Falcons Fall To No. 17 Michigan In Ann Arbor On Wednesday

Wednesday, April 6

Ann Arbor, MI

4:00 PM EST

Bowling Green State University

11-18, 0

Michigan

21-6, 0

Bowling Green

Michigan

April 06, 2016 | Baseball

Box Score

By: by James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

Final Statistics: HTML | PDF

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University baseball team dropped a 5-0 decision to No. 17 University of Michigan on Wednesday (April 6) at U-M's Wilpon Complex. The Falcons hung with the 17^th-ranked Wolverines for quite a while, but Michigan scored two apiece in both the sixth and seventh, turning a 1-0 game into a 5-0 game.

"We hung with Michigan for quite a while, but we didn't get the clutch hits with runners in scoring position," said head coach Danny Schmitz. "That will kill you against a good team. You need to cash in when you have the opportunities. We have a big series against Miami this weekend, and will now turn our attention back to conference play."

The Falcons drop to 11-18 with the loss, while Michigan, who lost yesterday at Notre Dame, improves to 21-6 with the victory.

Michigan took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, but Bowling Green got three innings of one-run ball out of starter Brad Croy. A solo home run from Drew Lugbauer was the lone blemish on Croy's line. The right-hander stranded runners on first and third in the first, got a big strikeout with the bases loaded to limit the damage in the second, and yielded only a two-out single in the third.

The Falcons had chances to break through early in the contest, but couldn't get the key hit. In the fourth, Greg Basalyga and Logan Giddings notched back-to-back hits with two outs, but the Falcons couldn't break through. In the fifth, a pair of walks and a Nick Glanzman single loaded the bases, but Matt Smith lined out to center field to leave the bases loaded.

A spectacular double play gave the Falcons some momentum heading into that top of the fifth inning. After Croy's three innings of work, Zach Kendall entered and pitched a scoreless fourth. Michigan put a runner on third with no outs to leadoff the frame, but a fly out gave Kendall a chance to work out of the inning unscathed. Michigan then lofted a ball into left field, and Smith turned a 7-2 inning-ending double play. Smith made the catch, then gunned it to the plate to complete the double play. Catcher Justin Mott blocked the plate well, and applied the tag.

The Falcons continued to piece together the game on the mound, as Trevor Farrell replaced Kendall and worked a scoreless fifth, but Michigan plated two runs in the sixth off Devin Daugherty, inching its lead up to three runs at 3-0.

Michigan would put the game out of reach with a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh. Ann Arbor Pioneer graduate Rob Zenas entered, however, and set down the first two batters he faced to get the ballgame into the eighth inning. Kody Brown and Tony Landi combined to throw a scoreless eighth, but the five-run deficit was too much for the Falcons to overcome.

Basalyga had a really strong day at the plate in the loss. He reached base safely in all four trips to the dish, as he went 2-for-2 with two singles and two walks. Riley Minorik hit a double for the Falcons after coming on as a pinch hitter. Bowling Green's other hits were recorded by Glanzman and Giddings.

The Orange and Brown will continue Mid-American Conference play this weekend in Oxford, Ohio with a three-game set against the Miami University RedHawks. Friday's game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. first pitch, while Saturday's game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. The series will conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m.