Bulldog Softball Splits Non-League Twinbill At Lewis

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University softball team hit the field again on Tuesday (April 16) and split a non-conference doubleheader against the Lewis Flyers in Romeoville, Ill.

The Bulldogs, who had not played a full contest for more than a week, took game one of the twinbill by a 2-0 score at the Lewis Softball Field before the Flyers battled back for a 7-4 victory in the nightcap.

Senior catcher Liz Hamming tallied her fourth home run of the season and drove in both runs in the opening contest with a two-run shot in the top half of the sixth inning to break a scoreless tie.

Senior pitcher Dana Bowler tossed a six-hitter and gave up no runs in a complete game performance for FSU to open the doubleheader.  She struck out six batters and walked none in the game while improving to 9-6 overall this campaign.

Bowler was matched up against her younger sister, Lewis' Kelly Bowler, who also hurled all seven innings for the Flyers.  She allowed only four hits to the Bulldogs and had five strikeouts with three walks in seven innings pitched.

Along with Hamming, Ferris State received a pair of hits from senior first baseman Lindsey Pettit along with a single hit from senior second baseman Lainee Clay.  Both teams left five runners on base in the opener, which was played under cloudy skies with temperatures in the 60's.

In the nightcap, the Bulldogs took an early 2-0 advantage with a pair of runs in the first inning.  Lewis responded with four runs of its own in the bottom half of the frame before the Bulldogs tied the game up with two more runs in the second.

The score stood until Lewis added a single run in the last half of the fourth inning along with two more in the sixth to account for the final score.  The Flyers improved to 17-11 overall with the split against FSU.

Bulldog junior Amy Dunleavy took the pitching loss despite striking out five Lewis batters and walking only three in three and one-third innings.  She gave up five runs on six hits.  Senior Emily Carlson tossed two and two-thirds innings with a single walk and strikeout while allowing two runs on three hits.

The Bulldogs were outhit 9-6 in game two with FSU receiving doubles from both Pettit and senior outfielder Morgan Kramerich, who drove in two runs and had a game-high four hits.  Pettit had two hits and an RBI while Clay added an RBI on a sacrifice hit.  Alyssa Smith scored twice for the Bulldogs.

After the split, the Bulldogs currently own a 16-10 overall mark to date this season.

Next up for the Bulldogs is a busy weekend with three games on the road in three days.  FSU returns to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play by visiting Wayne State to finish a twinbill on Friday (April 19) starting at 3 p.m. (ET) in Detroit.

Following Friday's rescheduled date against Wayne State, the Bulldogs then are set to travel to Ohio Dominican on Saturday (April 20) and Tiffin on Sunday (April 21) for two-game action both days.