Call it the Fifth-Third magic. Call it rain-soaked brilliance. Call it whatever you want, but make sure you call Bowling Green’s Saturday sweep of arch-rival Toledo at Fifth-Third Field on its way to taking three of four a good sign. A good sign because, after Friday’s defeat at the hands of UT in which the Falcons’ pitching staff was shelled, BG’s pitchers and hitters came together as one to thoroughly manhandle the Rockets in two games at the Toledo Mud Hens’ new home.
After Doug Flere had another rough outing Friday and UT beat BG 13-4, sophomore Kyle Knoblauch pitched seven strong innings for a complete-game win, in which he surrendered just two runs. The Rockets scored first in the opener, as a ground ball in the bottom of the second caromed off BG shortstop Nick Elrod’s throat and got away, allowing Mike Meinhart to score. The Falcons tied the game in the top half of the third, as Elrod drove in Corey Loomis.
Toledo jumped right back on top in the top of the third, though, as a leadoff walk to Rocket catcher Mitch Maier ended in a Phil Pilewski RBI single. The game remained 2-1 until the top of the sixth, as a strange sequence resulted in two Falcons runs and the deciding margin in the game. After Elrod led off with a double, Len Elias reached on an error and sophomore Andy Hudak walked. Next Spencer Schmitz grounded a would-be double play ball to second. The relay to first got away, however, and allowed Elrod to score. Toledo second baseman Taylor Eckel threw home in an attempt to get Elrod, but no one covered, and the throwing error allowed Elias to score the game winner, 3-2.
“This game shows you what can happen if you just put the ball in play,” said BG coach Danny Schmitz. “Those bad hops can go either way. Kyle was the story of this game. He gave us exactly what we needed, and kept us in it until we could get some offense going.”
Knoblauch was pleased with his effort, having pitched well each of his last three outings.
“I wanted to set the tone for the day,” he said. “I wanted to shut them down and basically do my job. I’m glad to get my confidence back up and to help the team out and have the guys have that confidence in me.”
BG freshman hurler Tyler Saneholtz had a similar outing in the nightcap. Saneholtz pitched seven strong innings, allowing just three runs, and benefited from plenty of BG offense as the Falcons took game two 11-3.
The Falcons jumped ahead quickly, as Loomis singled in David Barkholz and Elrod drove in Loomis for a 2-0 lead in the first. Toledo starter Nick Szczur ran into trouble in the second, hitting Hudak with a pitch and walking Jeff Warnock and Barkholz. He then walked designated hitter Tim Newell to score Hudak, and Loomis singled, plating Warnock and Barkholz for a 5-0 Falcon lead.
Saneholtz allowed two in the bottom of the fourth, but his offense scored three more in the fifth, as Loomis hit his eighth home run of the season over the right-centerfield wall. Falcon Kelly Hunt then singled, and scored on another Elrod double. Elias then doubled, plating Elrod, and scored on a wild pitch to make the score 8-2. Barkholz scored another Falcon run in the sixth, and Elias added another in the seventh. After UT scored their third run in the seventh, Newell scored again in the eighth to close the scoring.
“Once again, Tyler pitched great for us,” Schmitz said. “He pitched well last week against Marshall, and he really picked us up in the second game. The offense gave him two runs, and he cruised from there.”
Saneholtz attributed his strong outing to his ability to work towards his strengths.
“I am a tempo pitcher; I like to work fast,” he said. “I was able to do that today, and when I get into that zone, I feel pretty confident. When the offense gives me that kind of support, it’s easy to throw strikes and be confident out there.”
The Falcons took Sunday’s series finale at Steller Field 20-11 on a day that featured 40-plus mph wind gusts. BG overcame a six-run top of the sixth by Toledo for the victory, scoring 14 runs in the bottom of the sixth.
The Falcons, now 20-18 overall and 11-6 in conference, travel to Xavier tomorrow for a non-conference game against the Musketeers. BG then hosts another non-conference foe, Eastern Kentucky, this weekend in a four-game series.
