Banjoff's Grand Slam Blast Sparks Bowling Green To Rout Of Rival Rockets

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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team took the first leg of the Battle of I-75 on Tuesday (April 30) with a 17-9 victory. The non-conference win over Toledo marks the 24th win of the season for BGSU and the 12th in the month of April. The Falcons will conclude the month with a 12-4 record, including an 8-1 record at home in April.

Toledo jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but a six-run bottom of the second for Bowling Green, highlighted by a Leighton Banjoff grand slam, pushed the Falcons in front 6-4. The two teams traded runs through the next three half innings for a 7-6 BGSU advantage going into the fifth. Over the next three innings, spanning the fifth through the seventh, Bowling Green outscored Toledo 10-3 to secure the victory in the first of four scheduled meetings this season against the Rockets.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Toledo scored two in the first and two in the second to jump out to a 4-0 lead.
Landon Roque began the bottom of the second with a double to left. A single through the left side from TJ Takats put runners at the corners before a walk to Gavin Ganun loaded the bases. Cooper McKenzie and Nathan Archer followed with walks of their own to force home Roque and Takats, respectively.
With two outs in the inning and the bases still loaded, Leighton Banjoff blasted a grand slam to clear the bases and make the score 6-4 in favor of BGSU.
Toledo scored in the top of the third making it 6-5 BGSU.
Takats hit a solo home run in the bottom of third to make it 7-5 Falcons, adding an insurance run for Bowling Green.
Toledo responded with a home run to begin the fourth inning, cutting the lead down to 7-6.
Ganun started the scoring in a four-run fifth for Bowling Green, launching a solo home run to right.
Following Ganun's solo shot, McKenzie drew a walk followed by an Archer single to put runners at the corners. A fielding error allowed Caden Parker to reach and McKenzie to score. A wild pitch later in the inning brought home Archer for a 10-6 BGSU lead and a Toledo pitching change.
After the change, Jack Krause drew a walk with Parker taking third on a wild pitch. Banjoff put a ball in play that resulted in an error and Parker scoring for an 11-6 score through five innings.
Toledo scored in the top of the sixth to bring the score to 11-7.
Roque led off the bottom half with a single before a walk to Takats and a wild pitch put runners at the corners. Ganun put a ball in play, resulting in an error and a run from Roque. Later in the inning, Parker singled through the right side to score Takats for a 13-7 BGSU advantage.
A two-run single in the seventh for Toledo chipped away at the score, 13-9.
Bowling Green brought their answer quickly again. Banjoff walked followed by a bunt single for Sam Seidel. An error on a ball hit by Roque loaded the bases to set up a two-RBI single from Ganun, scoring Banjoff and Seidel for a 15-9 tally.
The Falcons added two more in the inning. Archer and Parker singled in back-to-back at-bats with nearly identical hits through the right side. Archer's scored Ganun and Parker's scored McKenzie for a 17-9 score and eventual final.

STAT LEADERS

Luke Krouse: W (1-0), 3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER, 1 K
Jacob Turner: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 3 K
Gavin Ganun: 2-for-3, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB
Leighton Banjoff: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB
TJ Takats: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB
Nathan Archer: 3-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB
Landon Roque: 2-for-6, 1 2B, 2 R
Caden Parker: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 R

FALCON STAT FACTS

As a team, the Falcons have now scored 10+ runs in 19 of their 38 games this season and have eclipsed seven runs 27 times.
Nathan Archer scored twice in the game, bringing his season runs scored total to 54. That mark moves Archer into sole possession of ninth all-time for a single-season, surpassing Ryan Shay's 2008 campaign with 53.
Archer has now reached in 10 straight for the Falcons and has also drawn a walk in eight consecutive games as well.
Sam Seidel utilized his seventh inning bunt single to extend his on-base streak. Seidel has reached in all 31 games he's played in this season as well as 42-straight going back to last year.
Leighton Banjoff belted his second grand slam of the season in the game. On the year, Banjoff has eight home runs with two of them being grand slams. Banjoff has now reached base in 15 consecutive games as well.
Jack Krause drew a pair of walks in the game to bring his on-base total to 28 for the Falcons. His career walk total is now 93, one shy of the top 10 all-time for career walks.
For the fourth time this season, Gavin Ganun registered a four-RBI game for the Falcons. He added his sixth home run of the season and scored three times.
Picking up the win on the mound, Luke Krouse recorded his first collegiate win as a member of the Falcons.

UP NEXT
The Falcons will be back at Steller Field on Wednesday (May 1) against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. BGSU and OU will start at 12 p.m., first finishing a game from April 2 that was suspended going into the seventh inning. The two teams will then play the regularly scheduled nine-inning game approximately 40 minutes after the first game of the day concludes.

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