The Falcons baseball team fell in two out of three games in their series against the Miami RedHawks, getting swept in a Friday doubleheader 10-4 and then 9-6, before winning the series finale on Sunday 3-1.
“When we play the three phases, we have a chance to be a pretty good ball club,” Falcons head coach Danny Schmitz said. “Hopefully the guys will realize that and continue to get better, that’s our goal each day.”
The first game of the Friday doubleheader started off with Miami getting a solo home run in the first inning to go up 1-0, before the Falcons rebounded with an RBI single by freshman outfielder Jake Wilson. However, Miami countered in the fourth with another home run, this time scoring two runs for a 3-1 lead.
The sixth saw the Falcons offense begin a rally, as senior outfielder Greg Basalyga drove in an RBI double, which was followed by a two RBI double from sophomore designated hitter Joe McGuinness to give the Falcons a 4-3 lead. The advantage would not last long, though, as Miami came back in the seventh with an RBI double, RBI single and a three run homer to take an 8-4 lead. Miami plated two more in the eighth with a two RBI double to claim the 10-4 victory.
“We got to enjoy our lead for about three pitches,” Schmitz said. “After that, they got a base hit and a double and the game was tied, then after that, give them credit, they tacked on four more and put the game out of reach.”
The second game had Miami getting on the board in the first again with a solo home run. Miami then added to the lead in the third with a three run homer and another solo shot to go up 5-0 early. The Falcons got a run back in the bottom of the third, as senior infielder Nick Glanzman came home on a wild pitch, but Miami countered with another solo home run in the fourth.
However, in the bottom of the fourth the Falcon offense closed the gap significantly as sophomore designated hitter Riley Minorik walked with the bases loaded to drive in a run, then sophomore infielder Cam Daugherty hit a three RBI double to make it 6-5. In the fifth, the Falcons tied the game up as junior infielder Derek Drewes scored on a passed ball. Miami regained the advantage with an RBI single in the sixth, then grabbed two more runs in the eighth on a passed ball and RBI sacrifice fly. The Falcons were unable to come back late as Miami took the 9-6 win.
“We didn’t execute when we had the opportunity, whether it was offensively or defensively,” Schmitz said. “You don’t want to give teams extra outs and we did that and that came back to haunt us.”
As the game scheduled for Saturday was rained out, the final game of the series was moved to Sunday, where the Falcons scored early as junior catcher Justin Mott got things started with an RBI single. Sophomore outfielder Jeff Scott then followed it up with an RBI double, then Mott capped off the scoring as he came home on a wild pitch for a 3-0 lead.
Neither team scored again until the fifth, when Miami got on the board with an RBI double. However, senior pitcher Tony Landi and junior pitcher Kody Brown held Miami scoreless for the remainder of the game as the Falcons took the 3-1 victory.
“The pitching and defense shined today,” Schmitz said. “We had the one inning where we manufactured three runs and it held up for us.”
The team will next play on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the road against the Ohio Bobcats.