Tiffin's Pitching Downs Bulldogs, 4-2

A solid pitching performance from Tiffin's Mindy Meredith was too much for the Ferris State University softball team to overcome as the Bulldogs fell 4-2 to the Dragons in the first game of a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader this Saturday (April 16) at the FSU Varsity Softball Field in Big Rapids, Mich.

Meredith, who improved to 11-2 this spring for Tiffin, gave up four hits and registered a game-high nine strikeouts.

The loss drops Ferris State to 15-16 overall and 12-7 in the GLIAC's North Division this season.  The Dragons are 24-10 overall and 15-4 in the GLIAC's South Division as a result of the win.

Tiffin got on the board in each of the opening two innings by pushing a run across home plate in both frames.  In the first, a Stephanie Bobotas hit an one-out triple down the left field line and then scored on a run-scoring groundout by Amanda Temple.  TU went up 2-0 in the second when the Dragons tallied an unearned run on three straight Bulldog errors.

The Dragons extended their lead to 3-0 in the fourth when Jessie Creakbaum's RBI sacrifice flyout to left field brought home Megan Baird, who had a leadoff single off sophomore pitcher Dana Bowler (Lockport, Ill.).

Ferris State would tally in the bottom half of the fourth inning as a result of three hits.  Sophomore designated player Lindsey Pettit (Portland) laced a two-out ground-rule double to center field which scored senior shortstop Lynsay Weaver (Bay City/All Saints), who had singeld earlier.  Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were limited to only a run on Pettit's basehit as the ball went underneath the fence leaving FSU runners stranded at third and second base.  The next batter, sophomore second baseman Lainee Clay (Wheelersburg, Ohio) flied out to center field to end the inning.

The two teams exchanged a run apiece in the seventh inning as the Dragons scored thanks to a Ferris State error while Lindsey Pettit's leadoff solo home run accounted for the Bulldogs' second run of the contest.  The roundtripper by Pettit marked her fifth of the season and the third one in her last three outings.

Dana Bowler (10-7) went the distance for Ferris State and suffered the loss.  She allowed six hits while walking two and striking out eight batters.

The Bulldogs, who stranded six runners while Tiffin left seven on the bases, were led by Lindsey Pettit's two hits.  Junior outfielder Stephanie Dusendang (Comstock Park/Rockford) and Lynsay Weaver also generated a base hit apiece.

Notes: Lynsay Weaver's hitting streak reached 16 games with her fourth-inning single . . . Lindsey Pettit is batting .500 (4-8) in this weekend's three games with three home runs and eight RBIs . . . Dana Bowler's eight strikeouts represented a personal season game best, bettering her seven strikeouts on three occasions - vs. Slippery Rock (March 6), against Minnesota State (March 11), and vs. Lake Superior State (April 2) . . . Lindsey Pettit extended hit string to 10 games with her two-hit outing.