The UT baseball team had a rough start to Mid-American Conference play this weekend, losing a trio of games to Bowling Green. The Rockets lost 10-6 and 9-6 in a doubleheader on Saturday and then lost 6-5 in the series finale on Sunday.
In the first game on Saturday, BGSU and UT combined for 16 runs and 18 hits. Bowling Green took the lead first with four runs in the fourth inning.
The Rockets pulled within one in the top of the seventh on a two-run home run from second-year John Servello. BGSU ran away with the game by scoring four in the seventh and two in the eighth, resulting in the 10-6 win.
First-year Darryn Davis tallied three hits, while both Servello and third-year Michael Ryan launched two-run home runs. Fourth-year Michael Jacob started on the mound, throwing 6.1 innings for UT, and first-years Jamie Myers and Kyle Jones came in as relief out of the bullpen.
The game started out slow as the two teams played three and a half innings before recording the first hit of the game. A one-out single for Bowling Green in the bottom of the fourth put runners at the corners, the first offensive threat for either side to that point. BGSU ended up scoring four runs in the fourth, three coming on
RBI base hits and one on a bases-loaded walk.
Fourth-year Riley Campbell recorded the first Toledo hit of the day in the top of the fifth, and first-year
Thomas Eitniear drove in the first UT run of the day in the next at-bat, getting the Rockets on the board at 4-1.
Servello’s two-run homer to left field in the top of the seventh cut the Falcon lead to one at 4-3.
Bowling Green had another four-run surge in the bottom of the seventh. A bases-loaded walk and hit by pitch were followed by a two-run base hit to center field, putting BGSU ahead 8-3.
Ryan belted a two-run shot to left field to pull within three, 8-5.
The Falcons brought the lead back up to five in the bottom of the eighth to make it 10-5. A wild pitch and sacrifice fly did the damage for BGSU.
Davis chipped into the deficit with an RBI single in the top of the ninth to make the score 10-6.
In the second game, Eitniear led the Rocket offense with a game-high three hits, while fourth-year Brad Boss, second-year Chris Meyers and first-year Ryan Thompson all had two hits apiece. Boss and Thompson each hit home runs to right field as well.
Third-year Doug Smith started the game on the mound and fourth-year Axel Bueter pitched in relief. Second-year Kyle Bischoff pitched 3.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, striking out three and allowing just one hit and one walk.
Boss led off the game with a solo home run, Servello followed that up with a double, and he scored on an RBI triple from second year Chris Meyers. Davis ended the scoring with an RBI fielder’s choice to give UT a 3-0 lead before the Falcons took an at-bat.
Bowling Green got on the board with a run-scoring base hit up the middle in the bottom of the first.
Boss drove in his second run of the game in the top of the second to increase the Rocket lead to 4-1, but the Falcons countered with a couple runs in the bottom half of the inning to pull within one, 4-3.
BGSU took its first lead of the game with a three-run third inning, giving the Rockets a 6-4 deficit.
Thompson’s solo shot in the top of the fourth pulled UT within one, but the Falcons blasted a two-run homer in the bottom half of the fourth to once again reclaim a three-run lead, 8-5.
Bowling Green added a run in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly to make it 9-5.
Servello’s RBI groundout in the top of the eighth drove in Eitniear to make the score 9-6.
On Sunday, Servello tallied two doubles, drove in two runs and scored twice for the Midnight Blue and Gold on Sunday. Boss and Davis both drove in runs for UT, while third-year Layne Schnitz-Paxton threw 6.1 innings and struck out two.
Toledo did the first damage in the top of the third. With Eitniear and Campbell on base, Boss placed a single into the gap in right-center field to score a run.
Eitniear touched home on that play, and Campbell later scored on a BGSU throwing error to put the Rockets ahead, 2-0.
Bowling Green tied the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth. A leadoff walk was followed by a single to put two runners on base, then the Falcons’ sacrifice bunt attempt caused a Rocket throwing error, allowing a run to score. BGSU then tied the game on a sacrifice fly.
UT retook the lead in the top of the fifth. Servello doubled in a run, then came in to score on a wild pitch two batters later to make it 4-2.
Servello scored on a base hit from Davis in the top of the seventh to give Toledo a 5-2 lead.
Third-year Austin Calopietro came into the game with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh, but got the Rockets out of trouble by striking out both batters he faced to get UT out of the inning.
Bowling Green had bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, and then cleared them with a bases-clearing double that tied the game at 5-5.
A leadoff triple on the first pitch in the bottom of the ninth put a runner 90 feet away for the Falcons, and that runner scored when the next batter roped a game-winning single.
The Rockets will travel to take on Ohio State at 6:35 pm, March 27 in Columbus before returning home to host Western Michigan at 3:05 p.m. Friday at Scott Park.
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