Ferris State Softball Registers Sweep In Day One Action At The Spring Games

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University softball team opened up its annual trip to The Spring Games in Florida with a pair of victories on Saturday (March 5) in Winter Haven.

The Bulldogs topped Holy Family (Pa.) by a 9-1 score in the morning opener and came back for a 7-5 victory over St. Cloud State (Minn.) in eight innings to close day one play.

With the two victories, FSU is now 7-5 overall this year and has now won six of its last seven contests overall.

In the opener versus Holy Family, the Bulldogs pounded out 10 hits to five for the Tigers. FSU put three runs on the board in the first and four more in the second in building a big early advantage to cruise to the triumph.

Bulldog first baseman Kaitlyn Orme tallied a pair of hits and scored twice while driving in four runs in the opener. Second baseman Josie Prince added a team-high three hits with two RBI's and a run scored. Seven different players all produced at least one hit each for the Bulldogs. Orme belted a double while senior Paige Kortz homered and Abby Mitchell tripled for FSU in the victory.

In the circle, Mckenzie Cleland tossed four innings of action with no earned runs allowed on four hits to go with six strikeouts and a walk. Aryn Gallacher threw three scoreless frames and gave up only a single hit with four K's and a walk.

In game two, Ferris State was outhit 9-8 by St. Cloud State, but scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth for the walk-off win. The Huskies netted the opening run in the second before FSU answered in the fourth to tie it back up. The Bulldogs grabbed a 4-3 lead after the fifth inning, but St. Cloud State forced the extra inning with a run in the seventh. The Huskies opened the seventh with a single run before FSU responded.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Bulldogs were down to their final out before Orme drove in the tying run. From there, Katelyn Gabos came to the plate and hit a two-run walk-off homer to left center field to give FSU the victory.

Along with Gabos' two-run shot, the Bulldogs also got a homer and three RBI's from Kortz along with a pair of hits from Prince.

Senior Kristie Gray pitched six and one-third of an inning in the game, striking out three while walking one. She allowed four runs on eight hits overall before giving way to freshman Kristina Baar, who earned the win in one and two-thirds innings of action. Baar walked two and struck out one while giving up a single hit.

Ferris State returns to action on Sunday (March 6) with a pair of late afternoon contests at The Spring Games. FSU faces Lake Erie in regional action at 3:45 p.m. (ET) before meeting another Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) foe in Walsh starting at 6 p.m. (ET).