BGSU, Battling for MAC Tournament Berth, Heads to KSU This Weekend

Friday, May 5

Kent, OH

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Kent State

Huddle - Meredith Miller (16) - April 28 2017 v Akron

Photo by: Christine Nelson, BGSU Marketing & Communications

BGSU, Battling for MAC Tournament Berth, Heads to KSU This Weekend

May 03, 2017 | Softball

Falcons, Flashes set to face off in three-game weekend series at the Diamond at Dix

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

• The Bowling Green State University softball team, looking to return to the Mid-American Conference Tournament after a three-year absence, closes the regular season on the road this weekend. Head coach Sarah Willis and the Falcons face Kent State University in a three-game series, with the teams scheduled to play a Friday (May 5) single game and a Saturday (May 6) doubleheader. Friday's game is slated to start at 3:00 p.m. at the Diamond at Dix, while the first pitch of Saturday's twinbill is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

• Live stats will be available for all three of this weekend's games. Additionally, there is scheduled to be an audio broadcast of the first two games of the series. And, twitter updates for all BG softball action, both home and away, can be found at @BGSUSoftball on your twitter-related device.

BGSU SOFTBALL LINKS
THIS WEEK'S NOTES: BGSU
BGSU'S MAC Tournament Scenarios
BGSU 2017 Media Guide
Falcons Offering a Plethora of Camps this Summer
This Weekend's Opponent: KSU

THE FALCONS & THE MAC RACE
Entering the final weekend of the regular season, the Falcons are tied for eighth place in the overall MAC standings. Eight teams will qualify for the MAC Tournament, which begins on Wednesday (May 10) at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio. The complete standings, along with each team's remaining MAC schedule, follows...
MAC STANDINGS & REMAINING SCHEDULE
Team (Overall Record) W-L Pct.   This Weekend' Series
1. Central Mich. (34-13) 16-5   .762   at Eastern Mich.
2.  Ohio (33-14) 14-7 .667 at Buffalo
3. Ball State (29-24) 13-8 .619 at Western Mich.
   Northern Ill. (27-18)  13-8 .619 vs. Toledo
5. Miami (27-21) 12-9 .571 vs. Akron
   Kent State (24-24) 12-9 .571 vs. Bowling Green
7.  Akron (25-26) 11-10  .524 at Miami
8. Bowling Green (24-29)  10-11 .476 at Kent State
   Toledo (23-32) 10-11  .476 at Northern Ill.
10. Western Mich. (21-25)   9-12 .429 vs. Ball State
11. Buffalo (8-43)    3-18  .143 vs. Ohio
   Eastern Mich. (15-32)   3-18 .143 vs. Central Mich.

BGSU'S MAC TOURNAMENT POSSIBILITIES
• With three games remaining for each of the 12 MAC teams, there are still a myriad of MAC Tournament scenarios for the Falcons. The only certainty is this: If BGSU goes 3-0 at Kent State this weekend, the Falcons will qualify for the league tourney regardless of any other results around the conference this weekend.

• Believe it or not, it is possible for the Falcons to go 2-1 at Kent State and not qualify for the MAC Tournament. It is also possible for BGSU to go 0-3 vs. the Golden Flashes and still get into the league tourney. The Falcons' scenarios are broken down in great detail on the web at BGSUFalcons.com, and can be found here.

TRUST THE PROCESS
• BGSU has shattered last year's win totals in multiple categories. The Falcons have bested last season's overall and MAC victory totals, and BG nearly tripled last year's home win total. The latter feat is even more impressive given the fact that BG played three fewer games at Meserve Field this year than last year.

WELL THEN, THIS WOULD BE MORE, WOULDN'T IT?
Year   Overall   MAC   Home
2016 18-36 6-17   3-11
2017 24-29   10-11 8- 3

NOTING THE FALCONS
• The Falcons are 24-29 on the season, and BGSU is 10-11 in the Mid-American Conference. BG, picked to finish sixth (i.e., last) in the MAC's East Division in the preseason coaches poll, is currently fifth in the division. BGSU is just two games behind the second-place teams in the East, and the Falcons are six games clear of sixth place.

• As mentioned earlier, the Falcons are currently tied for eighth in the overall MAC standings. BGSU and Toledo each have 10-11 league records, a game behind Akron (11-10 MAC) and two games behind Miami and Kent State (both 12-9 MAC). Western Michigan (9-12 MAC) trails the Falcons and Rockets by a game. The top-eight teams in the standings after this weekend's action will qualify for the MAC Tournament.

