Bowling Green State University
AKRON
BG BASEBALL TEAM CAPTURES MAC TITLE WITH 17-9 WIN OVER AKRON
May 16, 2009 | Baseball
Akron vs. Bowling Green Box Score 
May 16, 2009
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - The Bowling Green State University baseball team won its second consecutive Mid-American Conference East Division title as the Falcons offense, as it has all season, came alive after BG fell behind 9-0 and carried the team to a 17-9 decision over Akron at Steller Field Saturday afternoon.
In more ways than one, things did not start well for the Falcons, who needed to beat Akron to secure not only the division title, but the regular season title, by virtue of having the best record in conference play, and the #1 seed for the upcoming league tournament, which starts Wednesday (May 20) morning at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe. Akron also had their tournament hopes hanging on the outcome of the game needing a win to earn the #8 seed after Central Michigan had beaten Eastern Michigan earlier in the day.
For starters, rain hit Bowling Green just as Falcon left-hander Kacy Dwornik was taking his warm-up pitchers on the field just before the game was to start at 1:10 p.m. Both teams then had to endure a 2:02 delay in order to get the game started. Once play did begin, cloudy skies turned to sunny skies, but the Bowling Green winds kicked up with the sunny skies blowing at 25 miles per hour out to right field.
When the game did get underway, Akron built, what seemed to be, an insurmountable 9-0 lead in the first three innings knocking Dwornik out of the game.
The Zips scored four in the opening frame, on four hits, as three straight doubles plated one run, and after a walk and a strike out, Akron had the bases loaded with two outs. Outfielder Brett Savage then doubled to right field clearing the bases and Akron had a 4-0 edge.
The Zips added one run in the second as shortstop Kevin Haas hit his ninth home run of the season to right center. Akron then tacked on four more runs in the third that ended the day for Dwornik. The first run of the inning scored on a fielder's choice then second baseman Phil Bednar doubled down the left field line to knock in the second run. BG senior Dusty Hawk then came on to relieve Dwornik and had his first pitch hit by Matt Roberts over the center field fence for a 9-0 Akron advantage.
At it turned out that would be the end of the Zips offense for the rest of the day. Hawk and sophomore Charles Wooten shut the door over the last 6.1 innings allowing only four hits, three singles and one double, as Akron did not have a runner advance past second in the final two-thirds of the game. The BG pitchers also helped themselves as BG turned double plays to end the sixth and eighth innings.
While Hawk and Wooten were putting up zeros, the BG offense, which came into the series 12th in the nation in batting average (.344) and 23rd in the country in average runs per game (8.7), did not disappoint, one day after being held to four runs on eight hits by Akron righty Alex Loftin and one reliever in a 15-4 loss.
The pendulum began to swing back to Bowling Green in the third inning as BG got to Akron starter Benjamin Danziger, who retired the first seven batters he faced. With one out, right fielder Mark Galvin singled through the right side for the first BG hit. After a ground out, shortstop Ryan Shay's fly ball to right field got up in the jet stream and just made it over the right field fence to give the Falcons some life.
After Hawk got out of the fourth with no damage by Akron, the Falcons completely turned the complexion of the game in their favor with an eight-run fourth inning, the second time this season BG has scored eight runs in an inning, as 11 players batted with junior Derek Spencer hitting two home runs.
Spencer hit his 12th home run of the season to lead the inning off, the first of five straight batters who would reach base safely. Freshman Jon Berti tripled in another run and sophomore catcher Ryan Schlater had an RBI single. Then with two outs, junior Logan Meisler drove in a pair of runs with a single and Spencer hit Akron right-hander Tom Farmer's, who had just come into the game to relieve Danziger, third pitch for his second home run of the of the inning, giving the Falcons the lead for good at 10-9.
After neither team scored in the fifth or sixth innings, the Falcons put the exclamation point on the victory with a single run in the seventh, on a two-out infield single by Schlater, and six runs in the eighth.
Spencer was again in the middle of the damage in the eighth as senior Brian Hangbers doubled home the first tally of the inning before Spencer hit his third home run of the game, and second three-run shot of the contest, to give the Falcons a 15-9 advantage. BG's final two runs scored on wild pitches later in the inning.
But, as much as the offense was the story, the pitching of Hawk and Wooten gave the Falcons a chance to come back. Hawk pitched 2.0 innings allowing three hits and one run while Wooten, who pitched 2.1 innings in Friday's 14-9 win over Akron, tossed the final 4.1 innings allowing only two hits with three strike outs. Hawk picked up his second win of the season while Wooten earned his fifth save of the 2009 campaign. Hawk was the winning pitcher, one year ago almost to the day (May 17, 2008), in a game the Falcons won, 4-3, over Akron to claim a share of the 2008 MAC East Division and regular season titles with Kent State.
Offensively, the Falcons were led by Spencer who was 3-for-5 with the three home runs, one off the school and MAC record equalling his career best, and seven RBI, a career best and one off the school record. Schlater and Meisler each had three hits and a pair of RBI while Shay added two RBI.
Farmer (2-7) was the losing pitcher for Akron (19-33, 12-15 MAC) while Haas led the Zips offensively with three hits and an RBI while Savage had two hits and three RBI.
With the win, the Falcons (28-20, 18-8 MAC) will be the top seed in the MAC Tournament and will play their opening round game on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against the #8 seed, Central Michigan (27-28, 12-15). Bowling Green took two of three games from the Chippewas when they played earlier this season in Mt. Pleasant. It is the second time in BG's nine league tournament appearances the Falcons have been the #1 seed. BG won tournament titles in 1998 and 1999, earning the automatic NCAA Tournament berth that goes with capturing the double-elimination MAC Tournament.
BG also earned its sixth division title and fifth regular season MAC title with its victory over Akron.
The five seniors on the team were recognized before the game in a short ceremony. Brian Hangbers, Ryan Shay, Marty Baird, Dusty Hawk and Ryan Price will all remember their final game at Steller Field.
