Coming off of a two game win streak, the Bowling Green softball team took on nationally ranked Michigan on Wednesday in an 8-1 loss.
The Wolverines went ahead early in the game and never let the Falcons close. Leadoff hitters Sierra Lawrence and Kelly Christner both had three hits for Michigan while Sierra Romero added two. The trio also combined for all eight runs scored.
Lawrence went 3-4 against the BG defense and scored 2 runs while Christner and Romero were perfect at the plate, going 3-3 and 2-2 respectively.
The Falcons had only four hits on the day. Freshman Kayla Koch, who had six hits on the season going into the game, collected two more hits including a solo home run in the fourth.
Junior Molly Holliday had a triple while freshman Morgan Evangelista added a single to total the four hits for the Falcons.
The Falcons only run came in the top of the third, when Koch connected on a pitch from Michigan senior Haylie Wagner. It was the first pitch of the inning, and Koch sent the ball over right-center field for her third homer on the season. That ties her for second on the team this season.
Sophomore pitcher Briana Combs showed promise in the game working Michigan out of scoring position in the fifth. After allowing three straight singles to load the bases with one out, Combs got the next batter to hit back to the circle to toss an easy out to home plate.
On the next hit, a Wolverine batter sent the ball to senior short stop Aspen Searle for an out to end the inning.
Combs took the loss in the game, allowing three runs and six hits in four innings. She struck out one Michigan batter and walked two.
The Falcons had a chance to score near the end of the game, but were unable to send their runners home. They put a pair of runners on base in both of the last two innings, but a series of foul balls and groundouts forced by back up Michigan pitcher Tera Blanco kept the team at just one run.
The Falcons are 2-3 on the week and 7-13 on the season.
“I am proud of the grit of this team. What we learned this week about ourselves will pay off during the tough MAC season,” head Coach Shannon Salsburg said.
The team will begin action against their first MAC opponent on March 28 against conference rival Toledo.
