Box Score
MIDLAND, Mich. - All seven runs were driven in by home runs in the Broncos' 5-2 loss to Bowling Green in the first-round game of the 2007 Mid-American Conference Tournament at Currie Stadium in Midland, Mich. Kristi Strange and Molly Mroczek each went yard for WMU to account for its two runs but a grand slam was the deciding factor.
Strange picked a fine time for her first home run of the season, with two outs in the top of the first inning to give Western Michigan a 1-0 lead. The senior tooko a 1-1 offering from Falcon starting pitcher Hayley Weimer over the left field wall after the first two Bronco batters grounded out to shortstop and second base, respectively.
For Strange, it was her eighth-career home run. It was the seventh time a batter had gone yard on Weimer this season but the first since an April 13 meeting against Miami.
Bowling Green mounted a threat in the home half of the first with Jeanine Baca leading off with a walk, followed by Weimer with a one-out base hit up the middle to put two on with just one out. Allison Vallas advanced the two base runners to second and third with a 3-4 ground out but Jenna Stuppy put an end to the threat, throwing out Ashley Zirkle from third base to end the inning.
As the top of the second inning was set to begin, action was halted due to rain. The game was originally scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at Currie Stadium but periods of moderate to hard rain delayed the start until 1:30 p.m. This is not an aberration for the MAC Softball Tournament over the past two seasons.
An event that used to be held in Northeast Ohio was moved to Midland, Mich., for the 2006 tournament and the skies opened ... literally. The only rain-free day of last season's event was, ironically, the first. Days two and three were filled with delays, rearranging of game times and eventually moving the tournament to two fields in order to get the championship game to take place at its originally scheduled time on Saturday. No such luck as the Broncos and Kent State took the field about an hour late due to rain.
This year, the forecast calls for great weather, except for on the first day. Steady rain kept the teams and fans waiting for a restart for over two hours. Play resumed ... finally ... at 3:45 p.m., with the Broncos batting in the top of the second. A game that was originally scheduled for an 11 a.m. start had recorded nine outs by 4 p.m.
WMU starting pitcher Kyla Sullivan sat the Falcons down in order in the bottom of the second, sandwiching a pair of strike outs around a 4-3 ground out from Susan Sontag. Earlier in the day Sullivan was named Second Team All-MAC, the first all-conference nod of her career.
BGSU evened things up in the bottom of the third on a wild pitch to score Baca, who had recorded a one-out triple earlier in the frame. Lauren Hoffman pinch hit for left fielder Emmy Ramsey and reached when Amanda Heckaman failed to field a pop up, putting Falcons at the corners with one out.
That is when things became interesting. Weimer earned a walk but Sullivan threw a wild pitch on the fourth ball, which allowed Baca to score from third base to tie the score. Ramsey, who had re-entered to run and previously stole second base, attempted to score from third but was gunned down at the plate by Heckaman with Sullivan covering.
Mroczek joined in Strange in the distance race with a shot over the left center field wall with two out in the top of the fifth. It was Mroczek's fourth home run of the season, first since April 22 at Buffalo, and fifth of her career.
The home run, which gave the Broncos a 2-1 lead, sparked the WMU offense as Mandi Sayres followed with a base knock to center field. The successive hits chased Weimer from the circle but Strange ended the inning though with a foul out. Weimer ended her day with 4.2 innings of work, allowing two runs on six while fanning a pair.
Bowling Green's Dawnjene DeLong put the Falcons back on top in a grand way with a grand slam on the first pitch she saw in the bottom of the sixth inning. Weimer earned her second walk of the game to lead off the inning and Vallas and Zirkle followed with base hits to the shortstop and up the middle, respectively, to set the stage for DeLong's third home run of the season. Bowling Green have hit a single-season best 42 dinger in 2007.
Sullivan recovered quickly, setting down the next three batters with a ground out and her fourth and fifth punch outs of the game.
Bowling Green sat the Broncos down in order in the top of the seventh to give Emily Gouge her 14th victory of the season and advance the Falcons to the second round of the championship bracket tomorrow. Western Michigan will now wait to see what team it will face, Eastern Michigan or Ohio, in game #5 at 12:15 p.m. on Thursday.
