Bowling Green State University
BUFFALO
Hangbers' Walk-Off Homer Gives Baseball A Saturday Doubleheader Sweep Of Buffalo
May 10, 2008 | Baseball
May 10, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - A three-run walk-off homer by junior Brian Hangbers led the Bowling Green State University baseball team to 9-8 come-from-hehind win in game two of Saturday's doubleheader against the University at Buffalo at Warren E. Steller Field, which gave the Falcons a sweep of the day thanks to 6-2 win in game one. The wins also gave the Falcons a sweep of the three-game Mid-American Conference series, as BG earned its' seventh-straight victory and six-straight in conference play.
With the victories, the Falcons improved to 27-18 overall and 13-8 in the MAC, while the Bulls dropped to 13-35 and 6-17, respectively.
The Falcons' wins also brought them within a half game of MAC East Division leader Kent State and put themselves one league victory or an Akron loss on Sunday to Kent State away from clinching a second-place finish or higher in the division.
That positioning however, was due in large part to game two's come-from-behind victory, as the Falcons recovered from losing a ninth inning lead to get themselves an important win. BG took an early 1-0 lead in the third and held it till the sixth thanks in large part to a stellar pitching performance from starter Kevin Leady. Unfortunately though, despite adding a run in the bottom of the fifth, UB would strike for three runs in the top half of the sixth to grab its' first of two leads in the game, before adding two in the seventh to push its' lead to 5-2.
A four-run rally though by the Falcons in the bottom half of the seventh would give BG a 6-5 lead heading to the eighth inning. In a scene very similar to what occurred in Friday's first game of the series, the Falcons scored all their runs in the seventh off UB reliever Jeffrey Hains, as it appeared he would be responsible for two come-from-behind Falcon wins.
Marty Baird got the rally started with a one-out RBI-single that scored Chris Gacom from second to bring BG within two. After a groundout on the following play, Ryan Shay, who had his 17-game hitting streak erased in game one, would belt a bases clearing double down the left field line to the tie the game at 5-5. He then scored the go-ahead run when Andrew Foster brought him home on a single to left for his fourth RBI of the day.
Just when it looked as though the game may follow the same script as Friday's however, the Bulls let the Falcons know they had other plans. UB plated three runs in the top half of the ninth to march out to an 8-6 lead and what appeared to be a come-from-behind victory. But the Falcons weren't done yet.
With one out to start the inning, Shay would draw a five-pitch walk to get on base. He was then moved to second on a single by Foster, which setup the game's final play.
After taking a first pitch strike from UB pitcher Dan Francis, Hangbers got a hold of his second offering, taking Francis' pitch over the wall in right center for his first and only hit of the day. It was the tenth homer of the season for the Hamilton, Ohio native and his fourth game-winning RBI, as he finished the game 1-for-5 and tied Shay game-high three RBI. Shay would finish 2-for-3 in the game, while Foster led the way in the hit department going 3-for-5, adding a run and an RBI.
Getting credited for the win on the mound for BG in the game was freshman Brennan Smith, who improved to 3-2 on the year. Taking the loss for UB was Francis, who fell to 0-5.
Leading the way for the Bulls in game two was first baseman Nick Walczak, who finished 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Shivam Bhan and Charlie Karstedt both added two RBI.
Leady, who got the start in the game went five and 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits. UB starter Chaz Mye tossed six and 2/3 innings, as he surrendered five runs on seven hits.
The dramatic game two performance by the Falcons followed a great pitching performance from left-handed starter Kevin Light in game one. The Mechanicville, Va. native tossed just the second complete-game of his collegiate career and second this season by a Falcon starter, as he allowed just two runs on four hits and fanned four UB batters.
Light would earn his fourth win of the season in his effort, which moved his record to 4-3, while Bulls' starter Jesse Reinstein was saddled with the loss, falling to 1-5 on the year.
Light's win didn't come without some work though, as BG fell behind 2-0 in the top half of the second, before taking the lead for good with three runs in the home half of the third.
A two-RBI double by Foster would tie the game at 2-2, before a two-out RBI-single by Derek Spencer gave the Falcons the lead for good.
After tossing 37 pitches in the first two innings, Light would allow the Bulls to reach base just twice in the next five innings, as the Bulls could only muster two hits on him the rest of the way.
BG would add single runs in the home half of the fourth, fifth and eighth innings to stretch its' lead to 6-2, which wound up being the final count.
Leading the way for BG in game one was Foster, who went 2-for-4 and drove in a game-high three runs. Spencer and Logan Meisler each then added two hits and an RBI, as BG moved to 7-1 this season when playing two games in the same day.
UB was led in defeat by shortstop Jacob Rosenbeck, who went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
BG out-hit UB 8-4 in game one and 12-8 in game two, improving to 20-2 on the year when out-hitting an opponent.
The Falcons will return to the diamond on Tuesday afternoon when they host the Xavier Musketeers in their regular-season home finale. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Steller Field, as live statistics will be available at www.bgsufalcons.com, via gametracker, which can be found on the team's schedule page.
