Ferris State Finishes Weekend With Three Wins After Split Against Findlay At Home

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Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University softball squad wrapped up a successful home-opening weekend by taking three of four Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) games as FSU split a league twinbill on Sunday (April 9) against the visiting Findlay Oilers at the FSU Softball Field.

The Bulldogs won their third-straight contest with a 5-0 shutout victory over the Oilers in game one before Findlay rallied for a 9-4 triumph in the nightcap. The split came on the heels of FSU's weekend-opening sweep of Tiffin on Saturday in the first home action of 2017.

In Sunday's opener, the Bulldogs' Sam Bates hurled a one-hit shutout for her eighth victory of the campaign. She allowed no runs on one hit in seven innings of work and posted four strikeouts with two walks.

The Bulldogs broke open a scoreless contest in the bottom of the third when catcher Sarah Meredith notched her first career grand slam over the left field fence to give FSU the lead. The score stood until the fifth when Ferris State tacked on another run on an RBI double to left center from Logan Fleming and FSU held Findlay defensively the rest of the way.

Senior Sarah Johnson added two hits for the Bulldogs in the triumph as FSU managed eight overall. Lexi Hongisto joined Fleming with a double while Meredith accounted for four RBI's on her grand slam.

In game two, Findlay struck first with a single run in the first. However, Ferris State responded by scoring in the second on pitcher Abby Highway's RBI single. The Bulldogs added two more runs in the third on a two RBI double from Hongisto to grab the advantage before Findlay answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the game back up.

Ferris State got the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth when Johnson singled up the middle to score Bailey Darwin. However, Findlay had a big sixth inning as the Oilers tallied six runs on five hits and an error and the lead stood from there as FSU went three up, three down in the seventh.
Hailey Bryan earned the win in the pitching circle for Findlay with four runs given up on 10 hits in seven innings of work. She had four strikeouts and a walk.

Meanwhile, Highway hurled five innings for the Bulldogs, allowing three runs on four hits with four K's and three walks. Bates came on to pitch two-thirds of an inning and surrendered six runs on four hits before senior Megan Hiler pitched the final out and allowed only one hit.

Hongisto accounted for two RBI's with her double in the game while both Johnson and Highway both added an RBI. Additionally, both Darwin and Johnson tallied two hits each in the setback.

With the three wins this weekend, Ferris State improved to 13-17 overall and 6-6 in the GLIAC.

The Bulldogs continue a six-game homestand as they host Saginaw Valley State on Friday, April 14, beginning at 3:30 p.m. (ET) for game one and 5:30 p.m. (ET) for game two at the FSU Softball Field.