Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University softball team picked up two more wins in Florida on Friday (March 11) as the Bulldogs beat Cedarville and Nova Southeastern (Fla.) in non-league action at The Spring Games in Clermont.
FSU ran its record to 14-6 on the year by topping the Yellow Jackets 4-1 in game one followed by a 5-3 triumph versus NSU in game two.
With the twin contests, Ferris State now has only two games left on its 22-game trip to the Sunshine State with the Bulldogs playing their final twinbill on Saturday (March 12).
In Friday's afternoon opener, the Bulldogs compiled eight hits and limited regional foe Cedarville to only three hits in notching the victory. FSU scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the second and the score stood until the fifth. In the fifth inning, CU tied the game up before FSU scored twice in the bottom of the frame. The Bulldogs added a single insurance run in the sixth to account for the margin.
Megan Jean earned the pitching win for the Bulldogs as she hurled all seven innings for her second win of the campaign. She allowed a single run on three hits with three strikeouts. Morgan Arbogast took the loss for Cedarville by giving up four runs on eight hits in six innings of work.
Three different FSU players notched multiple hits in the win with Alexx Astorga, Alexis Hongisto and Sam Bates all notching two hits. Hongisto drove in two runs with both Astorga and Bates compiling one RBI each. Offensively, Bates and Hongisto along with Emily Reed all doubled in the Bulldogs' hit parade.
In game two, FSU's Megan Hiler earned the win with two runs allowed on two hits in four innings of action. Megan VanderWal hurled two innings and allowed only a single run on one hit with Megan Jean notching the save in one scoreless inning of action.
Hongisto homered for the Bulldogs in game two and had an RBI as did Astorga along with Michelle Tononi. Third baseman Bailey Darwin tallied a game-best two RBI's and had two hits while Casey Bias also posted two hits.
Erica Winter took the loss for Nova Southeastern after giving up three runs on seven hits in four and two-thirds innings of action.
Ferris State jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the game and added two more runs in the fourth to build a 4-1 advantage en route to the evening victory.
The Bulldogs wrap up their trip to Florida by facing Minot State (N.D.) and conference foe Saginaw Valley State in non-league action on Saturday in Clermont. The first game gets underway at 1 p.m. (ET) with the second game slated to start at 3 p.m. (ET).
