Balanced Attack Results in 9-4 Win over IPFW

Wednesday, March 23

Bowling Green, OH

2:30 PM

Bowling Green State University

11-15

IPFW

9-19

IPFW

Bowling Green

Junior Haley Schrock had 3 hits in Wednesday's DH

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

March 23, 2016 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BGSU salvages a split of Wednesday's home-opening twinbill

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

All nine players in the starting lineup pounded out at least one hit as the Bowling Green State University softball team downed IPFW, 9-4, Wednesday afternoon (March 23). The win gave the Falcons a split of the teams' doubleheader at Meserve Field.

The Mastodons scored two runs in the seventh inning for a 6-4 win over the Brown and Orange in the opening game.

GAME ONE STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
GAME TWO STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
PHOTO GALLERY: Ruben Kappler, BGSU Mkt & Comm

Senior Braiden Dillow got the win in game two, throwing a complete game. She kept the 'Dons off of the scoreboard until the sixth, while her teammates staked her to a lead with a five-run third inning. BGSU sent 10 batters to the plate in that third frame, and the Falcons added a run in the fifth for a 6-0 advantage.

"I just tried to keep attacking the hitters and stay mentally strong," said Dillow of her game-two performance. "You can't control the uncontrollables, so my approach was the same as it always is; just try to keep attacking."

IPFW scored four runs – all unearned – in the sixth, but a two-run double by senior Marisa Shook keyed a three-run response by the Brown and Orange in the bottom of the inning.

"After the first game, Coach Willis talked about us needing to have a more aggressive approach," said Shook. "We have a capability to be a good team, but we didn't have that aggressive mentality in the first game today. We just needed to be more aggressive, make adjustments at the plate and put the ball in play, and we were able to do that in the second game."

In the opener, the visitors used the long ball to take the lead on two occasions. Caitlyn DeLong's solo home run opened the game's scoring in the second inning, and after the Falcons tied it up in the third, a two-out, three-run shot by Demitra Burns put the 'Dons up, 4-1, in the fourth.

Falcon freshman Hannah Giammarino answered with a two-out, three-run blast of her own to tie the score in the sixth, but a two-run double by Sierra Miranda in the top of the seventh gave the visitors the lead for good.

Burns, despite allowing three runs in two innings of work, picked up the win in relief.

Miranda led all players with four hits in the twinbill, with two in each game. Senior Molly Holliday and junior Haley Schrock each had three hits for the Falcons on the day.

"Game one was disappointing, because we had a lot of opportunities to score runs, and we just didn't come up with that clutch hit," said BGSU coach Sarah Willis. "That was certainly part of our discussion heading into game two. We wanted to make sure that our hitters had a sense of urgency, and that they were staying aggressive at the plate."

In the opener, Falcon starting pitcher Kiley Sosby faced just two batters over the minimum in the first three innings. Emily Olszewski walked with one out in the first, but was stranded there after a popup and a liner to center. But, the DeLong homer in the second put the visitors on top. Sosby responded by getting a foul pop to third base and a strikeout on three pitches.

Meanwhile, the Falcons put a pair of runners on base in the first inning, as Holliday beat out an infield grounder to deep short, and redshirt sophomore Chelsea Raker got on base via an error. But, IPFW starter Elizabeth Snodgrass then struck out the next two batters to end the threat. And, she set down the Falcons in order in the second.

Sosby, however, worked a one-two-three third inning, and the Falcons evened the score in the bottom of the frame. With one out, Schrock lined a ball just over the leaping effort of IPFW second baseman Olszewski, and it went all the way to the wall in right-center field for a triple. Then, the junior scored on a Holliday grounder to the right side of the infield.

The 'Dons, however, retook the lead in the fourth. Kelly Pevely led off the inning by hitting a liner that struck Sosby, and reached safely on the play. Then, Amber Davis laid down a bunt, and was able to beat the throw to first, with Pevely taking second. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners up a base, and Burns worked the count full before homering on the ninth pitch of her at-bat. Raker grabbed Taylor Lyman's soft liner for the third out, but the visitors had a 4-1 lead.

