Bowling Green State University
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WESTERN MICHIGAN
Falcons Lose Game, 8-4, And Series To Western Michigan
March 22, 2009 | Baseball
March 22, 2009
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - One big inning proved to be the difference Sunday afternoon at Steller Field as Western Michigan scored seven runs on seven hits in the fifth inning and rode that outburst to an 8-4 win over Bowling Green to take the weekend series two games to one. Bowling Green won the opener, 5-4, before the Broncos evened the series with a 13-12 victory in 10 innings on Saturday.
All seven hits in the fifth for Western Michigan were singles and, at one point in the inning, the Broncos had eight of nine batters reach base safely. WMU had five different players with RBI singles in the frame and sophomore Grant Simotes ended the inning with a two-run single. Two walks and a wild pitch also aided the rally for Western Michigan.
But, the Falcons came right back in the bottom half of the fourth to get some life back as they struck for three unearned runs on two hits making the most of two Bronco errors.
Junior T.J. Blanton led off the inning reaching when he was hit by a pitch. Senior Ryan Shay then reached on an error by the third baseman and both he and Blanton moved up one base. After a ground out, two runs scored on an ground ball hit by senior Brian Hangbers that was misplayed. Hangbers eventually came around to score on a single by junior Dennis Vaughn to right field.
Western Michigan got a single run in the seventh on a double by Matt Abro and an RBI single from Simotes.
The Falcons got that run back in their half of the seventh on an single by junior Logan Meisler that moved Hangbers to third and when the Western Michigan outfielder misplayed the ball he came home to score.
The Falcons had one last chance cut into the Bronco advantage in the eighth. Junior Mark Galvin led off with a single up the middle and Blanton was then hit by a pitch. Shay moved the runners up one base with a sacrifice bunt before junior Tyler Elkins was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. But, Western Michigan junior Derek Mosher came on and retired Hangbers on a pop up to the shortstop and junior Derek Spencer on a fly ball to right field.
Mosher, who earned his second save of the season in the game, pitched a perfect ninth getting the Falcons on a pop up, a strike out and a ground out.
The Falcons left 12 runners stranded in the game, including a situation in the third inning when they had runners on second and third with one out and failed to score. Western Michigan pitchers, while allowing only six hits and one earned run, hit seven BG batters in the contest.
Freshman Ross Gerdeman started and went 4.1 innings allowing five of the seven runs in the Bronco fifth inning before freshman Kacy Dwornik allowed the other two tallies. Senior Dusty Hawk (2.1 innings) and Hangbers (2.0 innings) also worked in the game. Gerdeman suffered the loss, his second in as many decision this season.
WMU starter Eric Heckaman entered the game with an 0-2 record and a 5.73 ERA, but he yielded only one earned run and three hits in his six innings of work. BGSU came into the game with a team batting average of .326 and had collected at least 10 hits in the each of the previous six games.
Vaughn had two hits to lead the Falcon attack while Elkins extended his hitting streak to 13 games, during which he is hitting .466 (27-of-58), with a single and Galvin's single in the eighth increased his hitting streak to eight games.
The Falcons, who are now 7-11 overall and 1-2 in Mid-American Conference play, will return to action Tuesday and Wednesday with games against Findlay and Cleveland State, respectively, at Steller Field. Both games begin at 3 p.m. The Falcons will be on the road for MAC series the next two weekends beginning with a March 27-29 series at Northern Illinois, who swept Buffalo to open their league schedule this weekend.
With the win, Western Michigan, the preseason West Division favorite in the MAC, improved to 5-13 overall and 2-1 in loop action.
