Ferris State Softball Drops First Two Games Of Weekend Road Swing

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University softball team hit the road for a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader on Friday (April 24) at Hillsdale, but the host Chargers scored eight runs in both games to record back-to-back victories over the Bulldogs.

Hillsdale scored all eight of its runs in game one via a three-inning stretch en route to a 8-2 triumph and the Chargers then broke a deadlock with three runs in the seventh before holding off the Bulldogs for an 8-6 victory in the nightcap at HC's Williams Field.

In the opener, FSU scored first in the opening inning with a single run, but Hillsdale came up with two runs in the second followed by three apiece in the third and fourth frames to build a 8-1 advantage. The Bulldogs could not get back on the board until the final inning when they added one last run. Overall, HC outhit FSU by a 11-10 count.

Outfielder Rachael Gabrielson paced the Bulldogs with a game-high tying three hits in the opener, which included a pair of doubles. Infielder Emily Reed added two RBI's on two hits with a double while Bailey Darwin and Sydney Hasselbach also had two-baggers for the Bulldogs. Taylor Verbic totaled two hits as well.

For Hillsdale, Sarah Grunert totaled three hits and had a double. Kate Ardrey added a game-best four RBI's in the contest.

Sophomore Megan Hiler suffered the pitching loss for the Bulldogs with seven runs allowed on eight hits in slightly more than three innings of work. Stacy Thompson hurled the final two and two-thirds innings while giving up a single run on three hits. Both had one strikeout each.

Hillsdale's Danielle Stiene earned the win to improve to 12-7 on the year. She allowed only a single run on six hits with six K's and one walk in five innings. Grunert pitched two innings and FSU came up with a single run and four hits off her with three strikeouts.

In the nightcap, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before the Chargers tallied four runs in the third. After FSU tied the game back up in the fifth, both teams produced a single run in the sixth as the game was deadlocked heading into the final inning. HC scored three times in the top of the seventh and limited the Bulldogs to a single run in their last at-bat to produce the win. FSU did hold a 9-8 edge in total hits.

Both Casey Bias and Kayti Carlson tallied two hits each in game two and both homered in the outing. Carlson totaled three RBI's and added a double with Sarah Johnson posting a triple. Ardrey led the Chargers with three RBI's to go with two hits in the final game of the twinbill and was one of five HC players to double in the game.

Senior Cara DeLange tossed two and two-thirds innings with four runs allowed on four hits. Thompson took the loss after throwing four and one-third innings. She gave up four runs on four hits as well with three walks.

Stiene posted the win in gmae two as well for the Chargers with four runs given up on eight hits in four and two-thirds innings of action. She added seven strikeouts. Sarah Klopfer earned the save by allowing only two runs on a single hit in two and one-third innings.

Ferris State is back in action on Saturday (April 25) as the Bulldogs visit Findlay for a league twinbill in Findlay, Ohio. The two-game set has been moved up to a 10 a.m. (ET) start for the opener due to expected afternoon weather conditions.