Ferris State Softball Runs Rules Findlay, 10-1
The Ferris State University softball team pounded out a season-high 13 base hits as the Bulldogs run ruled Findlay, 10-1, in five innings Saturday (April 10) in the opening game of a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader at UF's Anderson Field in Findlay, Ohio.
The win improves Ferris State's record to 12-10 overall and 3-3 in conference play this season.
Offensively, sophomore third baseman Makenzi Peterson (Big Rapids) and senior designated player Rhea Flores (Dearborn Heights/Southgate Anderson) led the way with three hits apiece. The duo also finished the game with three RBI each. Sophomore first baseman Chelsea Morris (Jenison) chipped in with a pair of hits for the Bulldogs, who left 11 runners on base in the contest.
The Bulldogs wasted no time getting on the board with two runs apiece in the first two innings off UF starting pitcher Lauren Orban. A Findlay error resulted in the game's first run and Rhea Flores knocked in the second with a RBI single. Ferris would score two more times in the second frame as freshman outfielder Morgan Kramerich's (Crest Hill, Ill./Lockport) RBI sacrifice bunt put the visitors up 3-0. Makenzi Peterson would follow with a run-scoring double into the left centerfield gap as the Bulldogs upped their lead to four runs.
Ferris State would put a three spot on the board in both the top of the fourth and fifth innings to take a commanding 10-0 lead. Makenzi Peterson smacked a two-run homer over the left field fence to highlight a three-run fourth as the Bulldogs totaled four hits and were aided by two Oilers' errors in the frame. Junior outfielder Colleen Roney (Wheaton, Ill./Glen Ellyn Glenbard South) accounted for FSU's third run in the fourth with a single to right field, which scored freshman pinch runner Delaney Eubank (Frankfort).
FSU continued its offensive assault in the fifth inning with three more runs on as many hits. The key blow was delivered by Rhea Flores, who doubled in a pair of runs. The final score for Ferris came on a RBI single off the bat of junior catcher Rachel Mueller (Santa Clarita, Calif./Valencia). The host Oilers were able to avoid being shutout in the bottom half of the fifth frame with their lone run coming on three hits off relief pitcher Rhea Flores.
Freshman Dana Bowler (Lockport, Ill.) started for Ferris State and notched the win by giving up just one hit in four innings pitched to go with six strikeouts. Bowler, who evened her season mark to 4-4, held the Oilers hitless until the bottom of the fourth when Katie Ammons lead off with a two-base hit.
Eight batters in the Ferris lineup registered at least a base hit while five totaled a run batted in or more as the 10 Bulldogs runs represented a single-season best.