The Bowling Green softball team held true to head coach Shannon Salsburg’s pregame sentiments by starting out well in game one of its doubleheader.
“We found a way offensively to get the job done in game one,” Salsburg said.
The Falcons collected hits from seven different players and scored a run in three of the first four innings. This included a 3-hit performance from freshman shortstop, Aspen Searle and a 2-hit game from freshman outfielder, Amanda Durham.
Despite the array offense displayed by the Falcons, it took last-inning heroics to overcome the Titans.
“Erika [Stratton] came up with a huge hit in the last inning,” Salsburg said. “It was great to see her come out strong.”
This seventh inning, walk-off grand slam by senior captain, Erika Stratton gave the Falcons the 7-4 victory in game one.
The latter of the two games generated a much different looking game.
The Falcons were out-hit by the Titans 8-6 while no one in the lineup had more than one hit. The Falcons were held scoreless through four innings, however, a strong 5-inning performance by sophomore, Braiden Dillow helped lead the way for Bowling Green.
“I thought [Dillow] did a great job of keeping them off balanced,” Salsburg said.
It was in this fifth inning where the Falcons changed the scoreboard, pushing the only two runs of the game across the plate.
Sophomore Katie Turski was called upon to start the sixth before being relieved by junior, Jamie Kertes. Kertes finished the game with two innings of no-hit softball, earning her third save of the season and serving Dillow her eighth win.
This gave the Falcons the 2-0 victory, and a clean sweep for the day. The Falcons collected at least one hit from all nine starters including sixteen hits total, and pushed nine runs across the plate for the day.
“I was really glad to see all three phases come together today,” Salsburg said.
The Falcons now hold a 5-1 record at Meserve Field and carry a record of 18-21-1 for the season.
BG will take this record and their two-game win streak on the road this weekend for more conference play. This will include a Friday doubleheader in New York against the University at Buffalo, and then back to Ohio to play games on both Saturday and Sunday against Kent State University.
The Falcons have yet to play Kent State this year, but came out on top in their lone game against Buffalo earlier this season.
The Falcons are ready for the conference games and are excited for the challenge Salsburg said.
“We look forward to this weekend,” Salsburg said.
