Falcons Split Doubleheader with Vikings

Saturday, March 19

Cleveland, Ohio

1:00 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Cleveland State University

March 20, 2011 | Baseball

By: by Ryan Gasser, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

AVON, Ohio -- Bowling Green played a grand total of 22 innings, scored 13 runs and in both games on Saturday afternoon scored more runs than they had hits. The Falcons dropped its first contest with the Cleveland State Vikings (Horizon League) by a 6-4 count and rallied in a big way for a nightcap win after nearly being no-hit.

GAME ONE (L, 6-4) -- Box score (.html) | Box score (.pdf) | Play by play (.pdf)

Bowling Green lost game one, 6-4. The Vikings were led by solid pitching by Anthony Sambula, who finished with 7.2 innings and had allowed only one run until his final frame of work.

The Falcons put one run on the board in the second inning while with two out to take an early lead in the opening game. Patrick Martin (Oregon, Ohio) was hit by a pitch and then advanced to second after he beat the throw to the bag following a failed pickoff attempt by the lefty, Sambula. Ryan Schlater (St. Paris, Ohio) then singled to left center field, driving in Martin. The Falcons did not score again until the eighth inning.

Cleveland State, on the other hand, scored three times in the third inning. All runs in the third were unearned. Sambula helped himself by hitting a one-out single to center field and later advanced to third on two wild pitches before scoring as a result of an error in the field. Singles by Alex Johnson and Matt Kirkwood led to two additional runs to score and gave CSU a 3-1 lead.

The Vikings added two more runs in the fourth inning. Bowling Green starting pitcher Cody Apthorpe (Windham, Ohio) loaded the bases through a single, walk and hit batsman before giving way to fellow sophomore Mike Frank (Maumee, Ohio). Frank allowed a single to Wynn, good for two RBI and an extension of that lead to four runs, 5-1.

Cleveland State took a 6-1 lead in the seventh inning on a Alex Johnson RBI single before Bowling Green threatened again. Having allowed only two hits through seven innings, Sambula was permitted to continue further but nearly let the Falcons back into the game in the eighth.

He hit the first two BGSU hitters he faced before Matt Pitzulo (Poland, Ohio) hit a RBI double down the left field line to score Andrew Kubuski (Elyria, Ohio) from second base. Sambula then hit his third batter of the inning and walked another to allow a second BGSU run to score, trimming the deficit to 6-3. The Falcons scored their fourth run after the Vikings turned a 5-3 double play when John Calhoun fielded a ground ball nearly on the bag.

Bowling Green got no closer to victory and went 1-2-3 in the ninth inning to close out the defeat.

GAME TWO (W, 9-7, F/13) -- Box score (.html) | Box score (.pdf) | Play by play (.pdf)

Cleveland State took an early 2-0 lead after two innings and added a third and fourth runs in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. By inning seven, the Vikings had accumulated their fifth run and had kept the Falcons without a hit. Travis Miller tossed seven innings of no-hit baseball before suffering his first blemish of the night.

Miller came back out for the eighth inning, but after walking the leadoff man and allowing a single through the left side to #T.J. Losby# (Bryan, Ohio) he was lifted for reliever Brandon Cooper. Between Miller, Cooper and Tyler Ruch the Falcons not only ruined a no-hitter and a shut out but also scored seven times in the eighth inning to take a two run lead, 7-5.

After Miller left the game with two runners on, Cooper loaded the bases by walking his first batter faced. Swinging the order back to the top of the lineup, Brandon Howard (Cincinnati, Ohio) notched a RBI single and another walk forced home Bowling Green's second run.

A second pitching change in the inning brought Ruch in just hours from earning a save in game one in an attempt to stop the bleeding. The change was unsuccessful as Ruch not only allowed his inherited runners to score but also three more, in addition. Jon Berti (Troy, Mich.) immediate welcomed him to the game with a two-RBI single up the middle. Later in the inning with runners on the corners and two outs, Clay Duncan (Norfolk, Ohio) and the Falcons benefitted from an error by CSU second baseman Jason Haditsch that allowed a run to score the game-tying run and extended the inning. Andrew Kubuski made the Vikings pay with a triple into deep center field, scoring two runs and making the game a 7-5 Falcon advantage.

The Falcons let the lead slip away allowing two unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth and the game went into extra innings. It took four extra frames to decide a winner, though Bowling Green had a chance to win as early as the tenth inning.

Utility player Levi Fisher (Bryan, Ohio) reached base in his first plate appearance of the game after being hit by a pitch and advancing to third on a throwing error in the field. With two outs, a wild pitch skipped away from catcher Matt Kirkwood. Fisher hesitated and decided to retreat back to third base, but not before Kirkwood caught the freshman in a pickle. After one back-and-forth sequence, Fisher was tagged out heading back into third base, ending the tenth inning.

The thirteenth inning turned out to be the deciding frame when in the top half of the inning the Falcons scored twice to put the pressure on the Vikings. Andrew Kubuski led off with a beautifully placed bunt single on the right side of the infield before he was joined on the bases by T.J. Losby via a walk. A wild pitch by reliever Tyler Wynn moved each runner up 90 feet and a critical error by shortstop Tom Carter allowed both runs to score and give the Falcons the cushion they needed to complete the win.

With the split, Bowling Green improves to 6-9 while Cleveland State moves to 4-11 on the year. The two teams will meet again on Sunday afternoon for the final game of their three-game set to be played this weekend. Sunday's game will begin at 12 noon at All Pro Freight Stadium (Avon, Ohio).

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.