BG went in order in the bottom of the inning, although two of the outs were far from routine. Shook lined a ball to right-center, but rightfielder DeLong ranged to her right to grab it at waist level. Then, with two outs, Sosby hit a ball to the warning track in left, but Lauren Watson made a 'snow-cone' catch to retire the side.

The Falcons threatened, but left the bases loaded in the fifth. With one out, Giammarino reached on an error. A fly ball produced the second out, but Schrock hit a ball toward second base, and Hinkle, Olszewski and the ball all arrived at roughly the same time. Olszewski attempted to grab the ball and tag the sliding Hinkle all in one motion, but was unsuccessful, and BG had two runners on base. Then, Holliday hit a slow roller toward shortstop, and the 'Dons had no play. All three runners were safe, but, Snodgrass was able to get a popup to short to retire the side.

IPFW threatened against Falcon reliever Brooke Parker in the sixth. After the freshman whiffed Davis, Miranda singled, and DeLong and Burns each were hit by a pitch. With the bases loaded and just one out, Parker got Lyman to hit a grounder to Schrock at first. The junior fired home, and catcher Morgan Evangelista tagged the plate to force Miranda for the second out. Then, Jenna Balthazor popped up to Raker at third.

Burns entered the circle to begin the Falcon half of the sixth, and was greeted by Shook's sharp single to left. Sophomore Kayla Gregory walked, but Burns responded by striking out the next batter. The runners moved up on a passed ball, but another strikeout produced the second out of the inning. Giammarino, however, took the first pitch of her at-bat for a ball, then hammered a drive that cleared the fence in left-center. The homer, the first of her young collegiate career, tied the game at 4-4.

In the seventh, however, the Mastodons mounted a two-out rally. Pevely singled through the left side, and Davis walked. Dillow replaced Parker in the circle, but Miranda's line drive landed just inside the left-field line and went all the way to the wall, scoring both baserunners.

The BG half of the seventh saw the leadoff hitter, Schrock, quickly fall behind in the count. But, with the count 0-2, the junior took four-straight balls and trotted down to first. Holliday hit a grounder to the right side, and was ruled out on a bang-bang play at first. Burns struck out the next batter, but Shook and Gregory each walked to load the bases. A foul pop, however, was grabbed by catcher Davis for the final out.

Snodgrass allowed a run and four hits in five innings of work. She struck out four and did not walk a batter. Burns, as mentioned, picked up the win in relief, despite surrendering three runs in two innings. She gave up two hits, walked four batters and struck out three.

Sosby, the first of three pitchers, gave up four runs and four hits in four innings. Parker allowed two runs and three hits in two and two-thirds innings of action.

In the nightcap, the visitors threatened, but did not break through, against Dillow in the second. Burns singled up the middle, and took second on a sac bunt. Jessica Murray walked, but Dillow struck out Lyman for the second out. The runners moved up on a passed ball, before Balthazor walked to load the bases. But, Dillow got Watson to hit a one-hopper back to the circle. The senior pitcher lunged for the ball, but it glanced off of her glove. Gregory, headed toward second base in an attempt to grab the ball, reversed her field, snagged the ball and tagged Balthazor to end the threat.

Burns had retired the Falcons in order in the first, and she got the first two outs of the second frame. Gregory stroked a double to left-center – her first career extra-base hit – but the IPFW hurler bounced back to get a grounder that retired the side.

In the IPFW third, Olszewski led off by beating out a grounder deep in the hole at short. Sophomore Katee Hinkle made a nice effort to get to the ball and come up firing, but Olzewski was safe on a close play. Miranda singled to center, and Olszewski took third on the play, with Miranda moving to second on the throw. Dillow, however, got Pevely to pop up to Hinkle for the first out, and on a suicide squeeze attempt, Dillow fielded Burns's bunt and flipped the ball to catcher Trista Mokienko, who applied the tag on Olzewski. When DeLong flied out to Shook in left, BG was out of the inning.

