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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Falcons Split Saturday Doubleheader With The Chippewas
April 05, 2008 | Baseball
April 5, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Falcons got two outstanding performances once again by their two transfers from Longwood University on the mound Saturday at Warren E. Steller Field, but were unable to pick up two wins, as the Bowling Green State University baseball team earned a doubleheader split with the Central Michigan Chippewas. BG earned a 10-3 victory in game one to snap a two-game skid with right-hander transfer Frank Berry on the hill, but fell 6-2 in game two, despite a good effort from left-handed transfer Kevin Light.
With the split the Falcons moved to 12-10 overall and 4-1 in the Mid-American Conference, while CMU moved to 10-16 and 2-5, respectively.
In game one, BG fell behind by a 1-0 count after the first inning, but slowly started to heat-up, exploding eight runs in the next five innings combined to hold an 8-2 lead entering the seventh inning. The Chippewas then platted a single run in their half of the seventh, before the Falcons scored the game's final two runs in their half of the eighth to earn their fourth-straight Mid-American Conference victory to start the season - a first since the 2000 season when they started conference play 5-0.
Berry earned the win on the mound in game one, tossing seven full innings as he surrendered just three runs on 11 hits and fanned five CMU batters. The victory moved the Virginia Beach, Va. native to 4-0 on the season as threw a total of 112 pitches and had 70 go for strike, walking just one Chippewa on the afternoon.
Berry was backed up in his effort at the plate by third baseman Derek Spencer, who had a game-high three RBI on a 2-for-2 effort as he also added two runs. Spencer, was 1-of-3 Falcons to finish the game with multiple-hits as left fielder Mark Galvin and right fielder Andrew Foster also collected two hits.
The Falcons big inning of the game came in the bottom half of the fifth. After Ryan Shay led-off with a fly-out to right, Foster collected a double down the left field line to get the first runner on. First baseman Brian Hangbers followed with an RBI single to right that scored Foster and advanced to second on the play after an error by the CMU right fielder. Spencer then doubled down the left field line to score Hangbers, while a Galvin single and a double by Dennis Vaughn also scored runners during the inning.
Charles Wooten replaced Berry in the eighth and didn't allow a single run or hit, as he struck out two finish things off.
Earning the loss in game one for CMU was starter Eric Lawrence (1-3), who went five innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on seven hits.
Pacing CMU in the game were Jeff Helps and Tyler Stovall, who both finished with three hits with Stovall collected the only two CMU RBI in the contest.
In Game two, BG jumped out to 1-0 lead in style. Shay took the first pitch thrown on the day by CMU starter Dan Taylor and put it over the fence in left for his first homer of the season as he collected his first of two hits in the game. That lead held tight till the fourth when the Chippewas put up a three-spot on Light to take a 3-1 lead, before the Falcons made it a one-run affair later in their half of the frame. The game stayed that way till the eighth when CMU stretched their lead out to four with a three-run top half of the inning and never looked back.
Earning the victory was southpaw Dan Taylor (1-2), who tossed a complete-game allowing two Falcon runs on eight hits.
Getting saddled with loss was Light, who in his team-leading fifth start of the season, allowed three runs on four hits in six total innings. The southpaw from Mechanicsville, Va., came a single strikeout away from his season-high total as he struck out five CMU batters in his innings of duty.
Finishing the game for BG were senior relievers Nick Cantrell and Brett Browning, who combined to allow three runs on six hits, recording three strikeouts.
BG was paced in the game by a two-hit effort from Shay, who went 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. Collecting the other Falcon RBI in the second game was designated hitter Chris Gacom, who was 1-for-4.
Designated hitter Jeff Nowaczyk and left fielder Billy Anderson led the way for CMU, with each picking up two hits. Matt Faiman added a game-high two RBI as he went 1-for-2 in limited playing time.
On the day, BG collected 12 total runs on 19 hits and had three errors, while CMU recorded nine total runs on 21 hits, adding six total errors.
The two teams will return to action on Sunday when they play the rubber match of the weekend conference series at 1 p.m. from Steller Field. The game can be heard locally on WFAL 1610 AM as live statistics will be available by visiting www.bgsufalcons.com.
