Bowling Green State University Athletics

Williamson's Walk-Off Winner Caps Falcon Comeback, Lifting BG to a Saturday Split
February 25, 2023 | Softball
Falcons, down to their last out, score 2 in the seventh & 1 in the eighth to down St. Thomas
The first game of the day saw BGSU fall to host Evansville by a 2-0 score at Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James & Dorothy Cooper Stadium.
The Falcons trailed St. Thomas for the entire game, and after the first two batters were retired in the bottom of the seventh, the Tommies were one out away from a 6-4 victory. But, six of seven batters would reach base over the next two innings, as BGSU snatched victory from the jaws of something other than victory.
Katie Hutter began the comeback with a double to left field on a 3-2 pitch. Peyton Dolejs followed with a single to right-center, scoring Hutter to cut BG's deficit to a single run.
Marti Henkel was hit by a pitch, with Dolejs trotting to second, and Dolejs would come around to score when Sophie Weber sent a Kiera Murphy pitch back up the middle. Murphy retired the next hitter, but the game was tied.
With tiebreaker rules in effect as the teams went to extra innings, a runner was placed on second to begin each half inning. UST's Katie Goelz immediately advanced to third on a passed ball in the top of the eighth, but was forced to hold at third as a ground ball produced the first out. Then, Keira Murphy hit a fly ball to Marlie McNulty in right, and Goelz was ruled out for leaving third base early as she attempted to tag and score.
In the bottom of the eighth, Hannah Hunt's bunt single moved Delaney Davis to third, before Reagan Williamson stepped to the plate in a pinch-hitting role. Williamson took a strike, then hit a ball to right for a game-winning single.
Scarlet Anderson picked up the win in the circle, throwing four innings of scoreless, one-hit relief.
In the opener, BG pitchers Hannah Davies and Ellie Price combined to allow just two hits, but one was a homer. Davies allowed two hits in four innings, while Price faced just one batter over the minimum in two hitless innings of relief.
After the win in the nightcap, the Falcons are now 5-8 on the year.
EVANSVILLE GAME – HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons' first game of the day saw a quartet of hurlers all record stellar performances. The Purple Aces scored what would prove to be the game's only runs in the bottom of the second inning.
• With one out in that second frame, Lacy Smith drew a walk, and Jenna Nink followed with a homer, staking the hosts to a 2-0 lead.
• And, that would prove to be enough. Davies allowed just one more hit – a two-out double by Alexa Davis in the third inning,Â
• Ellie Price came on for the Falcons in the fifth inning, and allowed only one baserunner in her two innings of relief work. Price issued a one-out walk in the fifth, but then set down the next two hitters before working a perfect sixth inning.
• But, UE pitchers Erin Kleffman and Sydney Weatherford combined to allow only three hits and four walks. BGSU had traffic on the basepaths during several of Kleffman's four innings in the circle, but could not get a runner across the plate.
• Kleffman retired the first six batters she faced, before Ally Bejzak led off the third inning with a single. After a fielder's choice produced the first out, Ashley Chevalier drew a walk, and Delaney Davis bunted the runners to second and third, respectively. Wynnie Reid followed with a line drive, but it was caught by the shortstop for out number three.
• In the fourth, Reagan Williamson led off with a single, and Sophie Weber walked on four pitches to move pinch-runner Marlie McNulty to second. But, a Maycee Godbolt line drive was caught by the centerfielder, and a double-play ball ended the inning.
• Then, in the fifth, Bezjak walked, Katie Hutter doubled to move pinch-runner Hannah Hunt to third base, and a a walk to Chevalier loaded the bases with no outs. But, Weatherford entered the circle and slammed the door. A ground ball produced a force play at the plate, a foul pop was grabbed near first base for the second out, and a grounder to short ended the inning.
• Weatherford retired the side in order in the sixth, and after Bezjak reached on an error to begin the seventh, three-straight ground balls produced the final three outs.
ST. THOMAS GAME – HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Tommies jumped on top with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Avery Wukawitz led off the game with a single against BG starter Mackenzie Krafcik, then stole second. Kaitlyn Raymond's bunt single put runners at the corners, and after a one-out walk, Katie Goelz singled and Coryn Jacobson walked, with each play driving in a run.
• BGSU got a run back against Kiera Murphy in the second. Maycee Godbolt led off with a double, stole third and trotted home on a Katie Hutter single to right. Peyton Dolejs reached base via an error, but Murphy aided her own cause by grabbing a line drive to begin a double play.
• St. Thomas responded with a three-run third, with a BG error contributing to the scoring. But, the Falcons benefited from a trio of errors in the bottom of the inning, before a Godbolt bases-loaded walk plated Marlie McNulty and a Hutter sac fly allowed Wynnie Reid to tag and score. The Tommies' lead was cut to 5-3.
• A Wukawitz one-out walk and a Brooke Ellestad triple, however, gave UST a three-run lead in the fourth. But, Sophie Weber's one-out homer in the bottom of the inning cut the BG deficit to 6-4. Weber's dinger was the Falcons' first homer of the season.
• Scarlet Anderson entered the circle for the Falcons in the fifth, and proceeded to strike out the side. BG threatened in the bottom of the inning, with singles by Ally Bezjak and Dolejs along with a walk to Hutter (not necessarily in that order). But, the Falcons left the bases loaded.
• Each team had baserunners in the sixth, but the score remained the same. Anderson worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning, and Murphy retired the first two hitters in the bottom of the frame before the Falcons worked their two-out magic.
• Anderson picked up the win after throwing four innings of one-hit shutout relief. Hutter was 2-for-2 with a walk and two RBI at the plate, while Dolejs, Hunt and Weber all had two hits as well.
UP NEXT
• The Falcons wrap up weekend play in Evansville on Sunday (Feb. 26), meeting the host Purple Aces in a game beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on BGSU softball, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUSoftball) and Instagram (@bgsu_softball) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Anderson, Scarlet (4-0)
L: G. Bennett (0-1)
Batting:
3B: B. Ellestad 1
RBI: B. Ellestad 1 ; K. Goelz 2 ; C. Jacobson 2
SF: C. Jacobson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: A. Wukawitz 2 ; K. Raymond 1 ; B. Ellestad 1 ; G. Bennett 1 ; K. Goelz 1
SB: A. Wukawitz 1 ; K. Raymond 1 ; G. Bennett 1
CS: K. Raymond 1
PO: K. Monson 1

Batting:
2B: Godbolt, Maycee 1 ; Hutter, Katie 1
HR: Weber, Sophie 1
RBI: Williamson, Reagan 1 ; Godbolt, Maycee 1 ; Hutter, Katie 2 ; Dolejs, Peyton 1 ; Weber, Sophie 2
SF: Hutter, Katie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Reid, Wynnie 1 ; Godbolt, Maycee 1 ; Hutter, Katie 1 ; Dolejs, Peyton 1 ; Weber, Sophie 1 ; McNulty, Marlie 1 ; Davis, Delaney 1
SB: Godbolt, Maycee 1
HBP: Henkel, Marti 1