With a series split against the Wayne State Warriors, the Bulldogs look to get back on track when the Wisconsin Parkside Rangers and Roosevelt Lakers come to Big Rapids.
With the series split against the Warriors, the first game saw the Bulldogs take down the Warriors by a score of 6-1. Junior outfielder Emma Gillard went 2-2 with three RBIs, coming from a two-run home run and a sacrifice fly.
Freshman outfielder Ava Gardner and junior first baseman Alexis Kozlowski got in on the round trippers, with both hitting solo home runs in the first inning.
Junior pitcher Cecelia Bell pitched a seven-inning complete game, allowing seven hits, one run, two strikeouts and no walks.
Ferris fell in game two, by a score of 7-5. The Bulldogs got out to a 5-1 lead after the top of the second, then the Warriors scored 6 unanswered runs. Freshman third baseman Emma Herremans was the standout from the day, going 2-3 with two RBIs and one walk.
Even after the loss, in the Bulldogs’ last five games, the team has gone 4-1, scoring 7.8 runs per game, while allowing 4.2 runs.
Freshman Ava Gardner spoke about what has led to this stretch.
“We have been staying focused and putting in the work throughout the week,” Gardner said. “Our practices have been very efficient, and we are prepared for any opponent that comes our way.”
The Bulldogs (24-17, 10-6 in GLIAC) will take on Wisconsin Parkside (18-22, 9-9 in GLIAC) in the first matchup of the weekend.
The Rangers come into the game riding a five-game winning streak, including a 1-0 win against the first-place Saginaw Valley State. While also handily taking down Wayne State twice, by scores of 15-3 and 6-2. Then, taking down Purdue Northwest, winning the first game 8-2, before winning the second game 6-5 from a walk-off home run.
Wisconsin Parkside is led by arguably the toughest player in the GLIAC, that being senior catcher Mia Johnson. Johnson leads the GLIAC in all major categories, including batting average with a .464, OPS with a 1.588, doubles with 18, and home runs with 12.
The Bulldogs’ pitching staff will look to stifle Johnson, and one pitcher who will look to do this is freshman Katie Shuboy. Shuboy in 73 innings has pitched to a 3.55 ERA, a 1.58 WHIP, 47 strikeouts to 33 walks, while having eight complete games.
Senior catcher Paige Antcliff spoke about how the Bulldogs will game plan against the Rangers.
“We just have to stay disciplined at the plate and sticking to our approach,” Antcliff said. “They have good riseball pitchers but we have to stay in the zone and stick to our plan.”
For the second matchup of the week, the struggling Roosevelt Lakers (10-30, 4-16 in GLIAC) take on the Bulldogs in Big Rapids.
The Bulldogs will look to take advantage of a Roosevelt pitching staff that has allowed 7.4 runs in their last five games. While their offense has only scored 3.6 runs in their last five games, a combination of these has led to a 1-4 record in their last five games.
Roosevelt’s pitching staff is led by junior Kailey Hancock. Hancock has appeared in 22 games, pitching 100 innings, with a 4.06 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 37 strikeouts to just 18 walks.
A player who will look to take advantage of this is junior first baseman Alexis Kozlowski. So far this season, Kozlowski has a .352 average, a .407 OPB, 12 extra base hits, four home runs, and 35 RBIs.
The Ferris State Bulldogs softball team will return home to take on the Wisconsin Parkside Rangers on Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m. and then at 3 p.m. The following day, they will take on the Roosevelt Lakers at 1 p.m. and then again at 3 p.m.