By Nicholas Huenefeld

Special to the Sentinel-Tribune

Defensive miscues hurt the Bowling Green baseball team on Tuesday in a 6-1 Northern Lakes League home loss to Sylvania Southview.

All six runs scored by Southview were unearned as they came with the aid of five BG errors. The Cougars did all their damage in the third and fourth innings with four and two runs, respectively.

“Defense hurt us today,” Bowling Green coach Fred Riggs said. “I don’t know if it was a lack of focus or just being unlucky. I think it was probably a little of both.”

In the third, back-to-back errors with one out and one on opened up the floodgates for BG defensively. Southview took advantage with a single, a double, a triple and another single in consecutive at bats. The rally ended when leftfielder Caleb Kunstmann threw out a runner at home.

A bases loaded hit batter and a sacrifice fly stretched Southview’s lead to six in the fourth.

Kasy Dean’s RBI fielder’s choice groundout plated the lone run for the Bobcats in the fifth. Brent Boston walked and Rhett Winger singled to set up the rally.

Outside of the fifth, the best scoring chance came in the third when the Bobcats loaded the bases with two outs but a fly out ended that rally.

“I think that they just chirped us,” Riggs said. “I believe that 100 percent. The kids were smacked in the mouth by some chirping. Our team does it. You have to be able to take it. That’s the bottom line.

“I think they got in our heads, and we didn’t attack some baseballs that we should. Even at the plate, we were dwelling on things and became individual-minded instead of team-minded.”

Winger went 2-for-3 from the leadoff spot for the Bobcats as he had half of the team’s four hits. Kunstmann and Jack Brown had the other hits, while Brown registered the team’s lone stolen base.

Brown started on the mound for Bowling Green, and the duo of Matthew Brinkman and Drake Joseph combined for 3.2 scoreless innings in relief.

“Overall, I think our pitching did pretty good,” Riggs said. “We struggled a little bit in the beginning, but I think our guys who came in in relief did really well. We have to hit better, especially with runners in scoring position. We have to get them in.”

BG will close out the week on the road at Defiance and Findlay on Thursday and Friday, respectively.