Falcons Sweep in Doubleheader and Series Against EKU

Saturday, March 20

Richmond, Ky.

12:30 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Eastern Kentucky

The Falcons defeated the EKU Colonels by a combined score of 37-25 to complete the weekend sweep and improve to 6-7-1 on the season.

March 20, 2010 | Baseball

By: by Ryan Gasser, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

GAME ONE -- BOWLING GREEN (19) vs. EASTERN KENTUCKY (10)
Game 1 box score (HTML)
Game 1 box score (PDF)
Game 1 press release (PDF)

After six lead changes and two ties were broken, the Bowling Green Falcons used a nine-run eighth inning to break a 10-10 tie and score a season-high 19 runs in their 19-10 win over Eastern Kentucky University in game one of a Saturday afternoon double header.

Bowling Green freshman Michael Frank received the start for the Falcons and took the Brown and Orange 5.2 innings giving up seven earned runs before giving way to the bullpen.

Two Falcons had four hits in the lid lifter coming from the leadoff and number-nine spots in the order in Matthew Pitzulo and #T.J. Blanton#, respectively. Pitzulo had a career day going 4-for-5 with three runs, two RBI and jump starting the Falcon offense in the eighth inning with a leadoff solo homerun before the team plated eight additional runs in the frame. Blanton also set a new career high with a seven RBI performance after hitting four-for-five with three homeruns, also a career best.

Blanton hit one of his three homers in the third inning to get the Falcons on the board on a solo shot to left field. Bowling Green added another run when Pitzulo single up the middle to score Jon Berti from second base. After Eastern Kentucky added a run in the bottom half of the third, the game was tied at two.

After Ryan Schlater doubled and scored on a grounder to the right side of the EKU infield, Blanton blasted his second homerun over the right center field fence, putting two on the board. Through four innings, the Falcons had a 5-2 lead.

Frank continued to roll and had four of his six strikeouts in his first four innings of work. He allowed a two-run homerun to Jayson Langfels to cut the Colonel deficit to one run, 5-4. Between the sixth and seventh innings, the two teams combined for 11 total runs, five from Bowling Green and six from Eastern Kentucky.

Blanton continued his career day with his third consecutive homerun, this time a two-RBI jack to center field giving the Falcons a 7-4 lead. The Colonels took a one run lead after the sixth inning ended, lighting the Falcon pitching staff for four runs in the bottom of six.

Despite striking out two EKU hitters in the sixth, Frank allowed his second and third homeruns of the day, both two-run shots to Colonels Michael Garcia and Richie Rodriguez. After the lead shifted to the Colonels side, 8-7, lefty Patrick Martin closed the inning out.

After a pair of RBI singles by Dennis Vaughn and Tyler Elkins plus a run-scoring sacrifice fly by Ryan Schlater, Bowling Green regained the lead, 10-8 before the seventh inning stretch. Eastern Kentucky fought back and tied the game for the second time in the bottom of the seventh with their fourth homerun, again, of the two-run variety.

With a 10-10 tie going into the eighth inning, Bowling Green broke the tie for good with a nine-run eighth inning between two EKU pitchers. After a Jon Berti groundout, Matthew Pitzulo continued his career day and sparked the Falcon offense with his first career homerun, blasting a pitch over the left field fence for his fourth hit of the day.

The rest of the Falcon scoring was done with two outs in the eighth. The inning could have ended after Matt Harris struck out both Dennis Vaughn and Ryan Schlater, but Schlater's third strike went wild and resulted in an error, an extra BGSU base runner and the extension of the inning. A bases loaded walk to Mark Galvin scored Logan Meisler from third before David Borcherdt notched two more runs on a pinch-hit single through the right side making the score 14-10.

Austin Rexroat entered the game for the Colonels to take the hill, but the run scoring continued with T.J. Blanton's name being called once again after his third two-RBI hit of the day. Blanton cracked a single to center field scoring both runners on second and third base. As if his day had not been complete as it stood, Blanton stole both second and third base during the next BGSU at-bat. An error by second baseman Dustin Dunlop score Blanton from third, increasing the BGSU lead to seven.

The final two BGSU runs came on Logan Meisler's two-RBI triple to right center field, scoring Jon Berti and Pitzulo. After the battlefield was clear and the third out recorded, Bowling Green posted nine runs and took a 19-10 lead into the ninth inning for Ross Gerdeman to close the door on the Colonels.

Reliever Patrick O'Brien earned his first career win after his appearance to close out the seventh inning, walking one and striking one hitter out. Gerdeman pitched two scoreless innings, also walking and striking out one Colonel hitter.

The top of the BGSU lineup went a combined 7-for 16 (.438), scoring six times and knocking in five runs-batted-in. Blanton anchored the bottom of the lineup with his career-best 4-for-5 day with a trio of homeruns and seven RBI.

