BGSU baseball (17-7, 7-2 MAC) returned to action at Steller Field this past Tuesday looking to get back into the win column after the rough weekend stint against Kent State. This time, taking on the Youngstown State Penguins (4-19, 2-4 Horizon League). Despite the hard challenge that YSU gave to BG, the Falcons would pull away late in the going and capture yet another win at home.
Youngstown State got off to a hot start early, as a senior infielder for the Red and Black Kyle Fossum, who leads the Horizon League in batting average, hit a home run toward right field off a pitch from freshman pitcher for the Falcons Nate Kress to put up a tally early for the Penguins at just the top of the first.
The Orange and Brown responded with a home run of their own, as sophomore first baseman TJ Takats hitting a solo shot in nearly the same area where Fossum had his homer.
The offensive presence for Bowling Green continued with an RBI groundout from sophomore infielder Brady Birchmeier, ending the first inning with BG leading, 2-1.
Youngstown State struck again with an RBI single from Fossum that would tie the game but ultimately gave the Penguins the lead after a throwing error from third to first from freshman Brayden Curlis that would send another runner home, giving YSU the lead again, 3-2.
After a scoreless third inning. The Penguins got the momentum going again with a lead-off triple from sophomore Brady Shannon, which then followed with a groundout single from senior Eli Brown to increase the lead yet again, 4-2. BG’s efforts to cut down the lead were halted by junior right-handed pitcher Brandon Mikos, who earned four strikeouts on the day.
The top of the fifth didn’t get much better for the Falcons, as YSU earned an RBI single from junior Garrett Cutting with two on and only one out.
Pitching for head coach Kyle Hallock’s squad continued to be a struggle despite the strong start in the early going.
“With our guys’ stuff and their arm talent, if it’s in the right parts of the zone, we have a good shot,” Hallock said. “There was a conservative effort today to be down in the zone and that’s where we will have success.”
At the bottom half of the inning, Sam Seidel responded with an RBI double to cut the lead down to just one run with nobody out, the Penguins still leading 5-4.
The later stages of the game felt like clock work, when the Falcons tried crawling back, the Penguins pulled away. Senior infielder Cole Smith hit a lead off home run to right field at the top of the seventh, his first solo shot of the year.
The bottom of the seventh is when the Falcons started to crawl out of the deficit, in the most commanding way possible. They would go on to score eight runs, including a triple from senior Gunner Antillon to put themselves in the double digits with only one out, leading 12-6.
Senior right-hander for the Falcons Logan Bell entered at the top of the ninth looking to shut the game down and capture the win. Despite allowing an RBI single from Cutting, Bell closed the game with back-to-back strikeouts, putting BG back in the win column, 12-7.
Bowling Green will hit the road this upcoming weekend for another Mid-American Conference (MAC) showdown, as they will travel north to Central Michigan for a three-game series against the Chippewas starting Friday, March 28 at 3 p.m.
