The Bowling Green Falcons (15-11, 12-0 MAC play) fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes (14-14, 3-3
Big 10 play) today at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus with a final score of 6-4.

BG, first in the Mid-American Conference, with the loss have not defeated the Buckeyes, eighth in the Big Ten, since 2011.

The top of the first began very uneventfully with two consecutive trips back to the dugout, but a walk by DJ Newman disarmed the Buckeyes’ hopeful three-and-out. Their batting efforts ended soon after via vivid pitching and fielding play from OSU.

In the bottom of the same inning, the Buckeyes only saw three batters as three strikeouts from Rigo Ramos soon after closed out the inning.

The bottom of the second saw a burst of energy from OSU, whose first batter, Tyler Pettorini, hit a triple, followed by a walk from Joseph Mershon. To end the inning, Leighton Banjoff caught a flyball to left field, keeping the game scoreless.

A five-pitch walk from Josh Stevenson of the Buckeyes kicked off the bottom of the third, followed by his advance to second because of a wild pitch by Ramos. Stevenson then made it to home base, bringing the score to 1-0 with an RBI from Tyler Lipsey.

A double from Henry Kaczmar and a walk from Matthew Graveline further into the inning gave the Buckeyes another leg up, which they took advantage of with two RBIs from Pettorini to clean out the bases and raise the score to 3-0.

This series of events caused a pitching change for the orange and brown, subbing out Ramos with junior Connar Penrod, who immediately closed out the third inning.

A pop fly from Ross proved to be the first out of the fourth but Banjoff was able to walk to first to help offset the damage. However, a throw by Graveline while Banjoff hustled to second ended the top of the fourth, leaving him as the only batter to reach a base during BGSU’s tenure at bat.

The lack of outs continued when Penrod took the mound again, as the Buckeyes’ first batter was able to walk and Nick Giamarusti singled. Stevenson’s second hit of the game allowed Giamarusti to reach third and another impressive catch by Banjoff voided two attempted trips
home by the scarlet and gray which ended the inning.

BG had a quick turn at bat in the top of the fifth with a three-and-out led by OSU pitcher Logan Jones.

Penrod’s tenure on the mound, which consisted of seven batters and 26 pitches, ended when senior Logan Bell took over as the Falcons’ third pitcher at the bottom of the fifth.

Bell threw a pitch that allowed Merson to run to first after pitching two outs in a row to start the bottom of the fifth but the inning ended as Buckeye Mitchell Okuley grounded out.

At the top of the sixth, Archer was unable to break his strikeout streak, now going 0-3. The Falcons then reached scoring position for the first time this game with walks from Seidel and Jack Krause.

Banjoff was able to load the bases with a single and a grand slam by Takats, his second of the season, swung the Falcons ahead to 4-3.

The Falcons’ momentum continued in the bottom of the sixth as Bell earned his first strikeout of the game- the first for the Falcons since Ramos. However, Stevenson was able to run to second on an impressive maneuver around first base but Bell stepped up again throwing another strikeout to maintain BGSU’s 4-3 lead.

The top of the seventh also began with a bang as Landon Roque singled, marking the first time BGSU started the inning with a baserunner during this game. A swing-and-miss by McKenzie struck him out and Archer followed, bringing him to an uncharacteristic 0-4 on the day. Action for the Falcons ended with another swing-and-miss from Seidel.

A new man on the mound for the Falcons, Jacob Turner, began the bottom of the seventh. He started his turn by striking out consecutive
Buckeye batters and only letting one batter, Petterini, reach a base. The Falcons’ ongoing lead inspired OSU to make a pitching change to freshman Zach Brown, their fourth of the game.

This change for the Buckeyes sparked a single from Newman, his first of the game. The Falcons struck again, with two bases stolen by Krause and Newman, bringing them to second and third, respectively. An intentional walk to Takats loaded the bases.

OSU was able to stay afloat, as BGSU did not score any runs.

The Buckeyes took to bat with vengeance as Okuley, the first batter at the bottom of the eighth, hit a double, but Giamarusti was soon out by a diving catch from Banjoff.

Okuley was able to advance to third via a wild pitch, BGSU’s second of the game. OSU continued by tying the game 4-4 with a run home from Okuley and a subsequent homer from Lipsey heightened their lead to 6-4.

To further their lead, the Buckeyes made another pitching change in the ninth inning, pivoting to graduate student Justin Eckhardt. The Falcons felt the impact; as soon as he took the mound, he struck out Garrett Wright. However, Eckhardt gave Archer his first hit of the game.

A follow-up hit to right field by Newman moved Archer to second, but Eckhardt closed the inning and sealed the Falcons’ fate; a 6-4 loss that snapped their four-game win streak.

The Falcons will fly home and play Purdue Fort Wayne on April 10 at Steller Field at 3 p.m., where they hope to start a new winning streak.

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