Bowling Green State University
BUFFALO
Ninth Inning Blunder Dooms Falcons in 2-1 Loss
May 11, 2007 | Baseball
May 11, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University baseball team dropped another heart-break Friday afternoon after giving up two runs in the top of the ninth inning for a 2-1 defeat. Senior Tyler Johnson was excellent, allowing no earned runs in 8.1 innings pitched.
It was a pitchers' duel at Warren E. Steller Field as neither team could muster a run through the first six frames. The Falcons broke through first with a seventh-inning score. Sophomore Ryan Shay began the inning with a triple that went all the way to the wall in right-center field. Two batters later, Freshman Derek Spencer finished off a hard-fought at bat with a run-scoring single through the left side of the infield to halt the stalemate at 1-0.
Despite a two pitchers warming up in the bullpen, Johnson took the mound for the ninth inning, looking for his fourth complete game of the season. The Tipp City, Ohio native fanned the first Buffalo batsmen before being relieved by fellow Senior Adam Gumpf after a single and walk put two runners aboard for UB. The next hitter was given a free pass as well to load the bases with one out. A very long at-bat next, ended with a dribbler down the third base line. Unfortunately, the third base man made an errant throw in an attempt to catch the runner sprinting home. The throw rolled far enough away from the catcher that two runners scored for Buffalo. A botched sacrifice squeeze attempt for the Bulls ended the inning.
Shay kept the hot bat coming with a flair down the right field line to get thing going in the home-half of the ninth. Shay then advanced into scoring position thanks to a SAC bunt by Senior Jeff Telmanik. A strikeout and groundout combo by the next two Falcons ended the rally and the game, however.
Game two of this weekend's three game set is scheduled to begin at 1 PM on Saturday. Sophomore Dusty Hawk is the probable starter for the Brown and Orange.
