Ferris State Wraps Up Long Road Stretch With Close Setbacks At Davenport

Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University softball returned to the diamond on Wednesday (April 17), but came up short as the Davenport Panthers scored a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) sweep at the Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex in Caledonia.

The Panthers earned a 7-2 win in the opener before rallying for a 5-4 win over the Bulldogs in game two, which featured a lightning delay.

DU got off to a fast start with five runs in the first inning of game one en route to the early edge. The Bulldogs scored once in the second and once in the fourth, but Davenport answered the FSU production with single runs in the third and fifth frames. Overall, DU posted nine hits to five for the Bulldogs.

Oufielder Paige Kortz led Ferris State with two hits in the contest. Senior shortstop Logan Fleming doubled while Kaitlyn Orme tripled and had an RBI. Second baseman Kodi Ramirez also knocked in a run for FSU.

Ferris State's Connor Proctor suffered the setback as she allowed five runs, three of which were earned, and four hits in two-thirds of an inning with two walks. Kaitlyn Nugent tossed five and one-third frames, allowing only two runs on five hits with one walk.

In game two, the Bulldogs scored once in each of the first four innings and held a 4-1 edge into the top of the sixth when weather impacted the contest and forced a delay. The Panthers regrouped after action resume and scored three times in the sixth to tie the game up. They then got the eventual game-winning run via a walk-off in the bottom of the seventh to garner the victory despite being outhit 11-9 by the Bulldogs.

Kortz posted three hits in the finale while both Ramirez and designated player Lexi Hongisto totaled two each. Hongisto doubled twice and drove in two runs with Fleming, Ramirez and left fielder Madison McLeod also recording doubles in the setback. Orme and Ramirez also had one RBI each.

Junior Abby Highway hurled all six and one-third innings in the circle for the Bulldogs, giving up five runs on nine hits with two walks and a strikeout. DU utilized three different pitchers that combined to allow four runs on 11 hits with seven K's and four walks.

After playing 10 of its last 12 outings on the road, including six-straight, Ferris State now is slated to return home for eight of its last 10 at the FSU Softball Field in Big Rapids. The Bulldogs next are slated to host Saginaw Valley State on Friday (April 19) starting at 2 p.m. (ET) for game one with game two set for approximately 4 p.m. (ET).