Ferris State Softball Completes Perfect Weekend With Senior Day Sweep In Final Home Action
Postgame Highlights/Interview 
Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University softball team capped off a big weekend of action with its second-straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) sweep as FSU topped the Lake Erie Storm twice in its final home action of the year on Sunday (April 23) at the FSU Softball Field.
The Bulldogs, who are battling for one of the final spots in the GLIAC Tournament at the end of the year, finished the weekend homestand a perfect 4-0 and now sit in seventh place heading into the final two games of the regular-season. The top eight at the end of the campaign earn league postseason berths.
On Senior Day, the Bulldogs picked up the sweep to finish the regular-season with an 8-2 home record this year. The Bulldogs honored seven seniors between the twinbill. FSU picked up a close 3-2 win in the opener and then exploded early en route to a 9-3 win in the nightcap.
In game one, the Bulldogs opened the contest by scoring the opening run in the first on a wild pitch from the Storm. FSU added another run in the third when Bailey Darwin scored on a throw to second that ended up in the outfield following a pop up bunt from Casey Bias. Lake Erie responded with two runs in the fifth to tie the game up, but FSU got the eventual winning run off an RBI bunt single from Logan Fleming in the sixth.
Both senior shortstop Sarah Johnson and first baseman Sarah Meredith had two hits each in the opener with the Bulldogs drawing doubles off the sticks of Johnson and Darwin. Fleming and Bias accounted for FSU's two RBI's in the win.
Junior Sam Bates pitched the first four and one-third innings for FSU with two runs allowed on seven hits in addition to two walks and a strikeout. Freshman Abby Highway came on in relief and pitched two and two-thirds shutout innings with only two hits given up along with two walks and a K.
In game two, Ferris State jumped in front big in the top of the second as the Bulldogs tallied eight runs on eight hits. The Storm cut the gap to five at 8-3 with their only three runs in the fifth, but FSU tacked on one more via a solo homer from Darwin in the seventh to garner the sweep.
Highway tossed the entire seven innings in the victory and allowed only three runs on six hits with a strikeout.
Offensively, the Bulldogs received two hits each from Fleming, Darwin, Meredith and third baseman Lexi Hongisto. Meredith doubled in the game with both Darwin and Bias hitting homers at the plate. Bias' three-run shot in the second gave her a game-high three RBI's while Fleming and Meredith each drove in two runs. Hongisto and Darwin both had an RBI.
The Bulldogs, who have won five of their last seven contests overall, will visit West Michigan rival Grand Valley State for the final two games of the regular-season next Friday, April 28, in Allendale. First pitch for game one is slated for 3:30 p.m. (ET) with game two to follow at approximately 5:30 p.m. (ET).
Ferris State is now in sole possession of seventh place in the league following Sunday's action and FSU owns a one-game lead over eighth-place Northwood along with a two-game advantage on Findlay with two games remaining.
The Bulldogs' seven-member senior class that played their final home games on Sunday included Kayti Carlson, Hallie Utter, Bias, Darwin, Sarah Ferenz, Johson and Megan Hiler (pictured from left to right in photo).