Morris Leads Bulldogs To 4-3 Win and A Doubleheader Sweep

Ferris State University's Chelsea Morris (Jenison) picked an opportune time to have a productive game by recording a game-high three base hits and RBI's apiece as the Bulldogs posted a 4-3 triumph against Lake Superior State this Saturday (April 2) in the second game of a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader at the Rockford (Mich.) High School Varsity Field.

Morris belted a first-inning three-run home run to key the win, which improved Ferris State's record to 8-12 overall and 5-3 in the GLIAC's North Division to date.  Morris' roundtripper marked her team-leading fourth of this season to go along with a pair of singles and a run scored.  Senior right fielder Colleen Roney (Wheaton, Ill./Glen Ellyn Glenbard South) produced two hits as seven different hitters accounted for the squad's 10 base hits in the contest.

Morris' home run over the left center field fence with one out off LSSU pitcher Nicole Stein gave Ferris State a three-run lead until the bottom of the second inning.  Colleen Roney and junior third baseman Makenzi Peterson (Big Rapids), who collected singles prior to Morris' at bat, would both score as a result of the first baseman going yard.

The Lakers, who are now 3-12 overall and 0-8 in the GLIAC North Division following the setback, tied the game up at 3-3 by scoring all of their runs for the contest in the second via two hits and a pair of Bulldog errors.  A bases-loaded walk brought in the first LSSU run while two Bulldog miscues on an at bat accounted for the other two scores.

The game would stay tied until the top of the fifth inning when Ferris State was able to push across the game-winning score.  Chelsea Morris singled through the left side and was replaced at first base by freshman pinch-runner Brittney Buti (Niles).  The next batter, junior left fielder Stephanie Dusendang (Comstock Park/Rockford) took an offering and drove the ball into left centerfield for a RBI with Buti tallying the game-winning run. 

Ferris State was able to stop a potential Lake Superior State rally in the sixth inning as the Lakers left runners at second and third base when freshman pitcher Amy Dunleavy (Canton) was able to retire Nicole Carstensen on a fly out to left field.   

Amy Dunleavy (3-7) claimed the decision as she allowed five hits and three runs in seven innings to go with six strikeouts and two walks.

Ferris State will face Lake Superior State this Sunday (April 3) in a second consecutive GLIAC doubleheader between the two in-state teams at Rockford High School.  The opener has been pushed up to 10 a.m. (EDT) start time with the second game to follow due to the forecast of inclement weather.

Notes: Chelsea Morris has a team-leading four multi-RBI games this season . . . Lainee Clay has tallied a base hit in five of her six GLIAC contests this campaign, which includes a pair of two-hit efforts - at Ashland (March 27) and versus Lake Superior State (April 2) . . . Chelsea Morris' 10 RBIs in the Bulldogs' last 10 contests represents a squad best . . . Amy Dunleavy fanned a personal season-high six hitters in the win to surpass her four strikeouts in back-to-back appearances against Mount Olive (March 7) and Bellarmine (March 9) at the Florida Rebel Spring Games Tournament.