GAME TWO -- BOWLING GREEN (7) vs. EASTERN KENTUCKY (6)
Game 2 box score (HTML)
Game 2 box score (PDF)
Game 2 press release (PDF)

Another late surge against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels gave the Bowling Green Falcons their sixth win of the season after a 7-6 victory in game two of their double header Saturday evening. A four-run sixth inning completed a late comeback in the seven inning affair for the Falcons, led by senior T.J. Blanton and junior Clay Duncan who both went 1-for-3 with a homerun and two RBI.

Eastern Kentucky took an early lead on starting pitcher Kevin Leady and the Falcons after a walk and an errant pickoff attempt put Jayson Langfels on second base, only to be followed up by a RBI double to right field by Anthony Ottrando , putting the Colonels up 1-0.

Looking for the lead back, the Falcons' Clay Duncan made his one hit on the day count by putting two on the board with his first homerun of his collegiate career. On an 0-1 count, Duncan took the second offering and put it over the left field fence, also scoring Dennis Vaughn.

The Colonels tied the game on a Bryce Labhart RBI single through the left side in the bottom of the second, then retook the lead on a two-run single to left by Jacob Daniel before Leady struck out Langfels for the final out of the second inning.

Ryan Schlater partook in the homerun hitting parade when in the top of the third inning he put a two-run offering over the left field fence bring the score back to a one run lead for the Colonels, 4-3.

A RBI single by Michael Garcia the very next EKU at-bat gave the Colonels their two-run lead back, but Bowling Green was ready to answer with the blow that would send the Falcons off with the victory.

Similarly to how the Falcons won the first game of their doubleheader with EKU, the Brown and Orange again created a two-out rally that put four runs on the board in the top of the sixth inning. In a seven inning game, the Falcons again gave the Colonels only six outs to generate a late comeback, and again, could not do so.

With two down in the top of the sixth, Andrew Kuns collected his second hit of the game with a single through the right side of the infield before #T.J. Blanton# returned to the plate. After a career game in the early game of the double header in which he went 4-for-5 with three homeruns and seven RBI, he added his fourth homerun of the day and ran his day RBI total to nine with a two-run shot to left field against Greg Terry, tying the game at five.

Jon Berti landed a single and stole a base after reliever Ryne Purcell entered the game, and not a moment too soon. Ryan Schlater batting in the two-spot in this game drilled a double to left on a 3-2 count scoring Berti from second. The RBI double gave the Falcons the lead, 6-5, and would be the last time the Falcons would trail or be tied in the game. Senior Logan Meisler added an insurance run the team would later need with a single to right field, scoring Schlater and giving the Falcons a 7-5 lead to take into the seventh inning.

The Colonels added one run in the sixth inning against Leady before making way for Charles Wooten and Patrick O'Brien. With a runner on second following a hit batsman and a wild pitch, Langfels hit a run-scoring single to right field on a full count, bringing the Falcon lead to only one. However Wooten eliminated the EKU threat after settling in on the mound and striking out Ryan Faidley swinging for the final out of the sixth inning.

Patrick O'Brien entered the game for the Falcons in the final frame and sat three consecutive Colonels down in order with three fly outs to end the game and seal a 7-6 win for Bowling Green. It was his first career save for the Brown and Orange.

Notable performers this weekend include, first and foremost, T.J. Blanton who went a combined 5-for-8 (.625) with four homeruns, nine RBI, two stolen bases and slugged an incredible 2.125 just in the double header on Saturday. For the weekend, he finished 7-for-13 with 19 total bases.

Patrick O'Brien pitched a near-flawless 1.1 innings over two appearances, allowing no hits while striking out one hitter and walking one while earning both his first collegiate win and save.

Six different Falcons finished the weekend slugging 1.000 or better including Matthew Pitzulo (1.000), Andrew Kuns (1.000), Ryan Schlater (1.083), David Borcherdt (1.333), Clay Duncan (1.333) and T.J. Blanton (1.462).

With two wins on Saturday, the Falcons (6-7-1) complete the sweep of the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (7-10) and next play the West Virginia Mountaineers on Tuesday, March 23 in Chillicothe, Ohio. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.

Bowling Green will then make a quick turnaround for their home opener on Wednesday (March 24) at Warren E. Steller Field. Bowling Green and Central Michigan will face off in a non-conference game on Wednesday, beginning at 3:00 p.m.

The home opener will also mark the introduction of the BGSU Baseball Gameday Central, found at the online home of Falcon Athletics, BGSUFalcons.com. Gameday Central will feature rosters, up-to-date statistics, game notes and a live, interactive game blog. Many other interactive extras and links to information for your Falcon baseball team will also be available on Gameday Central. Simply go to the BGSU baseball homepage and click on the link entitled “Gameday Central”, or click on the Gameday Central link embedded in each release prior to every series.