Bulldog Softball Garners West Michigan Split For Second Consecutive Day

Big Rapids, Mich. - For the second consecutive day, the Ferris State University softball squad split a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road doubleheader against a West Michigan rival as FSU battled Davenport to a Sunday (April 3) split in Caledonia.

The Bulldogs claimed an 11-3 win in five innings in the opener before falling in game two by a 6-2 score. The split came on the heels of a similar effort on Saturday at nationally 10th-ranked archival Grand Valley State.

In Sunday's opener, the Bulldogs scored the first two runs of the game in the top of the first and pushed the edge to 6-0 in the third. The Panthers trimmed the deficit in half in the bottom of the third frame, but the Bulldogs answered with five runs in the fifth to seal the win. Overall, FSU outhit the Panthers 11-4 for the game.

Ferris State got two hits each from first baseman Evelyn Blood along with second baseman Josie Prince and left fielder Abby Mitchell. Blood, Price and center fielder Paige Kortz all scored twice while shortstop Kacey Bouche drove in three runs. FSU also got a pair of RBI's apiece by Kortz, designated player Kaitlyn Orme and Mitchell in the victory.

The Bulldogs homered twice in the game one triumph with Kortz and Bouche each belting one out of the park. Mitchell tripled and Blood doubled in the win.

Meanwhile, in the pitching circle, McKenzie Cleland went two innings, allowing three runs on four hits with four walks and a strikeout. Kristie Gray earned the win by tossing three scoreless innings while not giving up a hit to go with three K's and a single walk.

In game two, the Panthers responded by posting 10 hits and limiting FSU to five in bouncing back for the split. DU scored three times in the bottom half of the second and added a single run in the third to push the margin to 4-0. FSU cut the lead down to 4-2 win single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but the Panthers answered with two insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth and help Ferris State off the board the rest of the way.

Prince and third baseman Amara Zukowski both doubled in the game two setback and each had a run scored in addition to a hit. Right fielder Kylie Winkels and catcher Ali Magiera both drove in runs for FSU.

The Bulldogs' Aryn Gallacher tossed two and one-third innings in game two while allowing four runs on seven hits. Gray pitched three and two-thirds of an inning and allowed only two runs on three hits with two walks and a strikeout.

Ferris State is next slated to play a league road doubleheader at Northwood on Wednesday (April 6) in Midland starting at 3 p.m. (ET) for game one and 5 p.m. (ET) for game two. FSU then has a rescheduled twin bill at Saginaw Valley State set for Thursday (April 7) beginning at 2:30 p.m. (ET) for the opener in Midland before heading home to host Parkside and Purdue Northwest on Saturday and Sunday, April 9-10, respectively.