BGSU baseball was officially eliminated from Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament contention after falling to Ball State 6-3 in game one of their final series on Thursday.
With the win, Ball State has officially punched their ticket to Avon, clinching the final spot in the tournament.
Senior pitcher Ethan Stade battled through 4.1 innings, allowing three earned runs while striking out seven batters and walking three. Stade finished his senior season with 103 strikeouts, becoming just the third Falcon in program history to record 100 strikeouts in a single season.
Sophomore pitcher Brendan Garza worked 6.2 innings for Ball State, allowing eight hits and three earned runs while walking one and striking out four.
The Falcons had 10 hits on the day but stranded 11 runners on base. Four of those hits came from sophomore outfielder Carter Mottice who went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate.
Senior infielder Sam Seidel picked up an RBI double and drew 2 walks. The other RBIs came from junior catcher Lance Vickers and freshman infielder Griffin Scheiderer.
Ball State got the scoring started in the second inning. It started with a leadoff double from junior utility player Brady Davidson before coming around to score on an RBI single by junior catcher Max Kalk. Stade later worked out of a bases-loaded jam with two outs to end the inning.
Bowling Green took the lead in the fifth inning. Two leadoff singles put runners on the corners before a sacrifice bunt from Scheiderer brought home Bowling Green’s first run. Seidel followed with an RBI double to make it 2-1.
Ball State answered immediately in the bottom half. A leadoff walk and wild pitch put a runner on second. An infield single and stolen base moved runners to second and third. Graduate utility player Ryan Muizelaar tied the game with a sacrifice fly before Davidson followed with an RBI single to give the Cardinals the lead back at 3-2.
The Falcons tied the game again in the seventh inning. Scheiderer led off the inning with a single and later advanced to third, allowing Vickers to drive him home with an RBI single to make it 3-3.
But once again, Ball State responded in the bottom half. Sophomore infielder Brayden Huebner reached base after being hit by a pitch and later stole second. Davidson drove him in with another RBI single, also advancing to second on an error by junior outfielder TJ Takats. Davidson later scored on an RBI single from junior first baseman Jacob Gillis to extend the Cardinals’ lead to 5-3.
Ball State added one more insurance run in the eighth inning. The first batter faced by redshirt junior pitcher Ethan Papacek was junior outfielder Kendric Sorgius, who hit a solo home run to push the Cardinals’ lead to 6-3.
In the top of the ninth, the Falcons threatened and loaded the bases with three walks, but a fly out by junior outfielder Zack Horky ended the game and the Falcons hope of a MAC tournament appearance.
Bowling Green will close out the season with a doubleheader on Friday beginning at noon.
