Bowling Green State University Athletics

Pitching, Hitting Come Together For Falcons
April 24, 2004 | Baseball
April 24, 2004
Kent, Ohio - Bowling Green used strong pitching and 16 hits to defeat Kent State on Saturday afternoon, 6-3, at Gene Michael Field. The Falcons scored a run in six of nine innings to pick up their 20th win of the year and stay .500 in the Mid-American Conference.
David Barkholz led off the game with a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and moved to third base on a groundout by Eric Lawson. Andy Hudak then singled him home, but was thrown out a second base trying to stretch it into a double.
BGSU then added another run in the second inning for a 2-0 lead when Barkholz hit a two-out single to right field, scoring Jimmy Lipari from second base.
Meanwhile on the mound, left-hander Keith Laughlin was cruising. He struck out the side in the first inning and fourth innings and faced the minimum through the first five full innings. In the first five innings, Laughlin had struck out 10 batters, picked off one runner at first base, and helped another get caught stealing when he broke for second base. He ended striking out a career-high 11 batters in six innings of work to pick up his second win of the season (2-1). He walked three and allowed just five hits, four coming in the bottom of the sixth frame where KSU plated two runs.
In the top of the sixth BGSU took a 3-0 lead with a run brought home via an RBI-single by Nolan Reimold, scoring Hudak from second base. The Flashes then cut the lead to one run, 3-2, with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth frame.
The Falcons finished strong, though, scoring a run in each of the last three innings. On the mound, junior Matt Hundley entered in the seventh inning in relief of Laughlin. The right-hander allowed just one run on four hits over the final three innings to pick up his second save of the season. Hundley struck out two and walked none.
The Falcons pounded out 16 hits off of five different KSU pitchers. Nine of those hits came from BGSU's one-through-four hitters, including three each from Hudak (3-for-4) and Reimold (3-for-4). Barkholz finished with two RBIs.
BGSU turned three double plays and committed no errors. The Flashes stranded just four runners while the Falcons left 11 on base. Jason Brunke (3-5) picked up the loss.
BGSU improves to 20-11 overall and 7-7 in the MAC while KSU falls to 20-20 overall and 7-7 in the MAC. The two teams end their three-game series on Sunday, April 25, at 1 p.m.