), before meeting Michigan State and UIC Saturday (March 19).
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nasland (7-0)
L: Combs, Briana (2-4)
Batting:
2B: Reed 1 ; Sorlie 1
RBI: Rochford 1 ; Brooks 1 ; Reed 2 ; Sorlie 3 ; Bigler 1
SH: A. Wester 1
SF: Brooks 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wester 2 ; A. Wester 1 ; Rochford 2 ; Brooks 2 ; Arizmendi 1 ; Reed 1 ; Sorlie 1
SB: Wester 2 ; Arizmendi 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
2b/ss
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ SoftballP/Util.
/ SoftballSS/2B
/ SoftballIF
/ SoftballSS/2B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
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