MAC Baseball: Falcons clip Cardinals

    CHILLICOTHE — Bird was the word Wednesday morning at VA Memorial Field in Chillicothe with the opening game of the 2010 Mid-American Conference baseball tournament.

    Behind a strong third inning, and a home run in the ninth, the Falcons of Bowling Green, a No. 5 seed, defeated the No. 4 seed Ball State Cardinals 6-4 to advance in the next round of the winners bracket.

    In MAC play this year BG was 18-9 and the Cardinals were 19-8.

    The Falcons will play on Thursday at 4 p.m. and will face Central Michigan. Ball State will take on Ohio University at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

    BG, who led by one run at the start of the ninth inning, added an insurance run with a lead-off solo home run by junior Ryan Schlater.

    Bowling Green exploded for four runs in the bottom of the third starting with freshman Matthew Pitzulobase swinging for a base hit through middle of infield. His hit was followed with single by Schlater giving the Falcons runners at first and second with no outs.

    After the first out of the third was recorded on a liner caught a third by Ball State's Stephen Claypool, T.J. Blanton, a BG senior, forced a walk to load the bases. The next at-bat went full as senior Dennis Vaughn drew a bases loaded walk. The inning continued to improve with senior Derek Spencer hitting a bases clearing double to the centerfield fence for a four-run lead.

    BG senior Mark Galvin began the fourth with a base hit, advancing two bases on a ground out and passed ball. Schlater produced again, this time in the fourth, with a hard hit two-out single to left field to bring home Galvin for a 5-0 lead.

    In the bottom of the fourth, Ball State junior Kolbrin Vitek drew a one-out walk, following the base on balls with a steal of second base. Before the tournament Vitek was the Cardinals' leading batter with an average of .368 in 55 games. Ian Nielson followed with a two-out walk, giving the Cardinals runners on the corners, but BG pitcher Brennan Smith worked out of the jam, forcing a ground ball to end the inning.

    In the bottom of the fifth, the Cardinals started off with its first two batters reaching the bases with two-straight walks. After both runners advanced to second and third, Smith struck out a batter for the first out, forced a ground out for out number two.

    But with one swing of the bat, the Cardinals scored two runs with a triple by Blake Beemer, cutting the Falcon advantage to three runs after five innings.

    In the bottom of the sixth Vitek led off with a single to the third baseman, but was left stranded on the bases as the Cardinals' half of the inning ended.

    The Cardinals made it a one-run game in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run home run blasted off the bat of T.J. Baumet, scoring Ryan Chenoweth, who was at first base.

    BG ended a eighth inning rally by the Cardinals with a 4-6-3 double play to keep its one-run lead.

    BG relief pitcher Patrick O'Brien retired the side in the bottom of the ninth for the games final three outs.

    The win improves BG to 29-21 and Ball State falls to 28-28.