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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
TENNESSEE
Falcons Drop Season-Opening Doubleheader vs. #26 Tennessee
February 23, 2003 | Baseball
Feb. 23, 2003
Knoxville, Tenn. - Bowling Green dropped its season-opening doubleheader to #26-ranked Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sunday afternoon, 8-2 and 5-2 (eight innings). The two teams had games cancelled due to heavy rains on Friday and Saturday.
BGSU (0-2) took a 2-0 lead into the eighth inning of game one before the Vols scored eight runs in the bottom of the inning thanks to seven hits, three walks and two Falcon errors. The Falcons had got the two runs in the sixth inning thanks to freshman Nolan Reimold's first collegiate home run to left field. His homer came in just his second official at-bat for the Falcons. Fellow freshman Tyler Wasserman was on base when Reimold hit the two-out, two-run homer.
Junior Kyle Knoblauch pitched the first five innings of the game, facing the minimum and allowing no runs on three hits (one extra-base hit) with one strikeout. Sophomore Burke Badenhop entered in the sixth frame and pitched two and one-third innings, allowing four runs on six hits with two walks to suffer the loss (0-1). Doug Flere (four runs, one earned) and Tyler Johnson (no runs) each pitched a third of an inning to finish the game.
Besides Reimold's homer, Kelly Hunt, Jeff Warnock, Kevin Longstreth and Josh Baughman each had a hit. BGSU ended with five hits compared to Tennessee's 12. Each team stranded six runners.
In the nightcap, Tennessee took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second and added another run in the fourth for a 2-0 lead. BGSU plated a run in both the fifth and sixth innings to tie the score at 2-2. The Vols broke the tie in the bottom of the sixth with another run and added two more in the seventh before the game was called in the eighth inning due to darkness.
Lefthander Neil Schmitz pitched the first four innings of the game for BGSU, allowing two runs on three hits with one strikeout. Sophomore Tom Oestrike entered in the fifth inning and gave up the go-ahead run to take the loss (0-1). In two innings of work, Oestrike allowed just three hits and struck out one. Matt Hundley allowed two runs in one-third of an inning while Keith Laughlin got the final two outs for the Falcons.
Wasserman (2-for-2), Hunt (2-for-4) and Spencer Schmitz (2-for-3) collected six of BGSU's seven hits. Spencer Schmitz and Kevin Longstreth each had a double.
In the two games, eight Falcon pitchers walked just four batters while striking out three.
The Falcons return to Ohio to play a three-game series at the University of Dayton next weekend (March 1-2).
