| Ferris State University pitcher Shannon Roney goes into her windup during Monday afternoon’s doubleheader against Grand Valley State University (Photo/Sandy Gholston) |
BIG RAPIDS – It’s still early, but Ferris State University is looking strong through its first 18 games of the campaign.
Ferris currently is rated sixth in the nation in Division II and is off to one of its best starts ever at 16-2 following Monday’s 3-2, 6-1 sweep of rival Grand Valley State University. Head coach Keri Becker indicated two primary reasons for Ferris’ early-season success – reasons that should be of no surprise to long-time followers of the program.
“I always point to two things when you’re talking about success in softball: pitching and defense,” Becker said as her Bulldogs are now into the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference portion of their schedule. “Our pitching has been phenomenal this season and our pitchers have given up very few runs. The next thing I always look at is defense.”
Ferris held a solid Grand Valley team to three runs in two games as Holly Bruntjens and Shannon Roney handled the pitching duties in game one while lefty Kayle Stevenson had the honors for the Bulldogs in game two. Roney earned the win, in a relief appearance, in game one as she threw the final 5.2 innings to hold off the Lakers with six strikeouts. In game two, Stevenson was superb as she threw all seven innings, allowed seven hits with one run (earned) as she improved to 4-0.
The defense backed up the pitching as Ferris was sharp making big-time plays, turning double plays and even though the Bulldogs did bend a few times, they did not break.
When the hitting complements the pitching and defense – Ferris is very tough to handle.
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