The BG softball team was able to play its first two home games of the season yesterday at Meserve Field.
“The atmosphere was awesome,” said head coach Shannon Salsburg. “We appreciate those who came out and supported us through the late start.”
However, with the start time being pushed back to 3:30 p.m., both teams appeared to start the game without a sense of urgency.
“We had some early opportunities, but we missed the chances to score,” Salsburg said.
The score stayed locked at zero through five frames before Wright State pushed three across the plate in the final two innings.
“We tell our pitchers you don’t have to be perfect,” Salsburg said. “[Jamie Kertes] just missed her spots with some curveballs and they took advantage of it.”
After a good start, keeping Wright State off the board for much of the game, the Falcons suffered the loss after not scoring a run of their own.
“It’s a bummer and we’re disappointed that we couldn’t get the sweep yesterday, but we rebounded well in the second game,” Salsburg said.
The second game was a different story for both the Falcons and the Raiders as the teams accumulated 11 runs on 21 combined hits.
“We played our ball,” Salsburg said. “We attacked early much better, and [Katie] Yoho started off the scoring early with her homerun.”
Bowling Green collected multi-hit games from freshmen Aspen Searle and Madison Schrock, as well as seniors Yoho and Erika Stratton. Haley Schrock, Marisa Shook, and Emily McClelland each added a hit as well.
Braiden Dillow took the circle for the second game ultimately giving way to first-game starter, Kertes as Kertes helped keep the game close.
With the Falcons trailing late, Searle was able to tie the game with an RBI double, and Yoho gave Kertes and the Falcons the win with her walk-off single in extra innings.
“We won’t quit until the very last pitch, we fight until the end,” Salsburg said.
The 1-1 split on Wednesday gives the Falcons a 12-17-1 record for the year as they travel to Muncie, Ind. on Friday and Oxford, Ohio on Saturday to continue conference play against Miami University and Ball State University.
Miami will enter the weekend on a 3-game winning streak with a 14-15 record and a 2-0 record in the Mid-American Conference, while Ball State has yet to play a conference game, but carries an 18-12 overall record.
“We know these teams are quality opponents, but we’re focused on playing our ball,” Salsburg said. “If we stay focused on us, we will be a pretty scary team at the end.”
