Ferris State Softball Sweeps Davenport In Two Five-Inning Decisions At Home

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University softball squad started the weekend with a pair of big wins on Friday (May 1), beating Davenport in a two-game sweep at the FSU Softball Field.

The Bulldogs took game one by an 8-0 score in five innings and pulled out a 12-4 victory in five innings in the nightcap.

With the two wins, the Bulldogs are now 31-18 overall this year and still in second place in the GLIAC standings with a 17-7 league record.

In game one, the Bulldogs broke the game open with two runs in the third and five more in the fourth before sealing the triumph with a run in the fifth. FSU had eight hits overall and limited DU to only two.

The trio of outfielders Ella McDonald and Ava Gardner along with second baseman Jadyn Joseph all posted two hits each. Gardner homered and drove in four runs while Jayden Marlatt hit a solo homer and Emma Gillard had a triple. Along with Gardner, Ferris State got RBI's from McDonald, Marlatt, Bailey McCalister and Alexis Kozlowski.

Pitcher Cecelia Bell claimed the win, which was her 13th of the year, by tossing all five innings. She gave up no earned runs on two hits with three strikeouts.

In game two, Ferris State erupted for six runs in the bottom of the second. The lead grew to 8-0 with two runs in the third before DU scored once in the fourth. FSU increased its lead to 12-1 with a four-run fourth inning, but the Panthers closed the game to 12-4 before the Bulldogs finally retired the side and finished the game up in five innings. Ferris had 11 hits in game two to eight for the Panthers.

McDonald finished with three hits in the nightcap and knocked in two runs while Kozlowski had two hits and four RBI's. Catcher Brenna George also posted two hits and drove in two runs while designated player Moly Versluis scored three times to go with a hit and an RBI.

The Bulldogs got doubles in game two from Kozlowski, Emma Herremans and George. Along with Kozlowski's four RBI's, the Bulldogs also got two RBI's from McDonald, Gardner and George in addition to one each by Herremans and Versluis.

Freshman Katie Shuboy tossed three innings and did not allow a run on one hit and one strikeout for FSU. Addison Gillard pitched the final two frames and gave up four runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts for the Bulldogs.

FSU will visit Davenport on Saturday (May 2) for two more league afternoon games before hosting Purdue Northwest on Sunday (May 3) back in Big Rapids.