BGSU baseball (14-17, 8-8 MAC) won against the Central Michigan Chippewas (11-18, 5-11 MAC), 5-4, at Steller Field in Bowling Green, Ohio, on Friday night.
This win extends the Falcon win streak to six games, the longest streak to start a month since 2009, and the longest winning streak to begin April since 1976.
“It became a game filled with emotion,” said head coach Kyle Hallock. “Both sides have a lot of emotion, both sides wanting things to fall their way a bit. I expect nothing less than their best tomorrow, and our best as well.”
The Bowling Green defense was spectacular today, combining as a team for multiple great plays and recording four double plays throughout the game, each one ending the inning.
In the first two innings for the Chippewas, they only had two runners get on base, with neither getting past second base.
The first inning was a completely different story for the Falcons. Lance Vickers walked to get on base before Brayden Curlis put the ball in play with two outs, which forced a Central Michigan error. This allowed Vickers to round third and score, giving BGSU an early 1-0 lead.
Bowling Green continued the offense in the second inning. Scoring one run after a bases-loaded single hit by Vickers went off the third baseman’s glove, allowing TJ Takats to score from third. This brought the score to a 2-0 BGSU lead after two innings.
After multiple scoreless innings by both teams, Central Michigan scored its first runs of the game in the fifth inning. A single by Zach Knowlton with runners on second and third scored both runners, tying the game up at 2-2.
After the fifth inning, Sova was taken out of the game and replaced by CJ Boudreaux. Sova gave up two runs, with only one earned.
“He stepped right in and pitched like a weekend starter. Very proud of him, stepping up for the team. That’s exactly what he said two weeks ago in the office. He stopped in the office and said, ‘Listen, I want to step up for the team,’ and when you start talking like that, you get some magical nights like tonight,” said Hallock.
In the sixth, Central Michigan added another run after a stolen base attempt by Brady Krzciok prompted a throw to second base with two outs. In a controversial bang-bang play, the runner stealing second was ruled safe, and the runner on third raced home to score.
Hallock was livid with the call on the field, coming out of the dugout immediately to plead his case with all three umpires. Ultimately, he was unsuccessful, and the umpires held up the call, giving Central Michigan its first lead of the day at 3-2.
“I showed more emotion than I normally do, but this is an important series. It’s an important series for this team to get over the hump and prove things that we need to prove to ourselves … sometimes the game calls for more composure in those situations; sometimes it calls for sending a message to your team that you’re here to fight and compete as well,” said Hallock.
Boudreaux had to get out of more trouble later in the sixth, getting out of a bases-loaded jam by forcing the batter to pop up to shallow second.
The Falcon offense stagnated until the sixth inning, where they picked up another run after Alex Laird singled through the left side to score Anthony Mitta with two outs and tie the game up at 3-3.
With two outs in the eighth, the Chippewas’ designated hitter, Joey Milto, hit a moonshot home run to deep right field over the tree line, restoring the Central Michigan lead at 4-3.
In the bottom of the eighth, after three straight batters had been hit by pitches. Vickers continued his hot day at the plate, smoking a ball up the middle into the outfield to score runners from second and third. This gave BGSU a 5-4 lead and sent the Falcon faithful into a frenzy.
“Lance has proven that he can put quality at-bats together. He will drop a sacrifice bunt, he will get hit by a pitch, he will work a walk, and he will be on time for a fastball in a big-time situation. That’s what you need after your lead-off guy gets on; you need someone who can do a variety of things to get them over and keep the train rolling with quality at-bats,” said Hallock.
In the ninth, Titus Lotz came out to pitch with one out and a runner on second, trying to earn the save. After an early single that fooled the Falcon defense, Lotz then struck out the final two batters to end the game and pick up his second save of the year.
“He’s an alpha; he is becoming the guy we recruited. That’s the guy we looked at in Washington Court House and thought was the best left-handed pitcher in the 2023 class. He does well under pressure and has two major league pitches … It’s an absolute joy to coach him,” said Hallock.
This win brings BGSU to 8-8 in MAC play on the season and 14-17 overall. They will be looking to continue it’s momentum during the last two games against Central Michigan this weekend.
“Our team is making the main thing, the main thing. The numbers that matter are the ones over here on the scoreboard, and then we take care of those, and everything else online will take care of itself. They’re really fun to coach, and I’m glad that they made that decision together. Proud of them. It’s a mature decision, and I’m happy to be coaching a team like that,” said Hallock.
Next, the Falcons will continue the three-game weekend series against Central Michigan on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Steller Field in Bowling Green, Ohio.
