Season Opener Spoiled in Loss to ‘Toppers

Friday, February 18

Bowling Green, Kentucky

3:00 pm CT

Bowling Green State University

Western Kentucky University

February 19, 2011 | Baseball

By: by Ryan Gasser, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

BOWLING GREEN, KY. -- Baseball opened up for both Bowling Green cities with the state of Kentucky hosting its neighbors to the north on opening weekend. The Falcons and the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky University met at Nick Denes Field (Bowling Green, Ky.) for a Friday afternoon affair. The Hilltoppers controlled most of the game, including a six-run fourth inning, that propelled them to a 12-1 win over the Falcons.

Box score (.html) | Box score (.pdf) | Updated statistics (.html)
Scorepages (.pdf) -- BGSU | WKU

Charles Wooten (Elmore, Ohio) earned the first start of the 2011 season, though only last three innings and faced four batters in the fourth before exiting, being responsible for WKU's first six runs of the game. Ross Gerdeman (Fort Jennings, Ohio) entered in relief but allowed two additional runs to the four they had tagged Wooten for. By the end of the fourth inning, the Hilltoppers had an 8-0 advantage over the Falcons.

Between the fifth and seventh innings, Bowling Green allowed four additional runs. Chris Miller (Batesville, Ind.) earned his first innings as a Falcon in a relief role in the sixth. After retiring the first two batters, he walked or hit the next four batters and allowed a run to extend the lead to nine runs. He allowed two more runs the following inning after another walk, hit batsman, a RBI single and a run-scoring fielder's choice.

Bowling Green's lone run came on a pinch hit effort from freshman Jake Thomas (Litchfield, Ohio). His single to left field scored Taylor Rhoades (Wheaton, Ill.) from third base after he had reached on a fielder's choice earlier in the inning.

The Falcons were held to five hits on the evening. Western Kentucky starting pitcher Tanner Perkins (LHP) held the Falcons to a pair of hits over a six-inning outing, striking out five.

The Falcons' one and two hitters each had one of their five hits. Leadoff man Andrew Kuns (Oregon, Ohio) and Jon Berti finished 1-for-3. Berti's single in the fourth inning continued an 11-game hit streak that carries over from the 2010 season. The remaining three BGSU base hits were all from pinch hitters that entered later in the game. Freshmen Levi Fisher (Bryan, Ohio), Jake Thomas, and Andrew Kubuski (Elyria, Ohio) all entered as pinch hitters and recorded their first career hit in their first collegiate at-bat.

Bowling Green (0-1) and Western Kentucky (1-0) will return to the diamond on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. CST / 3:00 p.m. EST start in game two of their three game series. Sophomore Nick Bruns is scheduled to start against the Hilltoppers.

Full coverage of Falcon baseball and all 18 varsity sports can be found on the official online home of BGSU athletics, www.BGSUFalcons.com. Be sure to follow the Falcons on Facebook by searching “BG Warriors” or follow them on Twitter through www.twitter.com/WEAREBGBASEBALL.