Falcons Fall In Extras, 8-7, To Begin Weekend Series In Carbondale
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Bowling Green State University baseball team began their four-game weekend series in Carbondale on Friday (Feb. 28) against Southern Indiana. The Falcons jumped out in front with a 7-0 lead, including four scoreless innings by DJ Newman in his first pitching appearance this season. However, the Screaming Eagles began battling back, chipping away at the lead before forcing extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, a solo home run made the difference to swing the game to USI. The Falcons close out the month of February with a 4-3 record, their first winning record in the month since the 2007 season when they went 2-1.
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Bowling Green State University baseball team began their four-game weekend series in Carbondale on Friday (Feb. 28) against Southern Indiana. The Falcons jumped out in front with a 7-0 lead, including four scoreless innings by DJ Newman in his first pitching appearance this season. However, the Screaming Eagles began battling back, chipping away at the lead before forcing extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, a solo home run made the difference to swing the game to USI. The Falcons close out the month of February with a 4-3 record, their first winning record in the month since the 2007 season when they went 2-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Gunnar Antillon began the game by being hit by a pitch. A fielder's choice from Garrett Wright followed with Wright stealing second. A fly ball to left advanced Wright to third before TJ Takats was hit by a pitch and Brady Birchmeier walked to load the bases.
- Sam Seidel and Caden Parker both followed with bases loaded walks, scoring Wright and Takats to put the Falcons in front 2-0 despite not having a base hit in the inning.
- In the third inning, DJ Newman logged the first Bowling Green hit of the day with a single up the middle, stealing second during the next at-bat as well. Birchmeier joined the bases with a walk with both runners advancing on a grounder.
- With runners at second and third and two outs, Parker delivered a single to right center, bringing home both Newman and Birchmeier for a 4-0 BGSU lead.
- BGSU added another in the fourth. Antillon singled and stole second, setting up an RBI double off the bat of Newman to left center, helping himself on the mound for a 5-0 advantage.
- The two-out rally continued. After a Takats walk, Birchmeier singled through the right side to score Newman and push the lead to 6-0.
- The Falcons tacked on another in the fifth. Alex Laird singled, stole second and took third on a wild pitch before a sacrifice fly from Antillon brought Laird home for a 7-0 lead.
- Southern Indiana scored their first runs in the bottom of the fifth leading to a 7-2 score.
- USI added three runs in the sixth inning, cutting the lead down to 7-5 for Bowling Green.
- After a scoreless seventh, the Screaming Eagles tallied a run in the eighth to pull within one, 7-6, going into the ninth.
- In the ninth, Southern Indiana added one to force extras. A double play turned by the Falcons ended the inning with a 7-7 score.
- A home run to begin the bottom of the 10th for Southern Indiana forced the 8-7 final.
STAT LEADERS
- DJ Newman (P): 4.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R/ER, 4 K
- Ty Roder: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 1 K
- DJ Newman (DH): 2-for-6, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB
- Caden Parker: 2-for-4, 3 RBI, 1 BB
- Garrett Antillon: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 SB
- Alex Laird: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 SB
- Brady Birchmeier: 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 BB
FALCON STAT FACTS
- DJ Newman made his pitching debut for the Falcons, getting the starting nod. Newman struck out four in the outing and didn't allow a run, marking his first pitching appearance since April 13 of last season.
- Caden Parker had a strong day at the plate for the Falcons, knocking two hits in four at-bats. Parker pushed home three RBI for the Orange and Brown, a new career-high for his time with BGSU.
- Brady Birchmeier and Garrett Wright both logged hits in the game to extend their hitting and on-base streaks. Birchmeier now has a team-leading seven game hitting streak as well as a nine-game on-base streak. As for Wright, he has a team-leading 15-game on-base streak going back to last season with a six-game hitting streak.
- Wright swiped two stolen bases in the game, becoming the first Falcon this season with multiple stolen bases in a game.
- Gunner Antillon continued to show a strong bat at the top of the lineup, logging two hits. Through seven games, Antillon already has four multi-hit outings for the Falcons.
- Alex Laird posted his first multi-hit game of his collegiate career, recording two singles. He also stole his first base and scored in the game, having now scored in each of the three games he's appeared in this season.
UP NEXT
Bowling Green will continue their weekend in Carbondale with a doubleheader on Saturday (March 1). BGSU will begin with Southern Illinois at 1 p.m. EST before taking on Southern Indiana at 5 p.m. EST. The weekend series will conclude on Sunday (March 2) against Southern Illinois with a 1 p.m. EST first pitch.
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