• The Falcons snapped a six-game losing streak with an 8-2 win at Meserve Field on Saturday (April 29), in the final home game of the season. Saturday was Senior Day for the Falcon softball program, with five student-athletes recognized in ceremonies prior to the first pitch. That quintet includes Briana Combs, Katee Hinkle, Sami Parave, Chelsea Raker and Haley Schrock.

• All five of those players either scored a run or drove in a run in the win over UA.

• BGSU, as mentioned earlier, finished the home portion of the schedule with an 8-3 record. Falcon pitchers threw 10 complete games, including four shutouts, in the 11 games at Meserve Field this spring.

• Redshirt junior Aspen Searle is hitting .339 to lead the Falcons. In addition to batting average, she also paces the Brown and Orange in hits (58), doubles (14), total bases (87) and slugging percentage (.509), and the shortstop is tied for the team lead with 35 RBI. Searle is second on the Falcons in homers (five) and runs scored (23) and third in on-base pct. (.400).

• Freshman RF Kendyl Wheeler is hitting .328 in her initial collegiate campaign, with a team-leading total of three triples. Wheeler is third on the club in stolen bases and fourth in total bases (54).

• Sophomore OF Alex Sorgi is batting .324, while redshirt junior 1b Chelsea Raker is hitting .319. Sorgi leads the Falcons in runs scored (39) and stolen bases (16), and she is tied for the team lead in on-base pct. (.406). Sorgi ranks second in hits (56) and walks (23) and third in total bases (60).

• Raker has BGSU-best totals of six homers and 25 walks, and she is tied with Searle for the team RBI lead, with 35. Raker is also tied for the BG lead in on-base pct. (.406), and she is second on the club in doubles (11), total bases (80) and slugging (.500).

• Senior 3B Haley Schrock is batting .272 on the season, and is third on the team in doubles, homers and walks. Sorgi has 16 RBI and Schrock 14, ranking them third and fourth, respectively, in that category.

• Schrock has seven sacrifice flies this year, a new school single-season record. She leads the MAC and is tied for first in the entire nation in that category.

• Junior C Laine Simmons and sophomore OF Hannah Giammarino are hitting .254 and .238, respectively. Simmons has six doubles on the year, while Giammarino is second on the Falcons in stolen bases, and is a perfect 8-for-8 in steal attempts.

• In the circle, four different Falcons have made at least four starts this season, and all four have thrown at least one complete game.

• Three of the four Falcon hurlers are sophomores. One of those sophs, Meredith Miller, owns a 13-9 record and a 2.76 earned-run average. In addition to wins and ERA, Miller leads the Falcons in innings pitched (147 1/3), strikeouts (109), complete games (15) and shutouts (four).

• Sophomore Brooke Parker has seven wins and has won four of her last six decisions. She is 7-13 on the year with a 3.09 ERA, 54 strikeouts and a save. Another soph, Kiley Sosby, is 3-4 with a 4.54 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings. She has allowed opponents to hit just .197 against her.

• Senior Briana Combs is 1-3 with a 6.46 ERA. She has made eight appearances in the circle, starting four games, this spring.

• The Falcons have 376 hits to the foes' 369 this year, with a team batting average of .270 to the opponents' .272.

• Four players – Raker, Schrock, Searle and Sorgi – have started all 53 games, while Giammarino and Wheeler each have made 44 starts and 2B Katee Hinkle 42. Simmons and Parave have started 37 and 32 times, respectively, while freshman C Logan Everett has made 24 starts.

• BGSU has records of 4-18 in true road games and 12-8 in neutral-site contests this season to date.

• Head coach Sarah Willis and her staff – assistant coaches Katie Reiff and Lauren Gambone, volunteer assistant Lyndsey Clark and alumnae coordinator Kolleen Kopchak – welcomed back 12 letterwinners, including five starters, from a year ago.

• BGSU, as mentioned earlier, was picked to finish sixth in the Mid-American Conference East Division according to the MAC's preseason coaches' poll.

ADDITIONAL FALCON FACTS
• The Falcons went 8-3 at Meserve Field after finishing with a 3-11 home mark last year. Pitching has been a big reason for that home success. In those 11 games, sophomores Meredith Miller and Brooke Parker combined for 10 complete games (five apiece), and the Falcons had an ERA of just 1.44.

• Parker has thrown five complete games in as many starts at Meserve Field – both in 2017 and in her career – and she went 4-1 with an ERA of just 1.00 in home games this season.

• Miller was 4-2 with a 1.83 ERA at Meserve Field in 2017.

• The Falcons' total of 10 MAC wins is the highest since the 2012 team finished the regular season with a 15-7 conference record.

