Bowling Green State University
AKRON
BASEBALL TEAM LOSES 15-4 DECISION TO AKRON
May 15, 2009 | Baseball
May 15, 2009
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - The Bowling Green State University baseball team was held in check by Akron freshman right-hander Alex Loftin while the Zip offense collected 13 hits, including two three-run home runs in the first four innings, on their way to a 15-4 win over Bowling Green at Steller Field Friday afternoon.
With a chance to clinch the Mid-American Conference East Division and regular season titles with a victory, Bowling Green never got its offense, 12th in the nation in batting average and 23rd in runs per game, in gear while the pitching staff gave up 13 hits, the 15th time in the last 16 games the opposition has collected at least 10 hits, and issued 11 walks. Akron also took advantage of every situation leaving only six runners on base.
Bowling Green got the early lead in the game with a pair of runs against Loftin in the opening inning, but only after BG starter Matt Malewitz wiggled out of a two-on, no-out jam in the the opening half inning. Senior shortstop Ryan Shay led off with a four-pitch walk, stole second, advanded to third on a ground out and came home on junior second baseman Logan Meisler's home run to left field, his second in an many days and third of the season.
Akron countered with three runs in the second inning as with two outs and one runner aboard, Phil Bednar singled and lead off hitter Matt Roberts hit Malewitz's first pitch for a three-run home run. It was Roberts' ninth round-tripper of the season.
Bowling Green (27-20 overall) tied it with a single tally in the third inning, but that would be all the Falcons would get until the ninth as Loftin, in his final five innings of work, retired 15 of the last 18 batters he faced.
BG's run in the third came on a sacrifice fly by junior third baseman Derek Spencer to drive in Shay who had led off with a single and advanced on a stolen base and a single.
Akron (19-32 overall, 12-14 MAC) put the game away with six runs in the fourth inning, to end Malewitz's day, and five more in the sixth. UA scored all six of its runs in the fourth after there was two outs. Designated hitter Kyle Hallett had the big blow in the frame with a three-run home run, his second of the season. The other three runs scored on RBI singles by Roberts and right fielder Jake Plata, whose single scored two runs.
In the sixth, one Akron run scored on an error while first baseman Brian Kordal had an RBI single, catcher John Turk drove in a pair of runs with a single and third baseman Ryan Frazee doubled in a run.
Akron added a run in the eighth on a single, a walk and an RBI single by left fielder Brett Savage. Bowling Green added a run in the ninth on a lead off single by freshman outfielder Jon Berti, who advanced on a sacrifice and a ground out, and scored on senior Ryan Price's single to left field.
Loftin struck out seven and walked three in eight innings while allowing only six hits and three earned runs. Freshman Scott Foster pitched the final inning for the Zips. Besides Malewitz (5-2), who went 3.2 innings allowing five hits and eight runs while walking five to suffer the loss, freshman Ross Gerdeman, senior Marty Baird and freshman Steven Barrett also worked in the game.
The Falcons, whose eight hits were its fewest in a league game since Western Michigan held them on six safeties on March 22, got two hits from senior Brian Hangbers, extending his hitting streak to eight games, and the two RBI from Meisler. Every player in the Akron order had at least one hit with Roberts collecting two hits and driving in four while Turk had two hits and a pair of RBI.
When Loftin held the Falcons scoreless for five consecutive innings (fourth through the eighth), that was the first time BG had been kept off the scoreboard for that many successive innings in MAC play since March 27 when Northern Illinois blanked the Falcons for five straght frames in that game.
The Falcons (17-8 in MAC play) begin the final game of the regular season Saturday with a one-half game lead over Ohio (17-9), which has won its first two games of its series with Buffalo with 11th inning and ninth inning walk-off home runs, and a one-game lead over Kent State (16-9), which has split its first two games with Miami this weekend. A Bowling Green win will earn them the division and regular season title along with the #1 seed for the tournament, but all three teams can still stake claim to the title. Kent State and Bowling Green tied for the division and regular season titles last year with 16-8 records with KSU getting the #1 seed by virtue of winning the season series with BG, which is also the case this season if they would end the season tied.
The Bowling Green game with Akron Saturday will also be the last at home for five seniors who will be recognized prior to the 1 p.m. game. Brian Hangbers, Ryan Shay, Marty Baird, Ryan Price and Dusty Hawk will be honored in the short ceremony.
