Falcons Fall To Fighting Irish In Series Opener
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Bowling Green State University baseball team began the weekend series against Notre Dame on Friday (May 9) in South Bend. The Falcons and Fighting Irish started with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch, moving the game under the lights in the later innings. Notre Dame scored six runs in the first two innings to jump out to a lead. Nate Kress came on out of the bullpen and allowed just one run over the next four innings. However, a three-run home run in the seventh walked it off for Notre Dame with a 10-0 run rule. The series will resume on Saturday (May 10) with a 2 p.m. first pitch at Notre Dame.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Bowling Green State University baseball team began the weekend series against Notre Dame on Friday (May 9) in South Bend. The Falcons and Fighting Irish started with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch, moving the game under the lights in the later innings. Notre Dame scored six runs in the first two innings to jump out to a lead. Nate Kress came on out of the bullpen and allowed just one run over the next four innings. However, a three-run home run in the seventh walked it off for Notre Dame with a 10-0 run rule. The series will resume on Saturday (May 10) with a 2 p.m. first pitch at Notre Dame.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Notre Dame scored two in the bottom of the first for a 2-0 lead.
- The Falcons challenged in the second inning. Caden Bates singled before moving up to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bradyen Curlis. Alex Laird singled up the middle with Bates attempting to score, but a diving play by the Notre Dame shortstop and a throw home beat Bates to the plate, keeping the 2-0 score.
- In the bottom of the second, the Fighting Irish added four to push their lead to 6-0. Another run crossed in the fourth for a 7-0 tally.
- Notre Dame made a pitching change going into the sixth inning. On the first pitch from the new arm, Gunner Antillon tripled off the right field wall. However, the Fighting Irish fought back with three strikeouts to keep the 7-0 score in place.
- A three-run home run in the seventh pushed the score to 10-0 for Notre Dame with a walk-off run rule final.
STAT LEADERS
- Gunner Antillon: 1-for-3, 1 3B
- Brayden Curlis: 1-for-2
- Zack Horky: 1-for-3
- Caden Bates: 1-for-3
- Alex Laird: 1-for-1
FALCON STAT FACTS
- With a two-out base knock in the first inning, Zack Horky extended both his hitting and on-base streaks, now at 11 and 18, respectively, both ranking second on the team.
- Gunner Antillon's sixth inning triple extended his hitting streak to 10 games with the triple marking his second of the season. He also now has an 11-game on-base streak.
- Nate Kress came on in relief for the Falcons, tossing four-plus innings for BGSU, striking out two. Kress was the only BGSU reliever in the game, saving the bullpen efforts for the remainder of the series.
UP NEXT
The Falcons and Fighting Irish will continue the series in South Bend on Saturday (May 10) with a 2 p.m. start before transitioning the series to Bowling Green on Sunday (May 11) with a 3 p.m. first pitch. Any schedule changes will be announced on BGSUFalcons.com as well as Twitter/X (@BGSU_Baseball).
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