Falcons Win In Ten Innings At Wright State Behind Basalyga's Three-RBI Performance

Tuesday, April 19

Dayton, OH

6:30 PM EST

Bowling Green State University

14-23

Wright State

24-12

Bowling Green

Wright State

Falcons Win In Ten Innings At Wright State Behind Basalyga's Three-RBI Performance

April 19, 2016 | Baseball

Box Score

By: by James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

Final Statistics: HTML | PDF

DAYTON, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team picked up a 7-6 victory over the Wright State Raiders on Tuesday (April 19) night at Nischwitz Stadium. Greg Basalyga, who drove in three runs, gave the Falcons the lead for good with a double in the top of the 10th inning.

Wright State – who participated in the NCAA Tournament last year – entered the game with a 24-11 record. The Raiders were dealt just their third home loss of the season, as Wright State entered play with a 9-2 home record.

Smith led off the tenth with a single, and Basalyga doubled him home to cap off a huge day at the plate. Basalyga, who registered six RBI last week, finished the day 3-for-5 with three RBI, one run and two doubles. Tony Landi – who pitched two scoreless innings – secured the win with a scoreless 10th inning. With the victory, Bowling Green improves to 14-23 on the season.

"This was a great win for us. Wright State is a very good baseball team, and extremely difficult to beat at home," said head coach Danny Schmitz. "We battled the entire night, and Greg Basalyga was huge for us offensively. This was a team that played very well in the NCAA Tournament last year, and they've been playing good baseball this year. I am very proud of how our team played tonight."

The Falcons got off to a quick start, as Smith and Basalyga poked back-to-back doubles with two outs, staking Bowling Green to a 1-0 lead. Wright State countered with a two-run second, but the Orange and Brown battled right back and reclaimed the lead in the top of the third with a three-run frame.

Riley Minorik started the rally by reaching on an error, which allowed him to advance to second base with no outs. Smith later singled with one down, putting runners on the corners, before Basalyga drove in his second run of the ballgame by singling into left field.

The inning almost ended as R.J. Williams struck out with two runners attempting a steal, but the throw to third base was not on target, allowing Smith to score. Logan Giddings promptly singled to right field, pushing Bowling Green's advantage to two runs at 4-2.

After two innings from Bowling Green starter Brad Croy, Rob Zenas pitched a scoreless third. The Raiders hit a home run off Zenas in the fourth to pull them within a single run, but Chase Antle entered and put out the fire. With runners on second and third and only one out, Antle kept BGSU's lead intact with consecutive strikeouts.

The momentum then carried into the fifth for the Falcons, as Bowling Green earned the run right back to take a 5-3 lead. Smith led off the frame with a single, move to second on a Williams single, and later moved to third on a Cody Callaway fly out, before coming around to score on a wild pitch.

Antle hurled a scoreless fifth, strikeout out another batter, and the Falcons plated a sixth run the very next half frame. Nick Glanzman reached base with a one-out bunt, and a throwing error allowed him to take third base on the play. Bowling Green's next batter, Minorik, scored Glanzman with a perfectly executed squeeze bunt. Minorik's RBI gave the Falcons a 6-3 lead.

The Raiders pushed across another run in the bottom of the sixth, and threatened for more, as Wright State put runners on second and third with two outs. But Devin Daugherty put out the fire by coming into the game, and quickly inducing a ground out, allowing the Falcons to take a 6-4 lead to the seventh.

Wright State, however, scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to send the ballgame into extra innings, before Basalyga's game-winning double in the 10th.

The Orange and Brown will continue its stretch of five-consecutive away games, and return to Mid-American Conference play, by taking on the Ball State Cardinals this weekend in Muncie, Indiana. Friday's (April 22) game is slated to start at 3 p.m., while the Saturday (April 23) and Sunday (April 24) games will begin at 1 p.m.