Bowling Green baseball (2-5) fell to the Tennessee Volunteers (8-1) by a score of 11-1 in the first of a three-game series on Friday.
The Falcons failed to get the offense going, registering only one hit against Tennessee starting pitcher and former Southeastern Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week AJ Causey, who came into the game with a 1.17 earned run average (ERA) through 7.2 innings pitched in two starts this season.
Tennessee started the game off strong with Causey striking out the side in the top of the first inning, and the Tennessee offense putting the first run on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning from third baseman Billy Amick.
Bowling Green retaliated in the top of the second with Tyler Ross’ second home run of the year, tying the game up 1-1.
This would be the only hit the Falcons would get in this game.
Tennessee would take control from this point on, scoring one in the bottom of the second courtesy of a solo home run from freshman Dean Curley, and scoring three in the third off an RBI single and two sacrifice flies to bring the lead to 5-1 in favor of the Volunteers.
Falcon starting pitcher DJ Newman was taken out of the game at the conclusion of the fourth inning after allowing four earned runs but striking out five in an 80-pitch outing, ending a disappointing encore to his seven-inning scoreless outing in Bowling Green’s 9-1 win over the Memphis Tigers a week ago.
Senior relief pitcher Isaiah Seidel did not fare well against the high-powered Tennessee offense, giving up a two-run home run to Blake Burke in the bottom of the fifth inning that was directly followed by Amick’s second home run of the game.
The Volunteers would score their fourth run of the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly from Curley, giving Tennessee a 9-1 lead going into the sixth.
Tennessee’s Causey dominated the Falcon offense in his seven innings of work, striking out nine and allowing only one hit and one earned run.
Causey was extremely efficient, throwing only 78 pitches through his seven innings compared to Newman’s 80 pitches in only four innings.
Falcon relief pitchers Luke Krouse and Owen Poole both pitched well late in the game, with Krause giving up only one run on two innings of work in the fifth and sixth, and Poole throwing a scoreless inning in the bottom of the seventh.
The Volunteers executed the 10-run rule in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring two runs off RBI singles from pinch hitters Ethan Payne and Colby Backus that put them up 11-1, denying the Falcons a chance to come back in the top of the ninth and winning the game for Tennessee.
Bowling Green will look for redemption in the second and third games of the series against the Volunteers with junior Nic Good on the mound in Saturday’s game two starting at 5 p.m. and a pitcher to be announced in Sunday’s game three at 1 p.m.
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