Ferris State Softball Drops GLIAC Road Set At Parkside In Tuesday Action

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University softball squad hit the road for a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader on Tuesday (April 9), but suffered a pair of close setbacks in low scoring contests against the Parkside Rangers in Kenosha, Wis.

The host Rangers took game one 3-0 before beating FSU 2-1 in the nightcap at the Case Softball Complex. The twinbill was played under sunny and windy skies as the two teams moved up the doubleheader a day to beat incoming weather.

In the opener, Parkside totaled seven hits and limited FSU to four in earning the win. The Rangers got a single run in the third and later added two more in the sixth while earning the shutout victory.

The Bulldogs got hits from senior shortstop Logan Fleming along with third baseman Lexi Hongisto, right fielder Kylie Winkels and first baseman Sawyer Wightman. However, that was all the Bulldogs could manage as Parkside's Alyssa McClelland threw all seven shutout innings, allowing only the four hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

For Ferris State, Connor Proctor tossed six innings and allowed three runs on seven hits with four K's and two walks as well.

In game two, the Bulldogs jumped in front when they scored the game's first run in the top of the sixth following five scoreless innings. The lead stood until the bottom of the seventh when UWP was able to load the bases with one out and eventually got back-to-back singles to score twice and earn the walk-off win. They outhit FSU 7-5 for the game.

The Bulldogs got hits from second baseman Kodi Ramirez along with centerfielder Paige Kortz, catcher Rebecca Piron and first baseman Kaitlyn Orme in addition to Winkels. Orme accounted for the only RBI of the day for FSU with her hit in the sixth.

Bulldog junior pitcher Abby Highway threw six and one-third innings, giving up only two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and a walk. Allison Hausl earned her first win of the year for the Rangers by allowing only a single run on five hits with four K's and four walks in seven innings of action.

The Bulldogs fell to 16-22 overall and 7-11 in the GLIAC with the two setbacks while the Rangers improved to 3-33 overall and 3-15 in conference play. The Rangers are now riding a three-game winning streak but are still three games back for the a potential spot in the GLIAC Tournament at the end of the year.

Ferris State continues its six-game road swing as the Bulldogs head to Purdue Northwest on Saturday (April 13) for a conference twinbill starting at 2 p.m. (ET). FSU then visits Davenport on Sunday (April 14) for a two-game set in Caledonia beginning at 1 p.m. (ET).