The Valparaiso University softball team got a solid pitching performance from freshman Ashlyn Montgomery (Lebanon, Ind./Lebanon) and junior Mollie Lindeman (Hebron, Ind./Hebron [PNC]), but it wouldn’t be enough on Wednesday afternoon, as Bowling Green claimed a 2-0 win over the Crusaders in Bowling Green, Ohio in Valpo’s last non-league contest of the year.
Montgomery had a solid start in the circle on Wednesday, tossing the first four innings of the game. A seeing-eye single with two outs in the first ended up leading to BGSU’s two runs, as Morgan Evangelista followed with a two-run homer down the left-field line. But only two other runners would reach scoring position against Montgomery, and the rookie left both of them at second base.
Meanwhile, Lindeman entered to start the fifth inning and tossed two stellar innings. A two-out, full-count walk in the fifth proved to be the only blemish on the junior’s line on the day. Lindeman made quick work of the Falcons, needing just 22 pitches to seven batters to register six outs, including one strikeout and four infield pop-ups.
But the two-run homer in the first proved to be enough for Bowling Green to pick up the win, as Valpo was unable to push anything across the plate Wednesday. Singles from sophomore Taylor Lawson (Tucson, Ariz./Sahuaro) in the first and freshman Taylor Nadler (New Haven, Mo./St. Francis Borgia) in the second went for naught.
The Crusaders’ best scoring chance came in the fifth, as junior Sierra Pico (Las Vegas, Nev./Legacy) executed a perfect bunt for a base hit with one out and Lawson lined a single into shallow left field two batters later to move Pico to second, but a groundout ended that threat. Pico ensured the potential tying run would come to the plate in the seventh with a two-out double, but another groundball would end the game.
Montgomery fell to 6-9 with the loss for Valpo, while Jamie Kertes earned the complete-game win for Bowling Green (18-26) to improve to 9-12. Valpo (12-39) returns to action this weekend with the final weekend of regular-season play as the Crusaders host Youngstown State for a three-game series. First pitch of the series opener is slated for 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon, with live audio (WVUR, 95.1 FM, Valparaiso) and live stats available at ValpoAthletics.com.
