On Friday, Bowling Green won a Northern Lakes League cross-divisional league game from Toledo Whitmer, 8-6, at Bobcat Field.
The game was originally scheduled to be played in Toledo, but unplayable field conditions due to the early morning rain forced a venue change to BG. The Panthers were the designated home team for the contest.
The Bobcats were led by two hits each from junior catcher Joey Kline, senior pitcher/first baseman Will Brose, and senior third baseman Braden Loomis.
Kline had an RBI single in the first that put BG in front, 1-0. Loomis had run-producing singles in the third and fifth frames.
With the game tied at 1-1 in the third, BG took the lead on a bases-loaded balk. Loomis then followed with the first of his two RBI singles, scoring sophomore Cash Wisniewski who had singled earlier in his first varsity plate appearance. Wisniewski entered the game a half inning earlier to play first base.
Leading 3-2 entering the fourth, the Bobcats scored twice on two singles, two walks, a hit batter, and two throwing errors by the left fielder and catcher that did not play into the runs being unearned.
In the fifth, after Whitmer had drawn back to within one run at 5-4, the Bobcats put up three unearned tallies to go ahead, 8-4. Two BG runners reached base via errors and eventually scored.
The Panthers responded with two runs (one earned) off senior reliever Drake Joseph in the sixth with two outs on the board to close within two. Joseph worked a scoreless seventh to preserve the win.
Brose started and earned the victory for the Bobcats. He allowed four runs (3 earned) and seven hits, including two infield singles He walked three, hit a pair of batters and fanned one. Brose also picked off one runner and he caught another off first, but that runner eluded being put out due to a bad throw to second.
Brose also scored three of BG’s eight runs. BG was aided by seven free passes by Whitmer pitchers, including two to senior left fielder Caleb Kunstmann. BG also benefited from being hit by the pitch four times.
For the game, both teams combined for 11 bases on balls and nine hit batters.
The Panthers out hit the Bobcats, 9-7, including the game’s lone extra-base hit, a triple by senior designated hitter Cory Viola.
Junior right fielder Brody Lajiness and senior center fielder Sean Doran had two safeties each for Whitmer. Doran reached base four times and scored three runs. Lajiness had one RBI, while senior first baseman Joseph Naparstek drove in a pair of runs on an infield hit up the middle in the sixth.
Senior starting pitcher Harlan Horsby took the loss for the Panthers, working the first three innings and yielding three runs. Whitmer used three relievers to close the contest.
BG plays a home-and-home series with Springfield on Monday and Tuesday with the opener slated to be played in BG.. First pitch on Monday will commence after the completion of the Bobcats’ Senior Day ceremony which starts at 4:30 p.m.
