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Bowling Green State University
OHIO
Falcons Drop a Pair in Doubleheader
May 19, 2006 | Baseball
May 19, 2006
ATHENS, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University baseball team lost a heart-breaking 7-6 game in the first of two games Thursday evening at Ohio University. A complete game shutout then doomed the Falcons in a game two loss.
GAME ONE RECAP
Junior Eric Lawson wasted little time getting the offense started with a base hit to begin the game. After an error allowed Lawson to reach third base, Junior Kurt Wells drove in the first run with a groundball. BGSU notched their second run thanks to an RBI-single by Freshman Brian Hangbers.
Freshman Marty Baird then hustled out an infield single to begin the second inning. Two batters later, Lawson drove a double over the center fielder's head to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead.
Ohio lit the scoreboard for the first time in the bottom of the third with a solo homerun by Matt Stiffler that just cleared the right-center field wall. The Bobcats followed the third inning with a two-run fourth, evening the score at 3-3 heading into the fifth.
With the help of a stolen base and a passed ball, OU transformed a single into an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh. Just as they had before, the Bobcats followed a run-scoring inning with another. An eighth-inning homer to left field by Bryant Vitt forced the Falcons to overcome a two-run deficit with just three outs remaining.
One out is all they would need to take the lead, however. Bowling Green's first two batters reached base safely before a botched sacrifice bunt attempt resulted in the first out. Lawson then stepped into the batter's box and delivered his fourth hit of the day, this time a lead-changing, three-run homer that struck the left-field foul poll.
With a 6-5 lead, the Falcon defense fell apart in the home-half of the ninth. First, a throwing error allowed a runner to score from second. Later in the inning with two outs, a groundball to the left side of the infield was hit for the potential third out, but a close call at first went in favor of the Bobcats. Bobcat right fielder Anthony Gressick then made a heads up play as he caught BGSU off guard and sprinted around third to beat the throw at home for the game-winning run.
GAME TWO RECAP
Ohio kept the momentum rolling into game two with a first-inning run. The Bobcats first two batters recorded hits before a passed ball handed OU another unearned run. Freshman Chris Gacom then halted the Bobcat scoring with a double play in which he stepped on third base before rifling the ball across the diamond to first for the second out.
Bowling Green fell behind 3-0 after allowing two runs on three hits in the second inning. It was Freshman Dusty Hawk who ended the rally this time, forcing a fly out to end the inning after entering the game in relief.
The Falcons struggled to get the bats going in game two, falling victim to a complete game shutout by Bobcat starter Yale Silverman. Ohio tallied nine more runs to make a 12-0 final score. The Brown and Orange play their last game of the 2006 season Saturday afternoon at 1 PM in game three against the Bobcats. Freshman Marty Baird is scheduled to make the start for BGSU.
