The BG baseball team set a handful of records Wednesday and used a 14-run offensive outburst in the fourth inning to earn a 24-11 victory against the Malone Pioneers.
The Falcons’ 30 hits were the most in a game in school history. The previous record was 27, set by the 1996 team in a game against Cincinnati. Center fielder Jake Thomas also set a school record with six hits in the game. He surpassed the previous high of five, most recently held by Patrick Martin.
Both teams started scoring early, with Malone leading 6-4 after the top half of the fourth inning. In the bottom half, all nine Falcon batters got a hit before Malone could record an out. Shortstop Brandon Howard and left fielder Andrew Kubuski helped lead that charge, with each recording a double and a single with 3 RBI in the inning. Howard and right fielder Alex Davison each finished with 4 RBI to lead the Falcons.
“From an offensive standpoint, there were a lot of players who stood out,” said coach Danny Schmitz. “You can go up and down the lineup, but you would probably start with Jake Thomas.”
Even with a 6-for-7 day at the plate, Thomas kept his offensive approach simple.
“I was just staying inside the ball and keeping a good approach,” he said.
Now hitting .467 on this season, Thomas showed a little sports superstition in regards to how he hopes to continue his hot streak at the plate.
“Just by not talking about it,” Thomas said. “I just have to keep playing baseball real hard.”
As well as the Falcons played at the plate, they struggled defensively. The team committed seven errors in the game, which is also a school record.
“I’m not very happy with my infielders right now,” Schmitz said. “It’s just a lack of concentration. Seven errors today — that’s absolutely horrible. We were just lucky today that we swung the bats and overplayed those errors, which we hadn’t done earlier in the year.”
The Falcons (5-11) will travel to Richmond, Ky. this weekend to play a three-game series against Eastern Kentucky.
