Five consecutive losses dragged the Bowling Green softball team down. While the Falcons (13-18-1) played good ball in losses to Mid-American Conference powerhouses Central Michigan and Akron, the L’s were adding up.

Wednesday, the Falcons were on the verge of losing their sixth straight after Akron came back from a 2-0 deficit in the top of the seventh off Zip Kerstin Sewell’s two-run homer. But the fun, confidence and, most importantly, the victory the Falcons desperately needed prevailed in the bottom of the inning when BG senior Natalie Phillips doubled in freshman Marla Murphy to end the game. The sweetness was back. Junior Kandice Machain set up the winning run with a sacrifice bunt, sending Murphy to second.

“It was a huge win,” Machain said. “We were up for the game and had nothing to lose. We found a way to win.”

BG will try to build on its momentum going into a three-game series against Miami, with a double-header scheduled for Saturday and the finale Sunday in Oxford. To get back into contention, the Falcons will have to focus one game at a time, a plan they intend to execute.

“We’re trying to focus not so much on the pressure to win,” Machain said. “We’re a team that has been about having fun and sometimes we lose track of that. That’s our major focus now.”

Machain and teammate Libby Voshell have lead BG’s offensive attack, whose .265 batting average is fourth best in the MAC. Machain is currently first in triples (3) and fourth in total bases with 52. Voshell leads the conference in doubles (13) and is second in walks with 13.

Like the Falcons, Miami is another team looking to build on its momentum, recently catching fire with its first five-game win streak since 1997.

“We have to show them what we are all about,” Machain said. “We don’t know much about them, but we know what we can do.”