Bowling Green State University baseball split a doubleheader on Saturday against the Ball State Cardinals, falling in the first game 10-8 before winning the second game 7-3.
In the first game, the Falcons jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but an eight-run sixth pushed Ball State ahead for the win. As for the second game, the Falcons once again took the lead first with a pair of fourth inning home runs. The Bowling Green advantage stretched to 4-0 before the first Ball State run, resulting in a 7-3 BGSU victory. Nathan Archer led the way with three home runs over the two games.
The doubleheader split brings BGSU’s record to 15-24 on the season while being 9-14 within the MAC.
HOW IT HAPPENED, GAME 1
With two outs in the first the Falcons put together a rally. Kyle Gurney slapped a single to right field, dropping right in front of the right fielder. Tyler Ross followed with a knock to right center to give BGSU runners at the corners. Nathan Archer stepped in and blasted a home run to right field, a three-run shot to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead through one inning.
The Falcons returned to the top of the order to start the bottom of the third with DJ Newman finding the right center gap for a double. Fellow freshman Sam Seidel brought Newman home with a two-run home run to right center, stretching the BGSU lead to 5-0 through three.
Ball State tallied a run in the top of the fifth. A triple off the right center wall followed by a grounder made it a 5-1 score.
The Cardinals added eight in the sixth, including a grand slam, to move in front 9-5.
Archer began the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run to right field, his second home run of the day, to cut into the Ball State lead 9-6.
Later in the inning, Justin Fugitt drew a walk before Leighton Banjoff hit a moonshot of a home run to left field, bringing it to a 9-8 tally.
Ball State added an insurance run in the top of the eighth to stretch their lead to 10-8.
STAT LEADERS, GAME 1
Landon Willeman: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R/ER, 4 K
Nathan Archer: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 1 2 B, 4 RBI, 2 R
Tyler Ross: 2-for-5, 1 R
Leighton Banjoff: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R
Sam Seidel: 1-for-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R
DJ Newman: 1-for-5, 1 2B, 1 R
Kyle Gurney: 1-for-5, 1 R
Ryan Johnston: 1-for-3
HOW IT HAPPENED, GAME 2
After three and a half scoreless innings, Kyle Gurney hit a solo home run taking a hanging breaking ball to left field to begin the bottom of the fourth and give BGSU the 1-0 advantage.
An out was recorded before Nathan Archer lifted his third home run out of the park for the day after hitting two in the first game, pushing the BGSU lead to 2-0.
The Falcons added two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Gurney walked to start the inning. After two outs were recorded, Nathan Rose was intentionally walked and Justin Fugitt was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ball State made a pitching change, but Ryan Johnston hit a single through the left side of the infield, scoring both Gurney and Rose to push the lead to 4-0 BGSU.
Ball State added a run in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to 4-1.
The Falcons added a trio of runs in the bottom of the seventh. DJ Newman began the inning with a walk, joined by Gurney via walk as well. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch to set up a sacrifice fly to center by Tyler Ross to score Newman.
Archer was intentionally walked in the next at-bat to put runners at the corners. Rose followed with a double to left center, scoring both Gurney and Archer to push the advantage to 7-1.
Ball State added two runs, including a home run, in the top of the eighth to bring the score to 7-3.
STAT LEADERS, GAME 2
Rigo Ramos: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 0 R/ER, 3 K
Owen Recker: W, 1.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R/ER
Nathan Archer: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Kyle Gurney: 1-for-1, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB
Nathan Rose: 1-for-2, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB
Ryan Johnston: 1-for-4, 1 RBI
DJ Newman: 1-for-3, 1 R, 2 BB
Adam Fallon: 1-for-4
FALCON STAT FACTS
Gage Schenk entered the record book for the Falcons. Logging four strikeouts, Schenk tied Burke Badenhop for 10th all-time in program history for career strikeouts with 177.
DJ Newman registered a double in the first game and a leadoff single in the second game to continue both his hitting and on-base streaks. Newman’s hitting streak is now at seven games while his on-base streak is now at 10 games. During the on-base streak, Newman is now batting .421 (16-for-38) with 13 runs scored, 11 walks drawn, four RBI, four doubles, two stolen bases and a home run.
Nathan Archer hit three home runs between the two games, doubling his home run total for the season to a now team-high six and stretching his on-base streak to 12 games.
Leighton Banjoff delivered a two-run home run in the first game of the doubleheader to extend his on-base streak to seven games. Banjoff’s home run was his second of the season and first at home as a Falcon.
Kyle Gurney had a hit in both games, including a home run in the second game. Gurney has now hit in three straight for BGSU and reached base in 23 of the last 24 games.
Ryan Johnston tallied a hit in both games as well for BGSU. He also added a hit against Toledo for a three-game hitting streak, including four RBI over the stretch.
Nathan Rose recorded his 15th double of the season, setting a new single-season-high for Rose as a Falcon, passing his 14 from 2021. He needs just one more to enter the BGSU record for doubles in a season.
UP NEXT
The Falcons and Cardinals are set to conclude their weekend series today with a 1 p.m. first pitch at Steller Field. It will also be graduation day for the Falcons as BGSU Baseball recognizes the student-athletes graduating this season.
