As the great Pedro Cerrano of “Major League” fame once said, “Must keep bats warm.”
The BG baseball team is trying, Pedro. After a cold 1-6 beginning to their 2002 campaign, the Falcons warmed up on their Spring Break trip, ending 5-3 to push their overall record 6-9 and giving them life heading into their home opener.
BG began its journey with a March 10 doubleheader against Murray State, which the Falcons and Racers split. BG took the opener 8-4, while MSU won the nightcap 7-5. A trip through Tennessee came next on the Falcons’ agenda, and wins against Austin Peay, Belmont and Tennessee Tech netted BG’s first win streak of the season.
“I think our bats got more reps in, and that’s always a positive,” BG coach Danny Schmitz said. “Our starters did a good job. … Our relievers were a bit disappointing, but they’ll come around. I haven’t seen the stats, but I know we are fielding between .960 and .970, so we can field for sure. We can’t field against hit batsmen and walks, though, so we can’t allow free baserunners.”
Last on the southern swing was a three-game series against Western Kentucky over the weekend in Bowling Green, Ky. After the Hilltoppers captured the opening game 6-2, the Falcons used an outstanding pitching performance from Kyle Knoblauch to down the Hilltoppers 3-1. In the third game Sunday afternoon, the Falcons, using a Corey Loomis three-run home run, jumped out to a 7-0 lead. After starter Tyler Saneholtz left the game in the seventh, Western Kentucky scored five runs in the eighth to down the Falcons and send them home on a sour note, 8-7.
“We were 5-3 on the trip, and any time you can go on a trip .500 or better, it’s a positive, but losing that game after being up 7-0 was a tough one to take,” Schmitz said. “We seem to score a lot early, or score a lot late, not in between. If we can put one on the board in the fourth or fifth, that makes it that much harder for a team to come back on us, physically and mentally. We just need to score more consistently.”
Bowling Green was treated rudely yesterday in Ann Arbor, as Wolverine junior Gino Lollio hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Michigan a 4-3 win. Sophomore David Barkholz led the Falcon charge with three hits and a run scored, while Corey Loomis added two hits and a run. Reliever Ryan Lindquist took the loss in relief of Burke Badenhop.
The Falcons will now prepare for their home opener, which is a week from today against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.
