AVON, Ohio — The Bowling Green State University baseball team claimed a 12-4 final over the Miami RedHawks on Thursday in Bowling Green’s first game in this year’s MAC Tournament.
With the win, the Falcons advance to the MAC Semifinals for the first time since 2013 and will face the winner of Thursday’s nightcap between No. 2 Western Michigan and No. 3 Ball State. The game is set for a 6 p.m. start on Friday with the winner advancing to the MAC Championship on Saturday.
For the Falcons a two-run fourth inning pushed BGSU in front before exploding for six runs in the sixth to extend their lead to 8-1 through six innings played.
The Falcons and RedHawks both added a pair in the seventh before BGSU tacked on two more in the eighth for a 12-3 advantage. Miami scored once in the ninth for a 12-4 final. Jack Krause led the BGSU effort with two doubles and five-RBI.
Miami hit a solo home run to begin the top of the second, taking a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Caden Parker drew a walk before Garrett Wright was hit by a pitch. Parker stole third to put runners at the corners with one out. With a full count to Tyler Ross, Wright was off on movement from first with Ross executing a hit-and-run to score Parker, tying the game at 1-1.
Jack Krause kept the momentum going by ripping a single up the middle past the outstretched glove of the second baseman playing in shallow right field, scoring Wright from second for a 2-1 BGSU advantage.
In the sixth inning, Parker drew a walk and Wright was hit by a pitch to start the inning, similar to the fourth. The runners ran a double-steal followed by a Ross walk to load the bases. Krause stepped in and belted a double into the right field corner, scoring both Parker and Wright for a 4-1 BGSU lead and a Miami pitching change.
After the change, Leighton Banjoff hit a ball into left field, scoring both Ross and Krause. A fielding error on the play advanced Banjoff to third. Sam Seidel blooped a single into right field, scoring Banjoff for a 7-1 score.
Later in the inning, Archer pulled a single into right field, bringing Seidel around to score from second. The run pushed BGSU’s lead to 8-1 with another Miami pitching change.
Miami answered in the top of the seventh with a pair of runs to trim the score to 8-3.
In the bottom half, the Falcons added to their lead. With one out, Ross and Krause both singled followed by a Banjoff walk. Miami made a pitching change, but Seidel drew a walk to push a run home, extending the BGSU lead to 9-3.
With the bases still loaded, TJ Takats put a ball in play that scored Krause to bring the tally to 10-3.
In the bottom of the eighth, walks to Wright and Ross set up a two-RBI double by Krause into the right center gap for a 12-3 score.
Miami added a sacrifice fly in the ninth to cut into the lead 12-4.
BGSU has tallied 33 wins this season, marking the most since hitting the same mark in 2005. The next milestone for BGSU would be matching the program record for wins in a season, set at 36 most recently by the 2001 team.
With the win, Nic Good now has a team-high six on the season. He also has the most career wins on the active BGSU roster with nine.
Jack Krause stole a base to bring his career total to 41. That moves him into a tie for ninth all-time with David Barkholz (2001-04). Krause added a five-RBI day, the team’s first since both Krause and Nathan Archer each had five against Oakland on May 1.
Sam Seidel broke through with a single in the third inning for the first BGSU hit of the day. Seidel has now reached in four straight for the Falcons, including 42 of his 43 games this season.
Leighton Banjoff singled in the fourth inning to continue his on-base streak to a team-leading 26 games. Banjoff drew a walk in the bottom of the seventh, his 41st of the season to tie him with Jason Welch (1990) for fifth all-time in single-season walks.
Garrett Wright was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning and in the sixth inning, his 20th and 21st times this year, extending his hold on the program record. Wright has also reached in six consecutive games.
Landon Roque drew a seventh inning walk to push his on-base streak to 16 games for Bowling Green.
Tyler Ross reached base multiple times in the game, bringing his on-base streak to seven games for the Falcons.
