Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Defiance
BGSU Blasts Defiance, 18-3
April 16, 2002 | Baseball
April 16, 2002
Bowling Green, Ohio - Bowling Green pounded out a season-high 22 hits while using every utility player on its roster en route to a 18-3 victory over visiting Defiance College on Tuesday afternoon at Warren Steller Field.
The Falcons, who had played just one game over the last six days, used eight different pitchers, beginning with right-hander Kyle Knoblauch.
Knoblauch got into trouble early, though, when the Yellow Jackets began the game with back-to-back singles and a walk loaded the bases with no outs. Knoblauch struckout the next two batters, but allowed a two-RBI single by Kyle Harris that gave Defiance a 2-0 lead. Joel Nietz then hit an RBI-single to give the visitors a 3-0 lead after the first half of the first inning.
BG responded with two runs in the home-half of the first inning. A bases-loaded single by Kelly Hunt brought home David Barkholz and then Len Elias hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, bringing home Tim Newell, to cut the lead to 3-2.
Knoblauch surrendered just one hit in the second and escaped without allowing another run. Seven different pitchers pitched the final seven innings, allowing no runs on just five hits.
Meanwhile, BG's offense plated 12 runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Andy Hudak hit an RBI-single in the third inning, scoring Hunt. Freshman Kirk Jensen followed with an RBI-single plating Elias and giving the Falcons the lead for good, 4-3. Kevin Longstreth hit an infield single that scored Hudak to give the home team three runs in the third and a 5-3 lead.
The Falcons continued in the fourth frame when Corey Loomis began the inning with a walk and Hunt brought him home with his ninth homer of the season over the right-field wall. Jensen hit a sacrifice fly later in the inning, scoring Elias. Then freshman Jesse Sobol, who was pinch-hitting for Longstreth, recorded his first career hit and RBI with a single to right field, plating Hudak, to give the home team a 9-3 lead.
In the fifth inning, 11 Falcons batted and five of them scored to pull away from the Yellow Jackets, 14-3. Two bases-loaded walks and RBI-hits from Nick Elrod and Hunt accounted for four of the runs. Hunt scored on an error via the left-fielder.
BG scored its final four runs in the seventh inning. Freshman Jayson Selgo recorded his first career hit in his sixth career at-bat with a pinch-hit homer to left field. Then Elrod hit an RBI-single, Newell scored on a groundout by Elias, and Spencer Schmitz doubled off of the left-field wall to score Matt Hundley.
Freshman Tyler Saneholtz (2-1) got the win after pitching the third inning (two hits, no runs, one strikeout). Eric Kirkpatrick picked up the loss for Defiance.
Of BGSU's season-high 22 hits, only five went for extra bases while all 10 of Defiance's hits were singles. Newell tied a school record with seven at-bats, finishing with three hits. Hunt raised his batting average to .407 with a 4-for-4 day and four RBIs. Spencer Schmitz was 3-for-3 with a double.
BGSU (13-16 overall, 4-5 MAC) hosts Marshall University this weekend for a four-game conference series. Game one is on Friday, April 19, at Steller Field beginning at 3 p.m.