The bottom of the third saw the Falcons explode for five runs. BG pounded out five hits against reliever Sarah Lazarowich in that frame. Mokienko greeted her by earning a leadoff walk. A sac bunt attempt failed, as a popup led to the first out, but senior Marina Cobbs reached on an infield hit. Then, Holliday also reached on an infield hit, and on a close play at first, the throw was high. Holliday beat the ball to the bag, but the high throw eluded the first baseman and allowed Mokienko to score and Cobbs to advance to third.

Then, Raker's liner dropped in front of right-fielder DeLong. Cobbs scored, and Holliday – who had to wait to see if the ball would be caught – just beat the throw to second. Shook's liner was caught in center, but Holliday tagged and slid into third base ahead of the throw. Then, she scored on a wild pitch, and Schrock singled up the middle to plate Raker. Gregory struck out, but reached first on a passed ball, and Dillow's single to left plated Schrock for a 5-0 Falcon lead.

Dillow allowed only a two-out walk in the fourth, and BG looked to add to the lead in the bottom of the inning. Hinkle ripped a single through the left side, and was safe at second on a grounder by Holliday one out later. On that play, the throw toward second was off-line. But, Lazarowich responded by getting a popup, then another ground ball, for outs number two and three, respectively.

In the fifth, an error put Pevely aboard with two outs, and after a walk to Burns, a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, before Dillow got DeLong to pop up.

The bottom of the inning saw BG extend the lead. Gregory singled with one down, then moved up on a wild pitch. A strikeout produced the second out of the inning, but Mokienko's opposite-field hit landed just on the outfield grass and just inside the right-field line. Gregory scored easily, and the Falcons' lead was six runs.

In the sixth, however, the 'Dons cut into that lead with four runs. Davis walked with one out, and Balthazor reached on an error. Watson hit a bouncer toward short, and Hinkle charged the ball, fielded it and tagged Davis on her way to third. Olszewski followed by hitting a roller that just got under Dillow's glove. Hinkle fielded that ball, and fired to first, but Olszewski was safe by a half-step.

The bases were loaded, and Miranda came to the plate and got her team on the board with a two-run single to right. Then, Pevely reached on an infield single, as Raker tried but could not come up with her low liner. Then, a bouncer up the middle was misplayed, and two runs scored on the error. Murray hit a ground ball to Hinkle, who threw to Raker at third to force Burns for the third out.

Now leading by just two runs, the Falcons responded in the home half of the inning. Holliday walked with one down, and took second on Raker's line-drive single to center. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, and Shook's hit landed just inside the left-field line and went all the way to the fence. Holliday and pinch-runner Alex Sorgi both scored on the hit.

Shook moved up a base on a groundout, then scored on a wild pitch, and BG's lead was 9-4.

In the seventh, Dillow got first Davis, then Balthazor, to hit a ground ball to third. Raker gloved both of them, and fired to first baseman Schrock on each occastion. When Dillow struck out pinch-hitter Taylor Gordy Prescott on three pitches to end the game.

Raker and Gregory each went 2-for-4 at the plate in the win, while each of BGSU's other seven starters had one hit apiece. Olszewski and Miranda each had two hits for the 'Dons.

Dilllow improved to 2-2 on the year with her complete-game win. She did walk six batters, but struck out three.

Lazarowich took the loss in relief. She gave up nine runs (eight earned) and 10 hits in four innings of relief work.

"Our approach to at-bats was much better in the second game," said Willis. "Everyone contributed at one time or another, everyone took it upon themselves to do something in this game, and it provided good run support for Braiden.

"I was pround of Braiden's performance. She did a great job of mixing up the corners, having good misses and changing speeds. We had one bad inning where we didn't focus, and this team is having to learn to stay mentally tough and finish out the game. We are happy with the win and the adjustments we made, but we are not satisfied. That could have been a shutout, and we will continue to demand that we follow through and finish out the game."

The Falcons return to Meserve Field this weekend. BGSU opens Mid-American Conference play with a three-game series vs. Northern Illinois University. The teams are scheduled to play a single game on Friday (March 25) at 3:00 p.m., before facing off in a 1:00 doubleheader Saturday afternoon (March 26).