Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
DAYTON
Three-Run Falcon Comeback Downs Dayton, 7-5
April 20, 2005 | Baseball
April 20, 2005
Bowling Green, Ohio - Three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, including a go-ahead two-run triple by sophomore Eric Lawson, gave Bowling Green a 7-5 come-from-behind victory over vising Dayton on Wednesday afternoon at Warren Steller Field.
With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, sophomore Kurt Wells smacked his first career home run to right field to tie the game, 5-5, off of reliever Jeff Mercer. One out later, sophomore Josh Dietz walked, bringing in UD's Craig Stammen. Left-handed hitter Steve Raszka then pinch-hit for Mike Barnard and promptly singled to right field, moving Dietz to second base. After Jimmy Lipari entered the game to pinch-run for Dietz, Lawson drove a pitch to center field. UD's Bobby Getty made a diving attempt to record the final out, but he missed and the ball rolled all the way to the outfield fence, scoring Lipari and Raszka. Left-fielder Roberto Ramos sprinted to retrieve the ball, threw to the shortstop who relayed to home plate, just cutting short Lawson's bid for an inside-the-park home run.
However, the damage was done. BGSU closer Matt Hundley entered in the ninth and retired three of four batters he faced, ending with a strikeout of Ramos to pick up his fourth save of the season and eighth of his career.
Freshman Brett Browning (2-0) earned the victory by pitching 1.2 innings of relief, giving up no runs and no hits. He walked one and struck out three.
Dayton took a 1-0 lead in the first inning off of starter Adam Gumpf, but BGSU then scored the next four runs, including three in the second inning and one in the third inning. Wells drove in Warnock then scored on a three-base error by the UD right-fielder on a Tyler Wasserman hit in the second inning. Mike Barnard added an RBI-single in the second for a 3-1 BGSU lead. Andy Hudak had an RBI-double in the third inning for the 4-1 Falcon advantage.
UD (22-15) plated a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth innings to stake a 5-4 lead that would last until BGSU's heroics in the eighth inning.
Lawson, Hudak, Jeff Warnock, and Wells each finished with a pair of hits while BGSU held a 13-8 advantage in hits for the game. UD stranded 12 runners while BGSU left six.
BGSU improves to 23-11 overall and hosts Kent State this weekend (April 22-24) in a key Mid-American Conference series at Warren Steller Field. Friday's game is scheduled for 3 p.m. while Saturday's and Sunday's games are scheduled for 1 p.m. starts.
BGSU Notes...
• Head Coach Danny Schmitz is one win shy of becoming the first BGSU coach in ANY SPORT to reach the 400-win plateau. Schmitz' record entering Friday's game stands at 399-355-4 (.542 pct.) in 15 seasons with the Brown and Orange.
• BGSU improved its home record to 11-2 this season. The Falcons are 313-213-7 all-time at Warren Steller Field and 177-75 over the past 11 seasons.
• After Wednesday's 2-for-4 performance, SR Andy Hudak has moved into the top-10 list in five BGSU career offensive categories (runs, doubles, total bases, RBIs, batting avg.) and is on the verge of breaking into that list in hits and home runs.
• Free parking for Saturday's game vs. Kent State will only be available at the Perry Field House due to an event at the BGSU Ice Arena. Fans will be charged on Saturday to park in the BGSU Ice Arena parking lot.
