April 30, 2010
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Bowling Green State University took full advantage of the windy conditions Friday afternoon at Steller Field, as the Falcons hit five home runs to help defeat the Miami University baseball team, 14-8, in the series opener, despite a late charge that saw the RedHawks (20-21, 7-9 Mid-American Conference) score six runs in the final two frames. Bowling Green (20-18-1, 10-6 MAC) won its 10th straight game with the victory and has now captured eight in a row in the MAC.
BGSU starter Brennan Smith (4-4) kept Miami off balance the majority of the game, as he threw 7.1 innings and allowed five runs (four earned), three of which came in the eighth inning, on five hits with 10 strikeouts. Junior starter Tyler Melling (Bellefontaine, Ohio) took the loss (2-5) for the RedHawks, conceding 10 runs (eight earned) on 14 hits with a pair of punch-outs and a walk in 5.1 innings of work.
The Falcons pounded out 20 hits, nine of which went for extra bases, while Miami mustered up eight base knocks. Sophomore designated hitter Jordan Jankowski (McMurray, Pa.) led the 'Hawks at the plate, going 3-for-4, including a double, with a pair of RBI, while freshman first baseman Kevin Bower (Indianapolis, Ind.) notched two hits, also with a two-bagger and two RBI. Junior right fielder Adam Eaton (Springfield, Ohio) blasted his team-leading 10th home run of the season, as well, for Miami and scored two runs.
Nine Falcons recorded a hit, including seven with multiple hits, led by center fielder T.J. Blanton, who went 3-for-4, coming a triple shy of the cycle, with four RBI and three runs scored. Left fielder Dennis Vaughn also had a trio of hits with a round-tripper for Bowling Green and tallied three RBI while third baseman Derek Spencer smacked two home runs and totaled three RBI.
The Falcons took a 1-0 lead in the second inning as shortstop Jon Berti led off with a double and scampered home on a twin killing but the 'Hawks answered in the next half inning, as Eaton sliced a two-run blast to opposite field that just cleared the left-field wall. Bowling Green tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the third however, when Vaughn singled in Blanton.
Berti then smacked a solo shot to right-center to put the Falcons up, 3-2, while a dropped fly, a double and a single allowed BGSU to notch two more unearned runs in the frame to grab a 5-2 cushion. Spencer added to the lead in the fifth when he crushed a solo homer to left-center field while a pair of two-run blasts, including Spencer's second homer in as many innings, put Bowling Green up 10-2 in the sixth inning, with Blanton having the other two-run shot.
Miami looked to rally in the seventh, as the first two RedHawks reached base, but Smith struck out the next three batters to keep the Falcon advantage at eight. In the bottom of the seventh, BGSU tacked on another four runs on a two-RBI single by Blanton that was followed by a round-tripper from Vaughn for a 14-2 lead.
The RedHawks chipped away at the deficit in the eighth as again the first two 'Hawks reached base. A double by Bower and a single by Jankowski plated two runs with a wild pitch allowing Miami's third run of the inning to score to bring the Red and White within nine at 14-5. In the bottom of the ninth, the RedHawks again went to work, loading the bases with one out. A fielder's choice brought home Eaton while singles by Bower and Jankowski capped another three-run outburst, but BGSU recorded the final out via strikeout to lock up the 14-8 victory.
The RedHawks and Falcons square off again in the middle game of their three-game set at 1 p.m. at Steller Field. With the threat of bad weather looming Sunday, check back with MURedHawks.com for any possible schedule changes this weekend.
--MURedHawks.com--
