BGSU softball (15-33, 7-17 MAC) completed day two of its weekend series against their I-75 rivals, the Toledo Rockets (17-26, 10-12 MAC) on Saturday in a doubleheader.
The day truly had its ups and downs for the Orange and Brown, but mainly on the downside as there were times when BG was on the right side of where they needed to be, but the Rockets would then respond by shutting down any momentum—a feeling that head coach Michelle Gardner won’t be thrilled about.
“I could blame the umpire, I could blame anyone I want,” said Gardner. “But we have to finish all the way through.”
Game One:
After a scoreless first inning, the Rockets would strike first in the bottom of the second with a solo home run shot from freshman Samantha Bolding, putting Toledo ahead early, 1-0.
The Falcons wouldn’t find themselves on the board until the top of the fourth, with an RBI single from junior Kendall Mathews, followed by back-to-back runs scored from a bunt from freshman Ava McKee, sending both Mathews and sophomore Cameron Kaufman home. The hitting would soon continue with a line drive from junior Katie Hutter, which would bring McKee to home plate. Creating a BG lead, 4-1.
The Rockets would try to find some momentum after a throwing error from Bowling Green would send sophomore Maggie Roh to score. This would lead to yet another mishap from the Orange and Brown, a fielding error from freshman Hanna Massaro which would give the Blue and Yellow another tally to the board, diminishing the huge lead BG had little by little, 4-3.
This wouldn’t stop the Falcons, as Kaufman would respond with a single of her own, increasing the lead by two runs. Toledo would gain one scored run at the bottom of the fifth from a pop-up shot, making it a one-run game, BG leading 5-4.
Then, UT would respond by tying the game up in the bottom of the seventh, with an RBI single from freshman Audrey Miller. This would send game one into extra innings, with both sides remaining even, 5-5.
The eighth and ninth innings would go scoreless, but it would be all said and done at the bottom of the tenth with a solo shot from Bolding, giving Toledo the win, 6-5.
Game Two:
The Falcons would get things started with the bases loaded at the top of the first after Mathews drew a walk to put up the first run, sophomore Peyton Steffes would add on in a big way with a two-RBI single to give Bowling Green the lead.
The Rockets would then put up a tally of their own, scoring a single from senior Eli Enriquez. Sophomore Taylor Behrendt would add to the board for BG, by stealing home after a pop-up shot from freshman Addie Martin, BG leading early, 4-1.
Aside from scoring a run off a wild pitch by the Rocket’s senior pitcher Sophia Knight to give the Falcons another earned run, the scoring in the middle portion of the game was stalling a bit from both sides. This would be the norm until Toledo started adding runs to their total to keep it even. Including an RBI single from freshman Alexis Shepherd to cut the lead within one, this would then follow with a two-RBI single from senior Sidney Griffith, and it would continue with two more runs scored by senior Kendra Vanderlugt, putting the Rockets on top yet again, 8-5.
Toledo would put up two more runs to seal the deal, winning 10-5, and completing the weekend sweep against Bowling Green. Another tough break for the Falcons as the end of the season is quickly approaching.
Gardner’s squad will return home for their next conference series, a two-game doubleheader against the Miami Redhawks on Wednesday, April 30. starting at 1:00 p.m.
