The Falcon baseball team took one of three against the Ohio Bobcats, winning 7-3 on Friday before falling 12-2 on Saturday and losing 12-4 on Sunday.
On Friday, the Falcons got on the scoreboard first with sophomore first baseman Adam Furnas driving in an RBI single and senior shortstop Neil Lambert also hitting an RBI single to allow the team to go up 2-0 early in the third inning. While Ohio would turn around in the bottom of the inning as sophomore designated hitter Aaron Levy drilled an RBI single, the Falcons would respond in the fifth as freshman third baseman Ryan Johnston was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in a run and sophomore left fielder Dylan Dohanos came through big with a bases-clearing 3 RBI double to make it 6-1.
In the sixth, the team added another run as senior designated hitter Brad Croy got an RBI single and while Ohio looked to crawl back into the game late as Levy hit a solo homer in the seventh and sophomore shortstop Treyben Funderburg also had a solo home run in the eighth, the Falcons held on to win it 7-3.
Falcons sophomore pitcher Andrew Abrahamowicz earned the win, going six innings with no earned runs allowed on eight hits and no walks. Ohio senior pitcher Kenny Ogg took the loss with five innings pitched, allowing six earned runs along with nine hits and two walks.
“This was a great way to begin another important weekend,” Falcons head coach Danny Schmitz said. “We had a number of key two-out hits, and Andrew Abrahamowicz kept putting up zeros.”
With Saturday’s game moved up to a morning contest due to impending rain at the scheduled start time, Ohio got the early start with senior first baseman Rudy Rott hitting a two-run homer and junior catcher Tanner Piechnick getting a solo shot in the first inning as the Falcons trailed behind 3-0 early. Rott came back again in the third courtesy of an RBI single, but the Falcons responded with an RBI double in the fourth by senior catcher Joe McGuinness to make it 4-1.
In the bottom of the inning, however, Levy worked a bases-loaded walk and junior third baseman Trevor Hafner came home on a wild pitch to make it a 6-1 lead. McGuinness came through again for the Falcons as he hit a solo home run in the sixth, but Ohio responded with a two-run homer courtesy of freshman left fielder Trevor Lukkes in the bottom of the inning for an 8-2 lead.
Ohio added to the advantage in the eighth inning, as Piechnick was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, sophomore second baseman Michael Richardson also worked a bases-loaded walk and Funderburg grabbed an RBI single with another run coming in on an error as Ohio went on to win 12-2.
Ohio freshman pitcher Jack Liberatore took the win, going five innings with one earned run and five hits and a pair of walks given up, while Falcons freshman pitcher Tyler Hays was hit with the loss, with six earned runs allowed on seven hits and a walk over 3 ⅓ innings.
“Today wasn’t our best game,” Schmitz said. “But we came here to win a series, and that’s what I told the guys after the game.”
On Sunday, the Falcon offense struck early with Croy and senior second baseman Riley Minorik each hitting RBI singles in the first inning for a 2-0 lead, but Ohio responded in the bottom of the inning as Levy scored on a wild pitch. In the second, Ohio took the lead as sophomore center fielder Sebastian Fabik hit a two RBI triple and Lukkes added an RBI single for a 4-2 advantage.
The Falcons cut the lead in half in the third as Lambert got an RBI groundout, but again, Ohio came back with an RBI double from Richardson, followed by Hafner and Richardson each scoring on wild pitches, junior catcher Nathan Mallott capitalizing on a throwing error to add a run and Fabik getting an RBI fielder’s choice to cap off the five-run inning. Ohio tacked on another run in the fourth with a Funderburg RBI single to make it a 10-3 game.
The teams went scoreless for the next couple innings until the bottom of the seventh, when Levy earned another RBI single and Rott got an RBI groundout. In the ninth, senior first baseman Anthony Smith had an RBI sacrifice fly for the Falcons, but Ohio took the 12-4 victory to claim the series.
Sophomore pitcher Brett Manis took the win for Ohio, as he went two innings with one earned run on a pair of hits and a pair of walks, while Falcons freshman pitcher Will MacLean took the loss with six earned runs allowed on six hits and no walks over two innings.
The team will next play on Wednesday afternoon at home against the Dayton Flyers.