Pardon the BG baseball players for returning to their childhood roots and singing the age-old classic, “Rain, Rain, Go Away.” At this point, they are desperate.
The Falcons played just one of four scheduled weekend at games at the University at Buffalo due to inclement weather. It was the fourth time this season BG has had play canceled.
The only game played of the series was an 11-6 Buffalo win Friday, before the rains came. Doug Flere started for the Falcons and, despite leaving the game after 5 1/3 innings, gave up five runs, but just two were earned. Eleven of his 12 hits given up were singles, and he left the game with his team down just 5-4. The Bulls, though, scored six in the bottom of the eighth to take an 11-4 lead to the ninth. The Falcons rallied in the ninth, but fell short after plating two in their last at-bat.
“Doug pitched well, but the difference in the game was their ability to get timely hits,” said Neil Schmitz, a Falcon pitcher and designated hitter. “They blooped some hits in, and got some timely hits with men on base, which really put us in a hole. That double into the gap in the eighth really killed us.
“It’s frustrating to get rained out, especially after losing that first game. … We wanted to get back out there and win a couple.”
BG opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, as Kevin Longstreth drove in Corey Loomis with a sacrifice fly. Buffalo tied the score in the bottom of the inning, but BG struck in the top of the second on an Andy Hudak RBI single.
After tying the score in the bottom of the fourth, UB grabbed the advantage with three in the bottom of the fifth for a 5-2 lead. Corey Loomis smacked his eighth home run of the season in the sixth, but that would be as close as the Falcons would come.
“Our missing three games just makes each game for the rest of the season that much more important (for tournament purposes),” Schmitz said. “Our pitching has been great the last few games; they’ve kept us in games, and that’s all you can ask for. We just need to focus on every game from now on and get everything together.”
BG faces Defiance today at home and resumes Mid-American Conference play this weekend with a four-game set against visiting Marshall at Steller Field. Defiance enters today’s game with a record of 9-12-2 after losing two of three over the weekend against Anderson University.NotesCurrently, BG is fourth in the East Division of the MAC, at 4-5. The Falcons find themselves 2.5 games out of first, behind Kent State. Marshall is 4-3 in conference. … Falcon Kelly Hunt is third in the league in RBIs with 35, while Hunt and Loomis are tied for fifth in the league with eight home runs apiece.
