Bowling Green State University Athletics
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BGSU Drops Game One of MAC Tournament to Ball State, 5-4, in 11 innings.
May 25, 2005 | Baseball
May 25, 2005
Oxford, Ohio - Bowling Green's comeback with runs in the eighth, ninth, and 10th innings fell short as Ball State scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning for a 5-4 victory over the Falcons. The Cardinals scored the game-winner with two outs and the bases loaded in the 11th frame.
Both BSU's Joe Ness and BGSU's Alan Brech came out dealing in the first inning, retiring the respective sides in order. In the top of the second inning BGSU was in business when Steve Raszka was issued a two-out walk and moved to third base with a single by Tyler Wasserman. Wasserman's hit gave him a career-best 10-game hitting streak. A wild pitch put runners on second and third base, but Jimmy Lipari struck out looking to end the Falcon threat.
BSU's Marc Franz led off the bottom of the second inning with a double to right field that found its way past Nolan Reimold. Then C.J. Webb singled down the left-field line that put runners on the corners and no outs. Kyle Dygert flew out and Jon Dollinger struck out looking before Eric Earnhart singled up the middle to score Franz and give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
Brech escaped danger in the third inning when Mike Sullivan led off with a double and Jason Bucholtz was hit by a pitch. A fielder's choice gave Brech runners on the corners with one out. However, Wasserman began a beautiful 5-4-3 double play that kept the Cardinal lead 1-0.
BSU advanced a runner to third base in the third, fourth, and fifth frames but failed to move a runner across home plate thanks to good pitching by Brech and stellar Falcon defense.
In the top of the sixth inning, Eric Lawson led off with a double off the left-field wall on the first offering by Ness. It was Lawson's team-leading 18th double of the season. A sacrifice bunt by Jeff Warnock moved Lawson to third base. It was Warnock's 15th sacrifice bunt of the season and gave him 17 sacrifices for the season, tying the BGSU single-season record by Mike Lanseer in 1977. Nolan Reimold then hit a high chopper to the shortstop that allowed Lawson to score and knot the game, 1-1.
A lead-off double by Eric Earnhart in the seventh inning went for nothing when second baseman Eric Lawson kept the ball and tagged Earnhart out at second base before Brech stepped back onto the pitching mound. The tag-out proved crucial when Matt Singleton followed with a single to right-center field. Mike Sullivan then walked putting Cardinal runners on first and second base. That signaled the end of the day for Brech as senior Burke Badenhop entered in relief. The right-hander got Bucholtz to hit into a fielder's choice which put runners on the corners with two outs. However, a wild pitch by Badenhop allowed Singleton to score and advanced Bucholtz to second base, giving BSU a 2-1 advantage.
In the eighth inning, Kevin Longstreth led off with a single down the right-field line off the first pitch by Cardinal reliever Kyle Heyne. Lawson followed with a single down the left-field line, moving Longstreth to third base. Warnock then grounded into a double play, but the play allowed Longstreth to score, tying the game at 2-2.
In the top of the ninth BGSU went for the lead. Josh Stewart hit a one-out, infield single to second base. He moved to second base on a groundout by Steve Raszka. BSU made a pitching change, bringing MAC Pitcher of the Year Erik Morrison, the nation's leader with 15 saves. Wasserman welcomed him with a triple down the right-field line past a diving Earnhart, scoring Stewart and giving the Falcons a 3-2 lead.
However, BSU answered in the bottom of the ninth inning when Brian Meyer led off with an infield single to the left side of the field. A sacrifice bunt by Earnhart moved Meyer to second base. Singleton then singled to center field, plating Earnhart and tying the game, 3-3. Another sacrifice moved Singleton to second base and a base-on-balls put Bucholtz on with two outs. Brad Miller then walked to load the bases. Franz, though, hit a shot down the third base line that Wasserman snagged and stepped on third base to end the inning, sending the game to extra innings.
Lawson hit a one-out double down the right-field line in the top of the 10th inning, his school-record tying 19th of the season. Warnock then singled to left field, moving Lawson to third base. Reimold then came to the plate and hit a single to left field, bringing home Lawson and giving BGSU a 4-3 lead. A double steal attempt failed when Singleton threw out Warnock at third base for the second out. Hudak then struck out swinging to end the Falcon rally.
Senior Matt Hundley entered in relief for BGSU in the bottom of the 10th inning. Kyle Dygert hit a one-out single and Meyer walked on four pitches before Earnhart singled up the middle, plating Dygert and tying the game, 4-4. Singleton ended the inning, though, when he grounded into a double play to Lawson at second base, moving the game to the 11th inning.
Morrison retired the Falcons in order in the top of the 11th inning, keeping BGSU from scoring for the first time in four innings.
Mike Sullivan grounded out to first base to begin the bottom of the 11th inning before Bucholtz reached on a fielding error by Jimmy Lipari at shortstop. Miller followed with a single up the middle that put runners on first and second base. Franz then flew out to center field for the second out but allowed Bucholtz to move to third base. Webb walked to load the bases and Dygert singled to left field to score the game-winning run.
The extra-inning game was BGSU's third of the season with the Falcons having won their previous two vs. Central Michigan and Northern Illinois. BSU improved to 5-0 in extra-inning games this season.
Hundley (6-2) suffered the loss while Morrison (7-0) got the win. Lawson and Wasserman each finished with three hits apiece while Lawson scored twice. BSU held a 15-11 advantage in hits while the Cardinals stranded 11 runners to the Falcons' six. Just three of BGSU's 11 hits went for extra bases.
The Falcons fall to 33-17 overall while BSU improves to 37-16. BGSU will now play Akron, 2-0 losers to Miami, on Thursday morning at 10 a.m. The loser will be eliminated from the tournament while the winner will play at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 27, against an opponent to be determined.
