The Falcon baseball team was swept by the Michigan Wolverines, losing 5-4 on Sunday after falling 10-7 on Saturday and falling 8-6 on Friday.
“We had an opportunity to win all three games,” Falcons head coach Danny Schmitz said. “It’s disappointing, but sometimes you’ve got to go through hard times to get to the good times. We’ve got to stay positive, we’ve got to keep working and we’ll keep getting better and hopefully we can find a way to execute when we need to execute.”
Sunday’s game saw the Falcons jump out to the early lead as sophomore outfielder Jake Wilson hit an RBI single in the second inning, however Michigan recovered to tie it up on a run scoring double play in the third. Michigan grabbed the lead in the fourth on a sacrifice fly, then added an insurance run in the fifth with an RBI fielder’s choice.
They added two more runs on a two RBI single in the seventh, until the Falcons offense came back in the eighth as junior designated hitter Brad Croy drove in a pair of runs with a two RBI double, followed by senior infielder Randy Righter getting a run home while reaching on a throwing error. However, the team would leave the bases loaded and would be unable to complete the comeback as Michigan held on to win 5-4 and finish off the sweep.
“We executed great in the top of the eighth, but we’ve got to continue executing,” Schmitz said. “The effort was really good and the last couple of games the guys showed that they can come back, but we’ve got to figure out a way to come all the way back. We don’t just want to get back in the neighborhood, when we get an opportunity to cash in and take the lead, we’ve got to be able to figure out a way to do that.”
On Saturday, Michigan got on the board first in the third inning as they scored four straight RBI singles, followed by another run coming across in the fourth to make it a 5-0 game. The Falcons started to fight back in the fifth, however, as senior infielder Derek Drewes got an RBI double and fellow senior infielder Randy Righter hit an RBI sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 5-2. Michigan restored their advantage in the sixth on with a fielder’s choice scoring a run, followed by a two RBI single. In the eighth, the Falcons came back with by taking advantage of a fielding error to score a run, as well as a two RBI single from senior catcher Justin Mott to make it 8-5 game. Michigan responded in the bottom of the inning with a two run homer and while the Falcons scored a pair of runs in the ninth on a wild pitch and a passed ball, it wouldn’t be enough as Michigan claimed the 10-7 victory.
“The effort was there the whole game,” Schmitz said. “We just need to work on putting it all together.”
Friday’s game began with the Falcons grabbing a commanding early lead as junior infielder Ty Suntken led off the second inning scoring with an RBI single. Mott, freshman infielder Dylan Dohanos and junior infielder Neil Lambert each followed with RBI singles of their own, until junior outfielder Justin Scott capped off the scoring with an RBI double as the team went ahead 6-0. Michigan would tie it in the next inning, however, as they started off the third with a pair of
RBI singles and another run scoring on a fielding error, followed up by a two RBI single and an RBI sacrifice fly to make it 6-6. In the fifth, Michigan scored two more runs on a sacrifice bunt attempt to take the lead, which they held onto to take the 8-6 win.
“We really did a great job (in the second inning),” Schmitz said. “Unfortunately, then we didn’t score the rest of the game. That’s kind of been the tattletale sign of our team, we have a big inning but then we just don’t add on and it came back to haunt us again.”
The team will next play on Wednesday afternoon on the road against the Dayton Flyers.
“We need to get something positive,” Schmitz said. “It’d just be nice to get a victory and see the guys smile again.”
