Late-game heroics propel Falcons above Blue Raiders 12-9 in extra innings
It’s never about how you start a game but how you finish it, and BGSU baseball (2-1) proved this on Saturday in a nailbiter against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (1-2) that featured an 8-1 Blue Raider lead in the seventh inning.
The Orange and Brown would manage to score eight unanswered runs, which would continually be the theme of the game as the Falcons surged late to win their opening series of 2025, two games to MTSU’s one.
A big question going into the season was what players for BGSU would stand up when it mattered most, and just three games into the year, we got an answer when, with one out in the eighth inning, sophomore first baseman Brady Birchmeier would smoke a homerun deep into right field, giving the Falcons their first lead of the day, 9-8.
Birchmeier wasn’t the only BGSU player to score a three-run homer in Saturday’s game; he was preceded by senior outfielder Gavin Ganun, who helped keep the Orange and Brown in the game with two outs in the top of the eighth. The senior would deliver a shot to right field that wouldn’t be caught, tallying three points for the Falcons.
Despite the late surge and depth from BG, both teams had their hands full in the bottom of the ninth due to MTSU’s redshirt infielder Brett Vondohlen smacking a one-run score over the fence, sending the game to extra innings.
In the first game of extra innings for both teams this season, BGSU and MTSU struggled offensively, but the Blue Raiders managed to wrestle back momentum, loading the bases with two outs in the bottom of ten.
Vondohlen found himself back up to the plate with the opportunity to dash the Falcon’s hopes yet again with a lone single, but senior right-handed pitcher Connar Penrod had other ideas, striking Vondohlen out swinging.
In the eleventh, poise began to fade for Middle Tennessee as an error in centerfield went from a sure-fire out to sophomore Garrett Wright landing in scoring position on third base.
The final nail of the game would come from junior outfielder DJ Newman, who called game on a double down right field, putting BGSU ahead 10-9. The Falcons would tack two more on in the eleventh, winning the game 12-9.
At the end of the day, the game would come down to which team could maintain good consistent play, and the Orange and Brown simply outlasted the Blue Raiders, recording one double play, making one error compared to MTSU’s three and going two for two on throwing runners out, the Blue Raiders would go 0-3.
After Tuesday’s matchup against Cincinnati getting canceled due to weather, the next test for BGSU will be on the road in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where the Orange and Brown will play USC Upstate on Friday, Feb. 21, at 3 p.m.
