Howard Comes Up Home Run Shy Of Cycle Against Maine

Saturday, March 15

Auburndale, Fla.

10:00 a.m.

Bowling Green State University

6-12

University of Maine

7-12

Maine

Bowling Green

March 15, 2014 | Baseball

Box Score

Slow start dooms Falcons in finale of Russ Matt Invitational

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

Box Score: Game 18 vs. Maine

AUBURNDALE, Fla.—The Bowling Green State University baseball team closed out play at the Central Florida Russ Matt Invitational on Saturday morning, falling to Maine by a final score of 14-5. With the loss, the Falcons drop to 6-12 overall, finishing up the spring trip at 4-5. Bowling Green went 3-3 in Russ Matt Invitational play, defeating Yale, Evansville and Bucknell.

Maine jumped out to a 7-0 lead after two innings on Saturday morning, knocking starter Mike Frank out of the ballgame early. Frank has now thrown 246.0 career innings, good for a fourth-place tie all-time with teammate Cody Apthorpe.

Redshirt freshman Andrew Lacinak came out of the pen in relief of Frank, tossing 3.2 innings of one-hit baseball. He struck out three and did not allow a run.

Maine added three more runs in the top of the sixth inning against the Falcons, before Bowling Green got on the board in the bottom of the sixth.

Trailing 10-0, head coach Danny Schmitz decided to go to his bench for pinch-hitter Brandon Howard to begin the home half of the sixth. Howard would smack a double down the right field line. The next batter, another pinch-hitter, Alex Davison would single to score Howard and get the Falcons on the board.

Maine would add four runs in the top of the seventh inning, to take a 14-1 lead. Ethan McKenney and Johnny Crawford were both bright spots out of the pen for the Orange and Brown in the game, as they combined to throw a scoreless final two innings. McKenney struck out two, while Crawford struck out one in his collegiate debut on the mound.

Howard, who was inserted into the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, sparked the Falcons in Saturday's game. The redshirt junior from Cincinnati, Ohio went 3-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. He came up just a home run, and at-bat, shy of the cycle, as he singled, doubled, and tripled over the final three and a half innings.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Howard would reach on an infield single. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Jeremy Shay would single him home for the Falcons' second run of the afternoon.

Trailing 14-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Addison Rospert would get things going with a one-out double to left field. With two outs, Dustin Peper would reach on an infield single—a hard-hit ball that would take a precarious hop, allowing him to reach safely. With runners on the corner, Crawford would walk to load the bases. With the sacks full of Falcons, Howard would then slice a liner into the right field corner, clearing the bases with a three-RBI triple.

The Falcons would not be able to get any closer, falling to the Black Bears 14-5. Bowling Green is scheduled to be back in action on Tuesday afternoon for their home opener, when they will take on Eastern Michigan University in a non-conference matchup, beginning at 3:05 p.m.