ROCHESTER, Mich. – The first in a five-game homestand, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies were defeated by the Bowling Green Falcons, 16-4, on Tuesday, April 18.
With the loss, the Golden Grizzlies fall to 14-22 (7-8 Horizon League) and are still a game above .500 at 6-5 at the Oakland Baseball Field this season.
Residing in the Mid-American Conference (MAC), which has proven to be a very strong mid-major league in 2023, Bowling Green improves to 14-19 (8-10).
Both squads utilized a "Bullpen Day" approach Tuesday, with the two teams combining to use 17 pitchers, nine for the Falcons and eight for Oakland.
Each of these Bowling Green hurlers worked exactly one inning, with Avon Lake, Ohio freshman right-hander Perry Miller, who handled the third, picking up his first career win.
Franklin, Wisconsin's
Jaxson Easterlin, a fellow freshman righty, started for the Golden Grizzlies and was hit with the loss, dropping him to 1-2. Going four innings, the longest of the 39-degree day's 17 pitchers, he allowed three runs on four hits with a walk and two strikeouts.
In relief for Oakland, freshman
Rhys Francis recorded four outs without giving up a run over the sixth and seventh innings and senior left-hander
Chase Keeney tossed 1.2 hitless frames from the seventh through ninth with a pair of strikeouts.
While it is still a small sample of data, Keeney has yet to give up a hit or run across three innings in three appearances this year with only one base on balls and four punchouts.
Shaker Heights, Ohio senior third baseman Nathan Rose paced the Falcon attack with two hits and three RBI and Archbold, Ohio freshman designated hitter DJ Newman also tallied a couple of hits.
Hilliard, Ohio senior right fielder Justin Fugitt hit Bowling Green's lone home run of the afternoon, a two-run shot to right in the fourth, his third of the season.
The Golden Grizzlies actually matched the Falcons' 10 hits, with senior right fielder
Ian Cleary, graduate student second baseman
Jared Miller and sophomore third baseman
Brandon Nigh recording two apiece.
For Cleary, this raises his team-leading batting average to .345 (38-110) and Miller hit his second big fly of the year in the fourth inning, making him the seventh Oakland player with multiple home runs in 2023, joining redshirt sophomore
Drew Collins and redshirt senior
Thomas Green (6 each), Cleary, junior
Lucas Loos and Nigh (3 each) and junior
Ryan Dykstra (2).
Photograph courtesy of Ceejay Round, Oakland University Athletics
UP NEXT
The Golden Grizzlies' five-game homestand will come in as many days, with the second game in the stretch coming on Wednesday, April 19 against another MAC foe, the Eastern Michigan Eagles, at 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday will be the second meeting between these two teams this season, as the Eagles topped Oakland, 7-5, in the Golden Grizzlies' home opener on March 28.
