Ferris State Softball Falls In First Two Games Of 2017 Season At Midwest Region Crossover

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University softball team officially opened the 2017 season on Friday (Feb. 24) as the Bulldogs took part in day one action at the Midwest Region Crossover in Evansville, Ind.

The Bulldogs suffered a close 7-6 setback to McKendree (Ill.) in the opening game of the day before falling to host Southern Indiana by a 17-2 count in five innings of the nightcap.

In the opener, the Bearcats scored first with two runs in the top half of the third, but FSU rallied with four in the bottom of the frame to grab the lead. After McKendree tied it up in the top fo
the fifth, FSU responded with two more runs in the bottom of the inning.

However, McKendree struck for three more runs in the top of the sixth and held FSU scoreless the rest of the way to preserve the win. They finished with 11 hits to nine for the Bulldogs.

Ferris State was paced at the plate in the opener by left fielder Jaclyn Stone, who finished with three hits. Both Lexi Hongisto and shortstop Logan Fleming tallied two hits each as did catcher Emily Reed. FSU received a home run from Hongisto and she also doubled as did Fleming
In game one, Hongisto finished with a squad-best three RBI's while Fleming added two and Stephanie Neuman knocked in one run.

The Bulldogs' Sam Bates got the start in the circle and hurled four and one-third innings with four runs allowed on six hits. She had two strikeouts and two walks before newcomer Abby Highway came on and suffered the loss in two and two-thirds innings of action. Highway gave up three runs on five hits with a single walk and K.

In the second game against the host Screaming Eagles, USI scored a single run in the bottom of the first to take the first lead. After a weather-related stoppage, Southern Indiana roared back to life in the second inning by scoring 12 runs. They added one more in the third and three in the fourth while allowing only a pair of FSU runs in the fourth.

Overall, Southern Indiana pounded out 19 hits with Ferris State notching six in the nightcap. Stone had two hits in leading the Bulldogs, who received a two-RBI home run from Reed along with a triple from Hongisto and doubles courtesy of Fleming and Katie Scheuer.

Senior Megan Hiler pitched the first one and one-third innings, giving up seven runs on six hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Erin Utter tossed a single out and allowed six runs on five hits before Bates came on for the final two and one-third frames with four runs allowed on eight hits. She also finished with four strikeouts.

Ferris State continues action on Saturday (Feb. 25) at the Midwest Region Crossover with a pair of games against Indianapolis and Truman State (Mo.). The opening game begins at 11 a.m. with the second game at 1 p.m. FSU then wraps up the event versus Bellarmine (Ky.) and Drury (Mo.) on Sunday (Feb. 26) in Evansville.