Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
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WESTERN MICHIGAN
Falcons Defeat WMU, 11-3
May 23, 2004 | Baseball
May 23, 2004
Bowling Green, Ohio - Bowling Green rallied from a 3-1 deficit to score the game's final eight runs and defeat visiting Western Michigan, 11-3, in the regular-season finale. The Falcons pounded out 12 hits, including home runs by Andy Hudak and Tyler Wasserman.
The Falcons entered Sunday's contest with still a chance of earning a spot in next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament. A three-way tie created by a Northern Illinois loss to Toledo and a Ohio victory over Akron would have put BGSU in the postseason. However, Akron defeated the Bobcats, 9-7, and NIU defeated Toledo, 6-5, to end any berth possibility for the Falcons.
Prior to the start of Sunday's game, BGSU's five seniors were honored. The group included David Barkholz, Dino Cowell, Ryan Lindquist, Neil Schmitz, and Spencer Schmitz.
BGSU took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when a pick-off attempt on Barkholz at first base got past the first baseman and went down the right-field line. First baseman Tony Scheffler caught up with the ball as Barkholz was heading to third base. His throw, though, sailed over third base, allowing Barkholz to come home on two WMU errors.
WMU came back, though, with three runs on three hits in the fourth inning off BGSU starter Alan Brech. That would be all the Broncos would muster as the freshman righthander allowed just one hit over his last 2.1 innings. He lasted 6.1 innings, scattered seven hits while walking one and striking out four.
The Falcons tied the score, 3-3, in the bottom of the fourth inning with a pair of runs, one coming off a sacrifice fly by Spencer Schmitz and another via a Jimmy Lipari RBI-single.
BGSU then broke the game open with four runs in the fifth inning. One run came home on a Hudak single, another came on Schmitz' second sacrifice fly of the game, and two scored on a single by Jeff Warnock for a 7-3 lead. The Falcons added another in the seventh off of Wasserman's first home run of the season, a solo shot to left field.
Three final runs crossed in the eighth inning, one off of a RBI-double from Nolan Reimold and two more off of Hudak's two-run blast to right field.
Three Falcons seniors pitched the ninth inning, including Lindquist, Cowell and Neil Schmitz. It was Schmitz' 91st career appearance, tops all-time at BGSU and second all-time in MAC history.
Reimold finished the season on a 13-game hitting streak, Lipari ended on a 11-game hitting streak, and Lawson ended on a 10-game hitting streak. Reimold finished the year with a .404 batting avg. and .749 sluggin pct., among the tops in the nation.
The Falcons end the season 28-19 overall and 13-11 in the MAC. WMU ends the year 21-33 overall and 7-17 in the MAC.
