May 6, 2005
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami University RedHawks (29-13, 10-3 MAC) had their season-best nine-game winning streak snapped on Friday afternoon with a 13-9 loss to the Bowling Green State University Falcons (27-12, 8-5 MAC) at McKie Field. The RedHawks remain just one-half game behind Western Michigan in the race for first place in the Mid-American Conference as the Broncos were defeated 8-0 by Central Michigan.
Junior Jon Franzese (Barrington, Ill.) staked Miami to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning with a towering home run to leftfield off Bowling Green's Alan Brech. Franzese's third home run of the season came with senior Paul Frietch (Cincinnati, Ohio) aboard after he singled to lead off the inning.
Bowling Green got one of those runs back in the top of the third as Josh Stewart's single up the middle scored Kevin Longstreth from second base.
Miami used the long ball again in the third inning to take a 5-1 lead. Senior Brian Canada (Fishers, Ind.) singled to left with two outs to make it 3-1. The next batter, Paul Frietch, blasted his team-leading ninth home run of the year, a two-run shot deep to rightcenter that made it 5-1.
Sophomore Ryne Robinson (Toledo, Ohio) made it 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth when his two-out single to left scored junior Eric Radley (Hermitage, Tenn.) from second base.
In the top of the fifth, the Falcons took the lead for the first time with seven runs on six hits to make it 8-6. The first two runs scored on Stewart's sixth home run of the season. After five more runs crossed the plate, Miami's starting pitcher, Keith Weiser (Hamilton, Ohio), was lifted with two outs in favor of sophomore Jeff Day (West Chester, Ohio). Day retired the only batter he faced in the inning, getting Miami out of the inning with no further damage.
Junior Geoff Orr (Orland Park, Ill.) drove in his team-leading 40th run of the season in the bottom of the fifth with a double down the leftfield line, cutting Bowling Green's lead to 8-7. Orr's double chased Brech from the game as he was replaced by Burke Badenhop with runners on second and third and one out. Franzese, the first batter Badenhop faced, rolled a fielder's choice groundball to shortstop that scored Frietch from third with the game-tying run.
BGSU took the lead in the top of the sixth win an unearned run that made the score 9-8 but the RedHawks responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the frame to tie the game, 9-9. Sophomore Brandon Hillier (Hinsdale, Ill.) singled to centerfield with one out, scoring Radley from second after he had singled and advanced to second on a groundout by Robinson.
A two-RBI single by Andy Hudak gave Bowling Green its third lead of the game in the top of the seventh. With runners on second and third he laced a 3-0 offering from Day up the middle making it 11-9.
A pitching change in the top of the ninth brought freshman Matt Erwood (Atlanta, Ga.) into the game with a runner on first base and no outs. After a sacrifice bunt advanced the runner to third, Andy Hudak drove in his third and fourth runs of the game with a two-run home run to left that made it 13-9 for BGSU heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Despite a leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth by senior John Slone (Cincinnati, Ohio) Miami was unable to mount its second straight ninth-inning comeback as Badenhop retired the final three batters in order to improve to 8-2 on the season.
Day was tagged with the loss after going 3.1 innings and giving up four runs on five hits. Weiser, who didn't factor in the decision, tossed 4.2 innings, allowing eight runs on nine hits while striking out seven.
The RedHawks and Falcons play game two of the three-game series on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Junior lefthander Graham Taylor (Villa Hills, Ky.) is slated to take the hill for Miami.
Notes: SO Brandon Hillier extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a single in the sixth inning.
-- www.MURedHawks.com--