• Sophomore OF Alex Sorgi hit .545 in the Akron series, including a perfect 4-for-4 performance in Saturday's win. Her total of four hits set a career high, and she tied a career best with three runs scored.

• Sorgi has scored 39 runs this year, the fifth-highest single-season total in BG history.

• Senior 3B Haley Schrock, as mentioned earlier, has seven sacrifice flies this season, a new school record. Schrock has broken the BGSU career record in that category as well, with nine. Redshirt junior 1B Chelsea Raker has eight career sac flies, tying her for second in BG history.

• Schrock is ranked third in school history with 84 career walks.

• Schrock has played in 203 games in her BGSU career, starting them all. She is fifth in school history in career games started, and likely will move into fourth on that list by the end of the weekend.

• Schrock is tied for 15th in BG annals in career games played, and would move into a tie for 11th on that list if she plays in three games at KSU this weekend.

• Redshirt juniors Chelsea Raker and Aspen Searle each have made their mark on the program, both in 2017 and over the previous few years. Both sluggers have 35 RBI this year, and are just seven shy of tying the school single-season record.

• Searle, with 14 doubles, is four away from matching that BG single-season mark. Both records (doubles and RBI) are held by Gina Rango.

• Searle is tied for 10th in BGSU history with 176 career hits. She is tied with one of her coaches, Kolleen Kopchak, on that list. Searle is sixth in school history in homers (19), RBI (93), batting average and slugging pct., tied for ninth in runs (92), 10th in total bases (275) and deadlocked for 10th in doubles (34).

• Raker is tied for seventh in career homers (18), and she is eighth in RBI (88). Raker is also ranked among the top 15 Falcons in history in doubles, batting average, slugging pct., total bases and walks.

• Freshman RF Kendyl Wheeler is batting a BG-best .366 in MAC games to date, while Sorgi is hitting .355 in league play and Searle is hitting .319 against conference competition.

• Sorgi has scored a team-leading 13 runs in league action, and she is second on the Falcons with nine RBI in MAC games. Searle has driven in a BG-best 13 runs in league play entering the Kent State series.

• In the circle, Parker and Miller have earned-run averages of 2.64 and 2.67, respectively, in MAC play. Miller has a 6-6 record, while Parker is 4-5.

SCOUTING KENT STATE
• Kent State has an overall record of 24-24 on the year, heading into a Wednesday evening game at Ohio State. The Golden Flashes are 12-9 in MAC play, good for a tie for second in the East Division and fifth overall.

• Last weekend, the Flashes swept a three-game series at Buffalo. Pitcher Ronnie Ladines threw a one-hitter and a five-inning perfect game in a pair of starts in the circle, earning MAC Pitcher of the Week and multiple national player-of-the-week honors. She retired 36 of the 37 batters she faced at UB.

• Bailey Brownfield is batting a team-leading .343, while Holly Speers and Maddy Grimm are hitting .341 and .320, respectively. Grimm has 16 homers and 47 RBI, while Speers has 11 homers and 28 RBI despite having played in just 29 of KSU's first 48 games of the year.

• Ladines is 13-13 with a 2.15 ERA, and she is 10-4 with a 2.11 ERA in league games.

• Grimm is hitting .318 against MAC foes, but she has an on-base pct. of .610 and a slugging pct. of .864. Grimm has eight homers in 44 official at-bats in the MAC, and she has been walked 31 times in 21 league games.

• KSU is 3-5 at home, 14-11 on the road and 7-8 in neutral-site games this year. In league action, the Flashes are 3-5 at home and went 9-4 on the road.

• Head coach Eric Oakley welcomed back five positional starters and all but 1 2/3 innings in the circle from last year's team. The 2016 Flashes went 36-21 overall and 16-7 in the MAC.

THE SERIES
• BGSU trails Kent State, 64-44-1, in the all-time series between the teams, and the Golden Flashes have won the last 10 meetings. Last year, KSU posted a pair of run-rule wins at Meserve Field, before capturing the final game, 2-1, in nine innings. In BG's last trip to Kent, the Flashes picked up wins by scores of 8-0 and 10-4 in April of 2014. The Falcons' last win in the series came five years ago, when the teams split a twinbill in Kent (April 6, 2012). The Falcons are 20-30 at home, 21-28-1 on the road and 3-6 in neutral-site meetings between Kent/Kent State over the years.

COMING UP...
• Following this weekend's games, the top-eight teams in the league regular-season standings will prepare for the MAC Tournament, which will be held at Firestone Stadium in Akron. The eight-team, double-elimination tournament is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, May 10, and run through Saturday, May 13.