Falcons Plunder Vikings' Pitching To Win Home Finale

Tuesday, May 17

Bowling Green, Ohio

3:00 pm

Bowling Green State University

Cleveland State University

Clay Duncan went 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI as Bowling Green won 9-5 on Tuesday

May 17, 2011 | Baseball

BGSU uses eight pitchers and four reserves versus Cleveland State to prepare for final MAC series

By: by Matthew Daley, Athletic Communications Intern

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The Bowling Green State University baseball team scored three runs in the first inning while a bevy of Falcon pitchers shut out Cleveland State over the first seven, and the Falcons won their 2011 home finale at Steller Field, 9-5, on Tuesday afternoon.

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Bowling Green (19-28) did not waste any time establishing their offense or building an insurmountable lead. Frank Berry (Virginia Beach, Va.) walked to lead off the bottom of the first in his final game at Steller Field. He came around to score the game's first run thanks to a sacrifice bunt, followed by an RBI single to left field by Jeremy Shay (Garden City, Mich.).

Clay Duncan (Norwalk, Ohio) responded with a sharp line drive single that was deflected by Cleveland State starting pitcher Nate Blankemeyer. After a groundout moved Shay and Duncan up one base, Ryan Schlater (St. Paris, Ohio) threaded a two-out, two-strike single up the middle to score two runs and give the Falcons a 3-0 lead.

The Orange and Brown pushed across two more runs in their second turn at bat. The team received its second straight leadoff walk when Logan Walker (Richmond, Va.) was given a four-pitch free pass by Blankemeyer. Jon Berti (Troy, Mich.) also walked after a pair of Falcons struck out. Shay then chased Blankemeyer with his second RBI single in as many innings.

Cleveland State (12-40) replaced Blankemeyer with reliever Brian Lehto, but Duncan welcomed Lehto with an RBI single on a 3-0 count. The base hit gave BGSU a five-run advantage that they would not relinquish.

While Bowling Green's offense was stealing the Vikings' thunder, Falcon starting pitcher Charles Wooten (Elmore, Ohio) faced the minimum over a sharp two-inning tune-up stint. CSU managed only two base runners, both of whom were eliminated on the base paths, as Wooten earned his fourth win of the season. Two of those have come in the last ten days.

Once Wooten was lifted from the game, seven Falcon relievers followed. Each pitched one complete inning. Ben Singer, Dan Parsons, Ethan McKenney, Chris Miller and Patrick Martin helped shut out the Vikings through seven innings. All told, Cleveland State managed only four hits and struck out five times while BGSU built an 8-0 lead.

Two of those eight Falcon runs were scored in the fifth inning. The team earned four hits in the inning's first five batters – a streak begun by Duncan's leadoff double over the head of Anthony Sambula. The only out in that five-man stretch was a sacrifice fly by Schlater that plated Duncan. Walker also got on the RBI train, scoring Alex Davison (Grand Ledge, Mich.) with a single.

The final two of Bowling Green's nine-run total were scored in the seventh and eighth innings. In the seventh, Berti hit into a bases-loaded fielder's choice at second base to score Taylor Rhoades, who had pinch hit for Walker. Schlater completed the scoring barrage in the eighth by coming home on a sacrifice fly by Patrick Lancaster.

Overall, eight different Falcons managed base hits. BGSU's nine runs were scored by eight different Falcons and were plated by six different batters. Ten of the 13 Bowling Green players to walk to the plate on Tuesday had either a hit, run scored or RBI.

The heart of the Falcon order was especially dangerous on Tuesday. Shay, Duncan and Davison combined to go 7-for-12 with three RBI and four runs scored. Schlater followed in the six-hole with a 1-for-2 performance that included a walk, three RBI, a run scored. Berti did not get a hit in the second spot, but he produced two walks, one of which led to a run.

Bowling Green now turns its attention to a very important weekend of Mid-American Conference baseball at the University of Buffalo. BGSU is 10-13 in MAC play and holds a one-and-a-half game lead over Ohio University for the final spot in the 2011 MAC tournament.

The Falcons' magic number to clinch a tournament berth is three – any combination of three Falcon wins or Ohio losses would give BGSU the spot. Ohio hosts Miami (17-7 MAC). Buffalo, BGSU's opponent, is 2-21 in conference play.

Bowling Green is also still in contention for the seventh seed, as Western Michigan (11-12 MAC) holds only a one game lead on the Falcons for that spot. WMU hosts Northern Illinois for three games this weekend.

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.