Bowling Green State University Athletics
MAC Champion To Be Crowned Sunday
May 25, 2002 | Baseball
May 25, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Mid-American Conference baseball fans will wait an extra day to determine a tournament champion.
After four innings of Saturday's (May 25) second MAC Tournament championship game, the contest between Ball State University and Kent State University was halted due to inclement weather. The Golden Flashes held a 10-4 lead over the Cardinals when the game was stopped at the end of the fourth inning. After a delay of an hour and 29 minutes, the contest was halted, and will be resumed Sunday (May 26) at noon at Bowling Green's Steller Field.
Kent State used five-run outbursts in both the first and third innings to build the lead. After BSU got a run in the top of the first inning, the first six KSU batters of the game had hits in the bottom of the inning.
KSU's Eric O'Brien began the onslaught, lining BSU starter Michael Penn's first pitch for a single. Then, Phil LoCascio hit a high chopper over the third baseman's head, and Chris Welsch hit a three-run homer to leftfield.
Pat O'Brien singled, and Brady Glass followed with a homer that ended Penn's outing. Tom Martin greeted reliever Luke Hagerty with a double, but Hagerty retired the next three batters to end the inning.
The Cardinals scored two runs in the top of the third, as Matt Deckman beat out the relay throw to first on a fielder's choice, with Ben Schroeder scoring on the play. The second run came on a bases-loaded walk to Kiel Holman. But, KSU put another five-spot on the board in the bottom of the third.
All five third-inning markers were unearned. Martin doubled to lead off the inning, and Casey Ellis followed with a double. Martin, who held up to make sure the ball would not be caught, was able to advance just one base on the Ellis hit.
Then, Hagerty walked Chad Kinyon to load the bases. But, it appeared the BSU hurler would get out of the jam after he got Holick and Eric O'Brien to pop up and strike out, respectively. With two outs, LoCascio hit a grounder to third, but Holman's throw sailed wide of first, allowing two runs to score.
Kinyon then scored on a wild pitch, before Welsch crushed a pitch over the trees beyond the left-field fence. Brian Lynch replaced Hagerty and got a popup to end the inning.
The Cardinals manufactured a run in the fourth, as Jason Bucholtz led off with an infield hit, took second on a wild pitch, moved to third on a fly-ball out and scored on Paul Henry's single.
KSU's Jason Biniker allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits in the game's first four innings. For BSU, Penn allowed five runs on five hits, while Hagerty gave up five hits and five runs -- all unearned -- in his two-and-two-thirds innings of action. Lynch pitched a hitless inning and a third.
KSU outhit BSU by a 10-8 count through the first four frames, with Welsch going 2-for-2 with the two homers and five RBI. Martin was 2-of-2 as well, with a pair of doubles.
For the Cardinals, Henry was 3-for-3 with a run and one RBI, while Deckman had driven in a pair of runs.
