CONWAY, S.C. – The Bowling Green State University softball team pounded out six extra-base hits on Monday night (March 3), but host Coastal Carolina University came away with a 9-5 win at St. John Stadium.

The Chanticleers (16-4) rallied from an early deficit with a trio of three-run innings. After the Falcons (3-13) put up back-to-back two-run frames, a bevy of CCU pitchers kept BG off of the scoreboard until the seventh.

That seventh inning saw the Falcons rally to bring the tying run to the plate before falling just short.

Katie Hutter led the Falcons' nine-hit attack, going 3-for-4 with a walk. Addie Martin had two hits in the game. Hutter and Martin had back-to-back homers to begin the game.

Hannah Hunt walked and doubled in the contests, with Cameron Kaufman and Peyton Steffes each adding a double as well. Kendall Mathews had a walk and a single, and Taylor Behrendt walked three times.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT
• Katie Hutter and Addie Martin, as mentioned, led off the game with back-to-back homers. It marked the second time this season that BGSU homered twice in the same inning. Peyton Steffes and Hannah Hunt both went deep in the fifth inning of a win over Monmouth on Feb. 8.
• Monday night marked the first time BGSU had hit back-to-back dingers in over three years, since Feb. 26, 2022. The Falcons played two games at the NC State Invitational that day, and had back-to-back jacks in both games.
• On that date, Peyton Dolejs and Bailey Sample had back-to-back homers against Central Connecticut State, with Reagan Williamson and Lexi Carver doing the same against Delaware.

ALSO NOTEWORTHY
• The Falcons have hit 10 homers in 16 games this season, topping the total for all of last year. The 2024 club had eight round-trippers in 44 games.

BGSU-CCU – HOW IT HAPPENED
• Katie Hutter began the game with a homer to right-center. Hutter battled back from an 0-2 hole, working a full count before unloading against CCU starter Abby Henderson.
• The next batter, Addie Martin, also went to a full count before following with a homer of her own. Martin's shot landed over the wall in center to give the Orange and Brown a 2-0 lead.
• Hannah Hunt drew a walk, and McKennah Metzger replaced Henderson in the circle. She struck out the first batter she faced, but issued a walk to Taylor Behrendt. Peyton Steffes grounded out to short on a bang-bang play that was reviewed and upheld, with the runners forced to hold. Ashley Chevalier walked on four pitches to load the bases, but a Kendall Mathews line drive was hit directly at the third baseman.
• Morgan Beckham worked around a one-out single in the CCU first, ending the inning by striking out cleanup hitter Georgia Hood.
• Hutter had her second hit in as many innings, lacing a sharp single to left with one out in the second, and with two down, Hunt roped a double to right-center to score Hutter from first.
• The Chanticleers struck for three runs in the bottom of the second. Maddy Jennings doubled with one out, and a walk to Metzger was followed by Sydney Montoya's RBI single. Brie Normandin followed with a double that scored another run, and a sacrifice fly cut the Falcons' lead to one.
• The lone baserunner for either team in the third was Mathews, who drew a walk. Hutter began the Falcon fourth with a single, for her third hit in as many at-bats. But, Hood, the third CCU pitcher of the game, retired the side without allowing further damage.
• The Chants took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Jennings led off with a walk, and pinch-runner Ally Wojciechowski stole second with one out. Beckham struck out Montoya for the second out, but Normandin's liner to left brought the tying run across the plate.
• After Clara Hudgens drew a walk, Libby Pippin doubled to right-center to score two runs and give the hosts a 6-4 lead.
• Behrendt walked to lead off the fifth, and after a fielder's choice produced the first out, Peyton Steffes stole second. But, third baseman Delaney Keith made a diving stop of a hard-hit ball by Chevalier, throwing to first for the second out. Then, a hot shot off the bat of Mathews hit Steffes in between second and third, ending the inning.
• The Chants added to the lead in the fifth, aided by a bad-hop RBI single off the bat of Metzger that scored the first run of the inning against reliever Sydney Marshall. A fielder's choice scored another run, and Normandin followed with a base hit to drive in a teammate. 
• Hutter reached on an error in the sixth, and Martin's double moved pinch-runner Hanna Massaro to third base, but the Chants were able to escape the jam unscathed.
• The Chants put the first two runners on base in the bottom of the sixth, but with those runners at second and third and one out, Marshall proceeded to strike out both Keirstin Roose and Jennings.
• The Falcons loaded the bases in the seventh. Behrendt walked, and an opposite-field hit by Steffes dropped just inside the left-field line for a double, with Behrendt sliding safely into third. Chevalier was hit by a Kate Ryan pitch, and Nicolette Picone became the Chanticleers' fifth pitcher of the game.
• Mathews hit a fly ball to left for a sacrifice fly, with Behrendt tagging and scoring from third. A strikeout produced the second out, but Hutter walked to load the bases once again, bringing the tying run to the plate. Picone, however, got a game-ending strikeout to preserve the win for her team.
• Both teams had nine hits in the game, with the Falcons pounding out six extra-base hits to CCU's four.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons close the pre-conference schedule at the Hoosier Classic, beginning with a pair of games on Friday (March 7). BGSU will meet UIC in a 12:30 p.m. start, before taking on the host school, Indiana, at 6:00 p.m.
• The Falcons will face IU Indy and UIC on Saturday (March 8), before meeting the Hoosiers once again on Sunday (March 9).
• Every game in the Hoosier Classic is scheduled to be streamed via Big Ten Network+.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on BGSU softball, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUSoftball) and Instagram (@bgsu_softball) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.