BGSU baseball (25-13, 13-8 MAC) fell to the Ball State Cardinals (29-12, 15-3 MAC) in nine innings by a final score of 16-12. With the win, the Cardinals take the series with a 2-1 record from Thursday to Saturday.
Bowling Green entered the final game of their weekend series versus Ball State tied 1-1 overall in the series, after picking up a 6-4 win Thursday and a loss Friday with a final score of 23-18.
After a long rain delay, it finally came time for the first pitch, with the pitching duel heading into the late afternoon game headed by Bowling Green’s Nic Good (2-3) against Ball State’s Drue Young (0-3).
Ball State struck first during the top of the first inning, with a Garrett Arnold single sending Dylan Grego home for the first run of the day. Putting Ball State up 1-0.
After the first run, an elongated meeting on the mound occurred, with Good having to leave the game shaken up, being replaced by Landon Willeman after just 20 pitches.
“We’ll see; he’s a fighter, got a lot of guys that are competing with just competing with everything they have,” said head coach Kyle Hallock when asked about Good’s status postgame.
Ball State ended the first inning up 2-0 and extended the lead to 3-0 in the second inning. Bowling Green bounced back with a four-run inning after a Garrett Wright single.
After three full innings, Bowling Green led 6-3 over the top of the conference Cardinals. Ball State came back swinging, with a three-run homer by Alex Richter putting Ball State in command once again, 7-6.
Bowling Green recorded a four-run fourth inning, batting through the entire order, with Alex Laird picking up his fourth RBI of the day and extending the BG lead to 10-7.
Halfway through the game, both teams had already scored 19 total runs, Bowling Green leading 10-9.
Things were all tied up once again. 10-10 heading into the top of the seventh inning, a sacrifice fly sent another runner to home plate for Ball State, taking an 11-10 lead.
TJ Takats launched a solo home run, tying the game once again at 11-11. Heading into the ninth inning, both teams remained tied at 11 apiece.
With two outs and bases loaded, Grego connected on a three-run triple, Ball State up 14-11 in the top of the ninth inning—Ball State scored two more runs, up 16-11.
Bowling Green finished with 18 hits that scored 12 runs; Laird led the Falcons, going ¾ at bat and recording four RBIs.
With the loss, Bowling Green falls to 25-13 on the year and 13-8 versus the MAC. Bowling Green’s next home series begins on Friday in a three-game stretch against Eastern Michigan at Steller Field.
“We gotta be able to continue to not let the results of the past couple of games beat us up because we’re a good team,” said Hallock.
