BGSU Baseball (19-32,12-18) lost the Battle of I-75 by a score of 15-5, in a non-conference game at Fifth Third Field against the Toledo Rockets (28-25, 20-10).
Rolling along in the second inning, Bowling Green scored three runs on a double by freshman catcher Andrew DiLodovico, a single by junior outfielder TJ Takats and a single by freshman shortstop Griffin Scheiderer, taking the Falcons only lead of the game.
“We got to get better at practice, and we got to take care of business Thursday, Friday, Saturday,” said BGSU head baseball coach Kyle Hallock.
Toledo answered quickly as the Rockets regained the lead in the third inning with five runs on five hits, batting around the order. Local junior outfielder JP Wagner from Toledo, Ohio knocked the first hit for UT.
Toledo’s streak began on a throwing error from BGSU senior second baseman Sam Seidel, where the Rockets scored a runner from first off the error.
While BGSU gained traction in the second inning, they only scored two runs. In the third inning, Takats hit his sixth double of the year, setting up an RBI single by outfielder Zack Horky.
In the fifth inning, Andrew DiLodovico knocked his seventh home run of the year, keeping the game within one for Bowling Green at a 6-5 deficit. Toledo then outscored Bowling Green 10-0 over the final four innings.
“It’s one out at a time, it’s one pitch at a time…it’s making sure you manage the damage,” said Hallock. “When teams give us things, we have to take full advantage of that”
Struggling throughout the game, Bowling Green went through six pitchers in eight innings. Pitching difficulties led to the Orange and Brown giving up 15 hits and 12 RBI for the Rockets.
Beyond the pitching, Bowling Green encountered multiple errors and a balk at the top of the fifth inning that led to Rockets’ scoring.The momentum stayed in UT’s favor as they controlled the rest of the game.
“You let the situation control us, we sped up, we stopped getting ahead…did all the things we could to allow them to have big innings,” said Hallock
Zack Horky ended a Falcons hitless drought with a double in the eighth inning, yet it proved to be the team’s final hit of the night.
“If we don’t control our own destiny and win every game, then it doesn’t matter what happens anywhere,” said Hallock.
Next, the Orange and Brown play their final regular season series of the year against the Ball State Cardinals (22-28, 15-15). The Falcons need to sweep the Cardinals and have a single loss from UMass in order to clinch the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Tyler Kavalecz and Vaughn Ullom will have the call of the final game of the regular season on Saturday, May 16 at 1:00 on Falcon Radio, streaming on bgfalconmedia.com.
