Bowling Green State University
AKRON
FALCONS MOVE ONE STEP CLOSER TO MAC TITLE WITH WIN OVER AKRON
May 14, 2009 | Baseball
May 14, 2009
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - The Bowling Green State University baseball team moved another step closer to their second consecutive Mid-American Conference division and regular season title with a 14-9 win over Akron Thursday afternoon at Steller Field.
The win was BG's seventh straight in league play and improved their record to 17-7. That coupled with Kent State's 14-3 loss to Miami, gives the Falcons a two-game lead over the Golden Flashes. Ohio University hosts Buffalo in a game that began at 6 p.m. OU begins that game 2.0 games behind the Falcons with the same league record as Kent State.
The Falcons fell behind early in the Akron contest, but the offense generated 19 hits, the 36th time this season they have had 10 or more hits and the 30th time in the last 35 games, and three Falcon pitchers combined to strike out a season high 15 Akron batters. Eleven of Akron's last 15 outs were by strike out.
The Zips (18-32, 11-4 MAC) jumped on top early with a three-run first inning against BG starter Brennan Smith, who struggled through most of the game without his best stuff. Shortstop Kevin Haas singled with one out, and when designated hitter Jake Plata followed with a single and first baseman Brian Kordal earned one of three walks from Smith, Akron had the bases loaded. After Smith got one of his six strike outs for the second out, right fielder Brett Savage hit a sinking line drive to right center field that Bowling Green center fielder T. J. Blanton made a diving catch of but lost control of just before hitting the ground. All three Akron runners scored on the Savage double.
Bowling Green came back to score twice in the second frame as junior designated hitter Dennis Vaughn had the first of four hits on the day with a lead off infield single. After Akron starter Andrew Brown retired the next two batters on strike outs, sophomore Ryan Schlater hit his first home runs of the season, second of his career, over the left center field fence and the Falcons were on the board. It was the first of a career high four hits for Schlater on the day.
Akron got to Smith for two more runs in the third inning to build a 5-2 advantage. With one out, Plata walked and Kordal followed with his fifth home run of the season, this one to right center.
The Falcons came right back in the bottom half of the inning to take a 6-5 edge with four runs on five hits. Senior shortstop Ryan Shay led off with a single and came all the way around to score on a double by senior first baseman Brian Hangbers, who advanced to third when the relay throw from the outfield was fumbled. Junior second baseman Logan Meisler then singled in Hangbers and advanced to third on a double by junior third baseman Derek Spencer. Vaughn then hit the first pitch up the middle to drive in the final two runs of the inning.
Akron tied it up in the fifth, and ended the day for Smith, as catcher John Turk singled in the run with two outs. BG sophomore right-hander Charles Wooten came into the game and got the final out of the inning on the first of his six strike outs.
But, the Bowling Green offense, which leads the MAC and is 12th in the country hitting .349 as a team, kept things going taking the lead for good with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Meisler led off the inning by hitting his second home run of the season and then Vaughn was in the middle of the second run stroking a single up the middle with one out. After the second out of the inning, junior right fielder Mark Galvin moved Vaughn up one base with a single through the right side and Schlater followed with a double to left field that plated Vaughn.
BG then broke the game open with their 11th five-run inning of the season to make it 13-6 after seven innings.
Vaughn got things going in the seventh with his third home run of the season, an opposite field shot over the left center field fence, on the first pitch of the inning from Akron reliever Frank Turocy. After the next two batters grounded out, Schlater doubled and Blanton was hit by a pitch. They both moved up one base on a successful double steal and Shay walked to load the bases. Hangbers then singled through the right side to drive in two runs and Meisler followed with an RBI single to score Shay. Spencer then doubled down the right field line to score Hangbers.
Akron got three runs back in the eighth as the first four batters reached on hits, scoring one run, with the bases still full and BG freshman Kacy Dwornik coming into the game to relieve Wooten. Dwornik retired the first batter on a fielder's choice that drove in one run. After he struck out a batter, Savage singled in his fourth run of the game before the Falcon left-hander got the last out on an infield pop up.
The Falcons completed the scoring with one run in bottom of the eighth as Galvin walked with one out and Schlater tied the school record with his third double of the game to put runners on second and third. Blanton then doubled to the base of the fence in center field to score Galvin while extending his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games.
Dwornik finished the game with a 1-2-3 ninth, getting two of the outs on strike outs.
Wooten earned the win with 2.1 innings of relief work to improve to 4-2 on the season while Dwornik went the last two frames yielding only one hit. Brown suffered the loss for Akron going 5.0 innings allowing 12 hits and eight earned runs to fall to 2-5 on the season.
Vaughn and Schlater both had four hits and three RBI to lead the Falcon offense. Schlater is the ninth player in school history to double three times in a game. Vaughn had three doubles in last Saturday's win over Buffalo. Meisler had three hits and three RBI while Hangbers drove in three runs with a pair of hits. BG freshman outfielder Jon Berti did not get a hit in four at-bats ending his 14-game hitting streak, and an 11-game hitting streak in league games.
Bowling Green and Akron will play at 1 p.m. Friday with a Bowling Green win, no matter what else happens, securing the division and regular season MAC titles while also securing the top seed for the upcoming league tournament.
