BGSU baseball (31-18, 17-10) took on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (28-19, 12-15) in the second game of the series. The Fighting Irish defeated the Falcons for the second straight day, 11-1.
The Falcons were up to hit at the top of the first. Notre Dame first baseman Parker Brzustewicz was responsible for all three of Bowling Green’s outs, and the Irish took the field to bat.
The Fighting Irish went up to bat, and Carson Tinney hit a double to start them off. Tinney scored off a single by Brzustewicz, despite an impressive effort by BG’s catcher, Garrett Wright. Notre Dame’s Connor Hincks hit a home run, and with two people already on base, added three more to their lead.
After the first inning, the Irish held a 4-0 lead.
At the top of the second, BG opened up with a fly ball, and the Notre Dame outfielders struggled to catch it under the bright sun. Caden Parker hit a single, but Bowling Green was unable to capitalize on their momentum.
BG third baseman Garrett Sloan made an impressive play, throwing a ball across the field to first base for an out. A great throw by Wright got DM Jefferson out, ending the second inning, with the score remaining 4-0.
At the top of the third, BG caused a Notre Dame error, allowing Carter Mottice to go to first base. Wright hit a line drive down the middle for a single. After an unfortunate swing and a miss, Bowling Green had to leave the field.
Sloane had another fantastic play, throwing to first again for an out on Tinney. A pop-up ended the inning, the score still at 4-0.
As the Falcons went up to bat, Zach Horky hit a single and stole second. Parker hit another single, and Brayden Curlis may have gotten out, but it allowed Horky to score. The score was now 4-1, with the Fighting Irish coming up to bat.
BGSU pitched out ND in a shutout fashion, ending the fourth inning quickly.
At the top of the fifth, Bowling Green hit three fly balls in a row, all for outs. This ended the top half of the fifth inning with Notre Dame leading 4-1.
The Irish’s Jefferson walked to first, and Tinney hit a single, with Jefferson advancing to second as well. Brzustewicz hit another single, scoring Jefferson and pushing their lead to 5-1. However, a fly ball ended the inning with no score change.
At the top of the sixth for BG, Gavin Ganun walks to first, which is his 30th walk of the season. Ganun was able to advance to third, despite the two outs. The Falcons’ batting ends on a swing and a miss.
Bowling Green went three for three on Notre Dame outs, putting a quick end to the sixth inning with the Fighting Irish up 5-1.
The Orange and Brown went three up and three down, with the score still being 5-1.
Notre Dame’s Brady Gumpf and Jefferson both hit singles, putting runners on bases one and two. A third single by Davis Johnson loaded the bases. Johnson was then nearly grounded out at first, but was ruled safe. A double by Brzustewicz gave Gumpf and Jefferson scores. A single by Hincks gave Notre Dame two more runs.
An explosive seventh inning gave the Irish a 9-1 lead. Estevan Moreno walked to first after being hit by a pitch.
At the top of the eighth, the Falcons trailed 9-1. They went three up and three down, getting the Fighting Irish back up to bat.
Gumpf hit a home run, his fifth of the season, putting Notre Dame up 10-1. Jefferson hit another single from a line drive and advanced to second off a throw to Wright.
Jefferson scored the final run of the game, with the game being 11-1 after eight innings.
The final game of the series is tomorrow in Bowling Green at Steller Field at 3:00 p.m. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Tyler Kavalecz and Chas McNeil will be on the call starting at 2:45 p.m. for pregame.
