Bowling Green baseball (2-7) found themselves on the wrong side of a series sweep on Sunday, losing 17-6 in seven innings against the eighth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (11-1).
The Volunteers brought out freshman Derek Schaefer to start the game on the mound, marking his first start of his collegiate career. He made the most of his start by making three straight Falcons strikeout, setting the tone for the game.
BGSU trotted out right handed starting pitcher Calvin Mitchell, who began the day by after earning two early outs, had to deal with an extended first inning. North Carolina State transfer Cannon Peebles, sparked a 4-0 campaign for Tennessee via an RBI double, putting the Volunteers ahead going into the second.
Senior Leighton Banjoff put the Falcons on the board via an RBI sacrifice fly that scored a run for BGSU, setting the score at 4-1. Junior outfielder Gavin Ganun then hit a ground ball that allowed enough time for the Falcons to score again, 4-2.
A double and a single by Tennessee set the stage for a home run by sophomore outfielder Dylan Dreiling, causing an avalanche of runs in Tennessee’s favor at 9-2.
From here, a back-and-forth third finished in zero runs, with the fourth being similar except a walk from left handed pitcher Rigo Ramos, in relief of Mitchell, which allowed Kavares Tears to tack on yet another run for Tennessee, making the score 10-2.
A pitching adjustment by the orange and brown brought in Archbold native Logan Bell, who provided a nice boost catching a Volunteer swinging and forcing an easy ground ball that sent the game to the sixth.
Two quick walks from freshman Dylan Loy gave the Falcons some hope, but with men on first and second, a pop fly from Banjoff and a low ground ball created a double play, snuffing the inning short.
Tennessee continued to grow their lead in the sixth, hitting singles and doubles that allowed Volunteers to cross home plate four separate times. This put the lead at 14-2 and with the seventh inning incoming, it created the possibility that the game would not reach a full nine.
Unwilling to end the game early, Ganun smoked a homerun to left field. He was then aided by fellow Falcon, infielder Sam Seidel who hit a triple that brought two men home, bringing the game to 14-5.
A following Volunteer error gave Seidel enough time to head home, a quick out then followed, forcing BGSU to have to prevent Tennessee from scoring two runs.
With the score being 14-6, Tennessee hit a single with a man on first, putting enough Volunteers on base to end the game. A single brought one run home making it crucial for BGSU to pitch a shutout if they wanted to continue.
Everything changed when redshirt junior outfielder Colby Backus provided the dagger for Tennessee, hitting a double that clinched the game resulting in a final score of 17-6.
The ranked matchup for BGSU put a spotlight on their pitching woes, which were evident in their series’ as well against Memphis and Middle Tennessee State. The Falcons have hit home runs in nearly every game played, but have failed to allow less than 10 runs in six out of their seven losses.
The Falcons will now look ahead to their first Mid-American Conference series matchup against Miami (OH) on Friday, March 8 at 3 p.m.
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