Falcons Off To Best MAC Start Since 2011 Following Doubleheader Sweep At NIU

Saturday, April 1

DeKalb, IL

1:05 PM

Bowling Green State University

Northern Illinois

Falcons Off To Best MAC Start Since 2011 Following Doubleheader Sweep At NIU

April 01, 2017 | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: by James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

Final Statistics
Game 1: PDF | HTML
Game 2: PDF | HTML

DEKALB, Ill. – The Bowling Green State University baseball team secured a series win by sweeping Northern Illinois University in a doubleheader on Saturday (April 1) afternoon at Ralph McKinzie Field. Bowling Green is off to its best start after two weekends of conference play since 2011. Bowling Green won the first game, 7-4, before taking the second game by a score of 9-1.

The Falcons are now 3-3 in Mid-American Conference play. The 2011 team also started 3-3 in league play. Bowling Green's two wins today moved its overall record to 7-17. Northern Illinois drops to 8-19 (4-2 MAC).

"I could not be more proud of our ball club," said head coach Danny Schmitz. "We fell down 3-0 in the first inning of game one, and we just refused to let it be that kind of day. Chase Antle really buckled down and gave us a strong start. And then Zac Carey was simply dominant in the second game. There was no pacing in the dugout. It was about as stress free as possible.

"Our offense put it together for 18 innings today. We had big innings, and to score 16 runs in one day was great to see. We had so many standout performances, and we played team baseball, and executed the three phases for the majority of the day. We had a tough task playing our first six conference games on the road, but I think we learned a lot about ourselves, and we will look to build off this 3-3 start."

Offensively, a number of Falcons had huge days. Freshman Jake Wilson went 4-for-10 on the day with six RBI. He went 2-for-5 with four RBI in the first game, and then went 2-for-5 with two RBI in the finale. Senior Greg Basalyga went 2-for-6 with three runs, three walks, a home run and one RBI.

Junior Justin Mott, who caught both games, registered two hits in each ballgame. After going 2-for-4 with two runs in the opening game, Mott conclude his day by going 2-for-3 with a run and RBI. Redshirt-sophomore Jeff Scott went 3-for-8 with three runs and three RBI.

Juniors Derek Drewes and Randy Righter notched single hits in both ballgames. Senior Nick Glanzman broke out of a slump in the series finale by going 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBI and a run. He nearly hit a grand slam, but the ball hit the top of the fence in BGSU's six-run fourth – he had to settle for a double and two RBI.

On the mound, Bowling Green's day was highlighted by Zac Carey's complete game six-hitter. The junior right-hander allowed just one run, but it was unearned. He needed just 98 pitches in the complete game, and he tied his career high with six strikeouts. He walked just one batter. After he set down the first two batters in the eighth, Carey had retired 15-consecutive batters.

He was just one out away from recording five-straight perfect innings when the Huskies got a two-out single. He retired the next batter, and then shut the door in the ninth, finishing off the game by fielding his own position, and posting an assist to wrap up the doubleheader.

In the first game, sophomore Chase Antle picked up his first collegiate win in impressive fashion. Antle allowed three runs in the first inning, and nearly didn't survive, as he threw 34 pitches. But after the first, Antle posted four-consecutive perfect innings, and ended his day by retiring 13-straight batters.

Brad Croy and Kody Brown bridged the gap to Tony Landi, who entered the game in the eighth inning with the tying run on deck. He ended up leaving the bases loaded, before nailing down the save in the ninth. The save was the 15th of Landi's career, which ties him with legendary pitcher Nick Bruns for second-most all-time in program history.

The Falcons came from behind in both games. After NIU scored three in the first inning of the first game, Bowling Green responded by scoring seven of the game's final eight runs. Northern Illinois then scored a single run in the first inning of the finale, but the Orange and Brown plated nine-consecutive runs to secure the victory.

Bowling Green out-hit Northern Illinois, 9-7, in the first game, before doubling up the Huskies in the hit department in the second game by a 12-6 margin. Bowling Green committed one error in each contest, while NIU committed three errors in the finale after registering one error in the first game.

Bowling Green will begin next week with a game at the University of Michigan on Wednesday, April 4. The ballgame is slated to begin at 4 p.m. The Falcons will then welcome the Rockets of Toledo to Steller Field over April 7-9 for the Battle of I-75.