Falcons Defeat Findlay For First Win At Steller Field In 2016

Tuesday, March 29

Bowling Green, Ohio

3:05 PM EST

Bowling Green State University

Findlay

March 29, 2016 | Baseball

Box Score

By: by James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

Final Statistics: HTML | PDF

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team earned its first home win of the season by defeating the University of Findlay, 5-4, Tuesday (Match 29) afternoon at Steller Field. Bowling Green took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and held onto a lead throughout the rest of the ballgame.

"Aside from our defense, I thought we played a pretty good game today," said head coach Danny Schmitz. "I have a lot of respect for Findlay, and they were a big challenge. We got some big outs when we needed them, and putting up five runs is a step in the right direction for us."

Bowling Green improves to 9-16 on the year with the win, while Findlay – a Division II school – falls to 8-10.

The Falcons plated one run in the first, third, fifth, sixth and seventh. Bowling Green pushed its lead up to 4-1 in the sixth, but Findlay countered with a two-run seventh. The Orange and Brown then inched its lead back up to two runs with a run in the bottom of the seventh, but Findlay nearly tied the game in the eighth.

Although Findlay drew within a single run at 5-4 with their one-run eighth, Kody Brown was able to leave the bases loaded and keep BGSU's lead intact. A Bowling Green error allowed Findlay to score a run, but Brown induced a ground out to second base to escape the jam.

Tony Landi then earned his fourth save of the season by tossing a scoreless ninth. All four of Findlay's runs were unearned, as four Bowling Green errors played a role in Findlay's four tallies. Bowling Green out-hit the Oilers, 10-6.

The Falcons scored the first two runs of the contest, as Matt Smith plated a run in the first with a sacrifice fly, and Greg Basalyga shot a single into left in the third that scored another run. The first two runs were both scored by Riley Minorik. Minorik later drove home a run in the sixth with a sacrifice fly to give BGSU a 4-1 lead.

After Bowling Green's one-run third and a scoreless fourth inning, the two schools traded runs in the fifth. Findlay scored on a passed ball, but in the bottom half of the frame, Logan Giddings scored Basalyga with a double into left-center. Giddings' RBI gave Bowling Green its second two-run lead of the ballgame.

Minorik's sacrifice fly in the sixth gave Bowling Green a 4-1 lead, but a two-RBI single in the seventh allowed Findlay to draw within a single run at 4-3. The Falcons quickly tacked on another run in the bottom of the seventh, as Smith scored on a passed ball.

Bowling Green pitching coach Rick Blanc pieced together and organized an effective staff day for the Falcons, as Bowling Green utilized a total of eight pitchers. Brad Croy got the start for BGSU, and earned the win. He threw three scoreless innings, and picked up the decision due to the fact that he was on a pitch count.

Zach Kendall then threw a scoreless fourth inning, and Mat Szabo and Trevor Farrell combined to get through the fifth. Szabo allowed an unearned run, but Farrell came on to get the last out of the fifth, prior to logging a scoreless sixth. Chase Antle, Devin Daugherty and Brown all pitched two thirds of an inning, before Landi picked up the save with a scoreless ninth.

Bowling Green will host the University of Toledo this weekend at Steller Field in the annual Battle of I-75. The Falcons and Rockets will play a three-game Mid-American Conference series over April 1-3.