Late Rally Falls Short For Ferris State In Wednesday League Home Contest

Big Rapids, Mich. - A late rally fell short for the Ferris State University softball team as the Bulldogs dropped a 4-2 home decision to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) leader Saginaw Valley State on Wednesday (April 23) at the FSU Softball Field.

The Bulldogs scored a pair of runs in their final at-bat and had a pair of runners on base when the game ended. All four of the Cardinals' runs came in the bottom of the second inning as FSU shut down SVSU from that point forward to nearly have a chance to comeback in the game.

The contest was a single game following a weather-related cancellation back on April 12 in Big Rapids. The Cardinals had won game one of the league twinbill that day before rain halted game two after only a single batter. Wednesday's game picked up right where it left off as FSU started the contest with one out in the first.

In the makeup contest, the Cardinals posted five hits and limited FSU to only two in earning the win to improve to 23-6 overall this season along with 15-3 in the league standings. Ferris State fell to 13-16 on the year along with 8-10 in the GLIAC.

The Bulldogs' hits came from shortstop Sarah Johnson along with senior Amy Dunleavy. Both Johnson and Alyssa Smith drove in runs for the Bulldogs with Dunleavy recording a double in the outing.

On the Saginaw Valley State side, the Cardinals' five hits came from five different batters, including a double by Marcy Medina.

The Bulldogs' Cara DeLange threw a single inning while giving up four runs on two hits with two strikeouts and a pair of walks. Freshman Megan Hiler was the reliever and tossed five scoreless innings while allowing only three hits to go with three strikeouts and two walks.

Meanwhile, Sarah Appold pitched a complete game for SVSU and surrendered only two runs on two hits with eight K's and five walks in seven innings of action.

Ferris State's setback came despite a large crowd of student-athletes on hand for the department's annual ice cream social event. It was FSU's ninth game at home in less than a week as the Bulldogs wrapped up a lengthy homestand.

FSU hits the road for its next four games with the Bulldogs first visiting Findlay on Friday (April 25) for a league twinbill starting at 3:30 p.m. (ET) in Findlay, Ohio. Ferris State then heads to Hillsdale on Saturday (April 26) for a two-game set beginning at 1 p.m. (ET).

Following the four road contests, the Bulldogs are currently slated to return home to wrap up the regular-season versus Ashland and Grand Valley State on Sunday (April 27) and Monday (April 28), respectively. Official game times have not yet been announced.