The Bowling Green baseball team (23-14, 18-3 MAC) fell in their rubber match against Kent State (22-20, 12-9 MAC) on Sunday afternoon, 12-2.

Although the Falcons lost on Sunday, they clinched a spot in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament for the first time since 2015 due to other results from around the conference.

The loss marks the first MAC series the Falcons have dropped this season.

Sunday also marked just the fourth time the Orange and Brown have been run-ruled this season and the first against a team other than Tennessee.

Bowling Green struck first as senior utility player Leighton Banjoff drove in two runs with a double, putting BG ahead 2-0 in the top of the second.

The Falcons would not score the rest of the game.

Kent State responded in the bottom of the second inning, with redshirt freshman Ripken Reese driving in two runs with a double of his own, evening the game at two runs apiece.

The Golden Flashes started the onslaught in the third inning, scoring four runs and taking a 6-2 lead.

Junior first baseman Hunter Klotz drove in a run with a single, senior infielder Michael McNamara drove a double into left field that scored two and freshman outfielder Dom Kibler drove in a run with a single up the middle.

Although BG held KSU scoreless in the fourth frame, the Golden Flashes added two more runs in the fifth.

Freshman designated hitter Payton Ebbing drove in a run with a single before Klotz scored on a groundout.

KSU redshirt senior outfielder Josh Johnson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, extending Kent State’s lead to 9-2.

Although the Falcons loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh, redshirt freshman designated hitter Brady Birchmeier struck out looking to end the inning.

The Kent State offense never relented, scoring three more runs in the seventh.

After Klotz scored on a fielder’s choice, Johnson drove in a run with a single to right field.

Then, senior infielder Tim Orr singled through the right side of the infield to score a run and end the game early.

Junior pitcher Landon Willeman, BGSU’s starter, had a rough outing.

The right-hander pitched just 2.1 innings, allowing six runs, five hits and four walks while striking out two.

The Falcons struggled to find results out of the bullpen.

Junior pitcher Connar Penrod allowed two runs in 2.2 innings, senior pitcher Logan Bell gave up one run in one inning pitched and sophomore right-hander Kade Arn allowed three runs in 0.2 innings pitched.

Meanwhile, junior pitcher Eric Chalus, KSU’s starter, had one of his better performances of the season, earning his fifth win.

The left-hander threw 92 pitches across 6.1 innings, giving up just two runs, five hits and two walks while striking out eight Falcons.

Junior pitcher Caden Leonard recorded the final two outs of the contest for Kent State.

The Golden Flashes outhit the Falcons 12-5. KSU also drew seven walks compared to BGSU’s three.

Senior outfielder Jack Krause tallied the only multi-hit performance for BG.

The only other Falcons to record a hit were sophomore designated hitter DJ Newman, Banjoff, and sophomore infielder Sam Seidel.

Seidel extended his on-base streak to 41 games dating back to last season, and Newman extended his hitting streak to a team-high 14 games.

Freshman catcher Garrett Wright was also hit by a pitch for the 16th time this season, the most by a Falcon in at least the past 20 seasons.

Next, the Orange and Brown will return to Steller Field for a five-game homestand, starting with a battle against Toledo in a non-conference game on Tuesday. The first pitch between the Falcons and Rockets is set for 4 p.m.

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