The Bowling Green baseball team fell 6-4 to the Western Michigan Broncos in Kalamazoo on Friday.

Senior Gage Schenk was the Falcons’ starter, lasting four innings and allowing five runs (all earned) on six hits. He also tacked on three strikeouts.

For Western, Brady Miller was the guy out on the rubber for first pitch. The redshirt junior lasted six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while fanning six Falcons.

The first two innings of the game were scoreless.

The Falcons got on the board first in the third inning on an INF Sam Seidel sac bunt that scored freshman DJ Newman before senior Nathan Rose grounded out to the shortstop to end the inning.

Then, the floodgates opened.

Western Michigan piled on five runs in the bottom of the third.

Catcher Greg Budig doubled to lead the inning off before Schenk walked two of the following four batters.

With a 2-0 count, 3B Gavin Doyle sent a moonshot over the right field wall for a two-out grand slam to put Western on top 4-1.

They tacked on another run after SS Jimmy Allen singled to left, scoring RF Dylan Nevar.

With the scoreboard reading 5-1, the Falcons tried their best not to let it get to them.

In the top of the fourth, they were threatening again with two runners in scoring position, but INF Mason Montgomery struck out looking to end the inning.

Schenk almost sent the Broncos down in order, allowing a two-out walk before forcing the final batter of the inning to fly out.

The fifth is where the fire that Western had been playing with ended up burning them.

Newman started the inning with a leadoff walk before senior Kyle Gurney singled up the left side.

Sam Seidel walked to load the bases.

Rose then grounded into a double play but was still able to bring Newman across home plate.

5-2 ballgame.

With Gurney at third, Nathan Archer came up to bat, and on the first pitch he saw, he launched one over the right field wall.

5-4.

The bottom of the fifth, the sixth inning, and the seventh inning were all of nothing.

Junior Isaiah Seidel, who came in relief for Schenk, sent the Broncos down in order in each half-inning.

Bowling Green had a runner in scoring position at the top of the seventh in Newman, who once again drew a walk to lead off the inning and even stole a bag but got nowhere.

The next two batters flied out and popped out, respectively, before Newman was caught trying to steal third to end the inning.

Bowling Green went down in order in the eighth, and it looked like Western was about to do the same until DH Josh Swinehart’s two-out home run increased the Broncos’ lead to two.

In the top of the ninth, following a strikeout, Leighton Banjoff walked and then advanced to second on an OF Gavin Ganun single.

Banjoff was able to get to third following a Newman flyout but got no further after Gurney also flied out to end the game.

Schenk was given the loss, his fifth of the season, after allowing five of Western’s six runs to cross home plate.

Miller earned the win for Western Michigan.

Bowling Green and Western Michigan face off again on April 22 in the second game of their three-game series, with first pitch set for 1:05p.m.

For more information about the team, visit the athletics webpage.