Falcons Stymied By Ohio In MAC Tournament Opening Round Loss

Wednesday, May 20

Avon, Ohio

9:30 a.m. ET

Bowling Green State University

22-28

Ohio

33-19

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

May 20, 2015 | Baseball

Box Score

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

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AVON, Ohio—The Bowling Green State University baseball team struggled in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Wednesday morning, falling 6-2 to the No. 3 seed Ohio Bobcats. With the loss, the Falcons move into the loser's bracket and will play on Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. against No. 2 seed Kent State.

"All that we can do now is move on and focus on tomorrow's game," head coach Danny Schmitz said. "It doesn't do us any good to worry about today's game because it is in the past. All of the guys know that we will have to play better tomorrow to stay alive in this tournament."

One of the few bright spots for the Falcons came on the mound, as junior Devin Daugherty tossed five scoreless innings in relief and allowed just one hit. Daugherty's long-relief performance was critical in saving a bulk of the Falcons' bullpen, as BGSU will now be tasked with winning at least five games over the next four days to earn the MAC Tournament championship.

Bowling Green had their leadoff runner on in five different innings, but managed just two runs off Ohio starter Jake Miller. Miller, who tossed a complete-game, struck out seven Falcons.

The Falcons took an early lead in the top of the first, scoring first for the 34th time this season in 51 games. Kory Brown was hit by a pitch to begin the game, and advanced into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Brandon Howard. Trey Keegan then hit a shot towards the right side, and when it kicked off the second baseman's glove, Brown scampered around from second to give the Orange and Brown a 1-0 lead.

Ohio bounced right back in the bottom of the first inning, getting their leadoff runner on via walk before sacrificing him to second on a bunt. After a flyout gave the Falcons two outs, Ohio's Jake Madsen pulled a single through the right side of the infield to tie the game at 1-1.

After both Miller and Bowling Green's Jason Link posted 1-2-3 innings in the second, the Falcons were unable to take advantage of a leadoff single in the top of the third. Brian Bien singled up the middle to start the third frame, and then moved into scoring position on a bunt by Brown. But, two groundouts followed and Bien was stranded at third to end the inning.

The Bobcats pounced, taking advantage of the Bowling Green missed opportunity to score three runs—all with two outs—to grab the lead for good at 4-1. Two singles gave the Bobcats runners on the corners, but Link was able to mix in two outs also, to start the inning.

BGSU opted to work carefully with Madsen, who had tied the game up with a single in the first. Link eventually issued a walk on a 3-2 pitch. But, then the trouble began, as Ohio took advantage of the bases-loaded situation, registering a walk and single to score three runs in the inning.

The Bobcats were right back to work in the bottom of the fourth, as the first two Ohio batters reached to knock Link out of the game. In came Daugherty, who would allow just one hit in relief. Unfortunately for the Falcons, that hit came after a sacrifice bunt moved two OU runners into scoring position and gave the Bobcats a 6-1 lead.

The Falcons had their leadoff runner on in each of the final four innings, but Miller continued to limit the damage. In the sixth, Howard served a single over the infield to start the inning, but the Falcons were retired in order after that.

In the seventh, Greg Basalyga was hit by a pitch to begin the frame, but the next three Falcons were also retired. In the eighth, Bien began with a walk, but two strikeouts and a ground out later, Ohio was out of the inning. Bien was the only member of the Falcons' lineup on base multiple times in Wednesday's game, going 1-for-1 with two walks.

Only in the ninth would the Falcons do something with a leadoff batter reaching, as Matt Smith got on with an infield single to get things started. After a flyout, Nick Glanzman hit a double off the wall in left field to score Smith from first and make the final deficit four runs, at 6-2.

Bowling Green now turns their attention to Thursday's elimination game. The Falcons will be looking to keep their season alive with a win. BGSU will be out looking for revenge. as Kent State swept them just two weeks ago.