Walk-Off Double In Nightcap Helps Bulldogs To League Road Split At Northwood

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University softball team received a walk-off double from freshman catcher Casey Bias in the bottom of the seventh inning to take game two and earned an evening split on the road against Northwood in Great Lakes Intercollegaite Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play on Wednesday (April 9) in Midland, Mich.

The Bulldogs scored a 9-8 victory in the nightcap after rallying for four runs in the final two outings. The victory enabled FSU to earn the split after Northwood pulled out a 7-3 triumph at home in the opener at Fisher Stadium.

In game one, the Timberwolves outhit FSU 9-8 for the game and earned the four-run victory despite the fact they had four errors in the field to only one for the Bulldogs.

After both teams scored a single run in the opening frame, Northwood jumped in front 2-1 with a run in the bottom of the third. However, the Bulldogs answered with single runs in both the top half of the fourth and fifth innings to grab a 3-2 edge. But, NU scored three times in the fifth and added two more in the sixth to earn the game one victory.

Jessica Tostrud produced three hits for Northwood and was one of two NU players with three RBI's along with Lauren Look in the opening game.

On the Ferris State side, the Bulldogs received multiple hits from first baseman Megan Galganski along with senior pitcher Amy Dunleavy and sophomore outfielder Rachael Gabrielson.

Three Northwood pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts in the opening game and walked only two. Meanwhile, Dunleavy had a single strikekout and five walks while giving up five runs on six hits in four and two-thirds innings. cara DeLange tossed a single inning with a single walk and strikeout with Stacy Thompson pitching a third of an inning with only a single hit allowed.

In game two, Northwood bolted out to a 4-0 lead after the top half of the third inning, but the Bulldogs responded. FSU scored a single run in the bottom of the frame and the contest was tied at five runs apiece after four innings of action.

Northwood scored three times in the fifth to take a 8-5 lead before Ferris State responded with three runs of its own in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game back up. FSU held NU scoreless in the seventh and the Bulldogs eventually won the game in the bottom of the final inning. Galganski reached on a fielder's choice and scored from first base on Bias' game-winning double as Ferris State pulled out the victory in the nightcap.

FSU's Sarah Johnson had four RBI's in the game two win while senior outfielder Alex Wittman produced three to help the Bulldog cause. Alyssa Smith and Taylor Verbic both tallied three hits with Bias notching two for the Bulldogs. Wittman homered while Johnson tripled for Ferris State with both Bias and Verbic recording doubles.

Overall, Ferris State had 11 hits to 10 for Northwood in the final game. Freshman Megan Hiler threw six innings for the Bulldogs and had four strikeouts with three walks while allowing eight runs on 10 hits. Thompson pitched a single inning and had a strikeout with no hits or runs allowed for FSU.

With the split, the Bulldogs are now 8-9 overall and 3-3 in the GLIAC this campaign. NU dropped to 16-10 overall and 8-3 in conference action.

Ferris State returns home and is slated for its first home action this weekend at the FSU Softball Field in Big Rapids. The Bulldogs open a lengthy homestand against Malone on Friday (April 11) with game one starting at 2 p.m. (ET) and game two to follow.

FSU then hosts Saginaw Valley State and Wayne State on Saturday (April 12) and Sunday (April 13), respectively, with both league twinbills getting underway at 1 p.m. (ET).