Ferris State Softball Records Sweep Over Tiffin In First Home Action Of Season

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University softball squad recorded its first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) sweep of the season as the Bulldogs pulled out a pair of close victories in their home-opening action on Saturday (April 8) at the FSU Softball Field.

The Bulldogs beat the Tiffin Dragons by a 1-0 count in their initial home contest of the year in game one before rallying for a 4-3 triumph in the nightcap to complete the sweep.

In the opener, an RBI single from first baseman Emily Reed scored FSU's Sarah Johnson in the bottom of the fifth and was the only run of the game as Ferris State earned the shutout victory.

Both teams totaled eight hits in the opener with FSU getting a pair of hits from senior designated player Bailey Darwin. Six others all had a single hit, including Reed, who drove in the only run.

Sam Bates picked up her seventh victory of the year in the pitching circle as she tossed a shutout while working all seven innings. She had four strikeouts and a walk. TU also got a strong performance on the mound with Kimmy Reynolds allowing only the single run on eight hits in six innings with seven K's and one walk.

Ferris State started quickly in game two as Reed recorded an RBI in the first inning to score Johnson again for an early 1-0 FSU advantage. Tiffin, though, rallied with two runs in the bottom of the third to grab the lead and the edge stood until FSU's final at-bat in the top of the seventh.

In the seventh inning, the Bulldogs scored three runs on two hits to pull ahead. Johnson opened the inning with a single and Bates drew a walk as the Bulldogs put two runners on base early. Lexi Hongisto followed with an RBI double to left field, which scored Johnson, before Reed drove in yet another run with a fly out to right field, scoring Bates. Finally, Darwin flied out to right field and notched an RBI as Hongisto scored to give FSU a two-run lead.

Tiffin had the game's final opportunity at the plate and the Dragons led off the bottom of the seventh with a triple. However, they were limited to a single run as FSU's Abby Highway closed the door and retired three-straight batters to lift the Bulldogs to the win.

Highway tossed all seven innings and allowed only three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. Tiffany Snell got the start for TU and finished with two runs and seven hits allowed with a single strikeout in seven innings. She pitched the first six innings and then came back on in the seventh after reliever Savannah Chalfant put the two go-ahead runs on base against the Bulldogs.

Johnson had a game-high three hits and scored twice for the Bulldogs in the win. Hongisto had the only double for the  Bulldogs and recorded an RBI with Reed driving in two runs and Darwin one.

Ferris State wraps up its weekend homestand by hosting Findlay on Sunday (April 9) at the FSU Softball Field. Game one gets underway at 12 p.m. (ET) with game two to follow at approximately, 2 p.m. (ET).