Ferris State Softball Rallies In Game Two For Doubleheader Sweep
A two-run sixth inning by the Ferris State University softball team was crucial in game two of Friday's (April 2) Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) matchup with Lake Superior State as the Bulldogs rallied for a 6-5 triumph over the Lakers at the FSU Softball Field in Big Rapids, Mich.
As a result of the league doubleheader sweep, Ferris State evens its GLIAC record to 2-2 this season as the Bulldogs improved to 11-9 overall.
Ferris State appeared well on its way of prevailing in the nightcap as the Bulldogs scored three times in the top of the second inning to erase a 1-0 deficit. FSU would net its fourth run of the game in the top of third to take a 4-1 lead, but that was before Lake Superior State scored three runs in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at 4-4.
The contest remained tied until the bottom of the fifth when LSSU tallied a run to go up 5-4 through five innings. But, Ferris State was able to put two runners across home plate in the top of the sixth frame as senior second baseman Amanda Harrington's (St. Joseph/Stevensville-Lakeshore) two-out RBI triple to right center field accounted for the winning run. Senior outfielder Rachel Wade (Canton) followed with an insurance run as her RBI single to third base scored Harrington.
In the second inning, FSU tallied three runs on as many base hits with a two-run single off the bat of Amanda Harrington being the key hit. Sophomore third baseman Makenzi Peterson's (Big Rapids) RBI double in the third accounted for the Bulldogs' lone run in the third frame.
Ferris State outhit Lake Superior State by a 12-7 margin and left five runners stranded on the basepaths while the Lakers had nine runners left on base for the game. Rachel Wade paced the Bulldogs with three hits in four at bats while Amanda Harrington, senior pitcher Rhea Flores (Dearborn Heights/Southgate Anderson) and Makenzi Peterson garnered two hits apiece. Harrington claimed a squad-best three RBIs and Wade chipped in with two RBIs.
Rhea Flores started for Ferris and picked up the win by scattering five hits and striking out five LSSU batters in six innings as she improves to 4-0 this season. Freshman pitcher Dana Bowler (Lockport, Ill.) pitched a scoreless seventh inning and fanned one in earning her second save of the 2010 campaign.
Ferris State will be back in action again this Saturday (April 3) afternoon as the Bulldogs wrap up their current six-game conference homestand against the Northwood Timberwolves. The doubleheader opener commence at 1 p.m. (EDT) with the second game to follow around 3 p.m. (EDT). An Easter Egg Hunt for children ages 10 and under will be held between the games.
