Falcons Lose Heartbreaker To Ohio, 8-7

Saturday, April 11

Athens, OH

3:00 p.m. ET

Bowling Green State University

10-19, 4-7

Ohio

19-13, 6-5

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Bowling Green	1	0	2	0	0	2	1	1	0	7	10	1
Ohio	0	0	2	3	0	0	0	0	3	8	14	1

April 11, 2015 | Baseball

Box Score

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

Final Statistics: HTML | PDF

ATHENS, Ohio—The Bowling Green State University baseball team surrendered a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth to the Ohio Bobcats on Saturday afternoon, losing 8-7 on the road. The game was played at Bob Wren Stadium on the campus of Ohio University. With the win, the Bobcats evened the series and improved to 19-13 on the year, 6-5 in Mid-American Conference play. The Falcons dropped to 10-19 on the season, 4-7 in MAC play, with the loss.

"This was obviously a tough loss for us, but we can't dwell on it," head coach Danny Schmitz said. "We have to put this behind us and come out tomorrow and try to win a series, which would be very important for our club to build off of going forward."

The Falcons scored in the top of the first inning, as Brandon Howard came across home in the inning. It was the 17th time in 29 games this season that the Falcons have scored first in a game.

Andrew Lacinak got the start for the Falcons escaping an early jam in the bottom of the second inning. The Bobcats loaded the bases with just one out, but Lacinak was able to get a ground-ball double play to escape the jam and maintain the Falcons' 1-0 lead.

The Orange and Brown extended the lead to 3-0 in the top of the third inning, scoring two runs to knock Ohio starter Conner Sitz out of the game. Kory Brown started things off with a walk and was then sacrificed to second by Howard. After walks to both Trey Keegan and Matt Smith, Greg Basalyga singled home two to give the Falcons the three-run advantage.

In the bottom of the third, Ohio got both runs back, as they followed a leadoff walk with a two-run home run to make the score 3-2. The Bobcats then scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and carried a 5-3 lead into the sixth inning.

In the top of the sixth, the Falcons scored two runs to tie the game at five runs apiece. After two were out in the inning, the Falcons got four straight singles to even the ballgame up. Jesse Rait, Randy Righter, pinch-hitter Derek Drewes and Brian Bien all singled consecutively with two away to bring home two for the visitors.

The Falcons would take a lead in the top of the seventh, as Howard scored on a Basalyga RBI groundout in the inning. For the first time all year though, the Falcons could not hold on for the victory when leading after the seventh inning. BGSU added a run in the top of the eighth inning to take a 7-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth.

Trevor Blaylock came into the game in the bottom of the eighth, and immediately got back-to-back Bobcats out to maintain the Falcons two run lead heading into the ninth. In the home half of the ninth, Ohio got things started as the first three batters reached base. The Falcons turned to the bullpen to try to stop the Ohio rally, but three singles followed a sacrifice fly to give the Bobcats an 8-7, walk-off win.

The two teams will decide the series on Sunday, with first pitch expected at 1:00 p.m. in Athens. True freshman Zac Carey will take the mound for the Falcons, looking to give the Falcons their second straight series win in MAC play.