Five Home Runs Highlight 11-4 Victory

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee scored 10 times in its last three at-bats, including belting five home runs, erasing an early deficit en route to an 11-4 victory over Bowling Green Friday at Reese Smith Field.

Senior Matt Ray homered twice and had three hits while freshman Blake McDade also collected three hits and four RBIs along with his first career home run. Rawley Bishop had his second homer of the season and Wayne Kendrick his first, as Middle Tennessee registered 16 hits in the contest.

Blue Raider reliever Brett Reilley (1-0) worked three innings to pick up the win, giving up two runs on four hits. The righthander walked one and struck out two.

Middle Tennessee starter Matt Scott lasted five innings, allowing two runs on six hits while walking three and striking out four. Jordan Alvis tossed a perfect ninth inning for the Blue Raiders.

Brett Browning (0-1), the second of three Bowling Green hurlers, took the loss, giving up five runs on five hits in just 2.1 innings, including a pair of home runs. Dusty Hawk followed Browning and didn't have much better luck, allowing five runs on seven hits in 1.2 innings, including three round-trippers.

Ray was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Bishop scored three times and drove in a pair of runs for the Blue Raiders (3-3).

The Falcons scored the first run of the game in the second inning after a one-out single from Jeff Talmanik, who went to second on a wild pitch. Walks to Andrew Foster and Greg Feldkamp loaded the bases before a liner to center from Chris Gacom plated Talmanik for a 1-0 BGSU lead.

The Blue Raiders tied the game in the fourth when Bishop was hit with one out and scored on a double down the rightfield line from McDade, with Bishop sliding in just ahead of the tag.

Bowling Green took the lead again in the fifth with a leadoff single from Kurt Wells, a single by Marty Baird and an RBI double off the base of the centerfield wall from Josh Dietz, scoring Wells.

The Falcons added another run in the sixth after a two-out walk to Feldkamp, who moved to second on a wild pitch. Gacom singled on a slow roller to the leftside to put runners on the corners before a single to center from Wells gave BGSU a 3-1 advantage.

But the Blue Raiders exploded for seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings, including three home runs, to take the lead for good.

In the sixth Bishop walked with one out and Myles Ervin singled to right before McDade lifted a high drive to leftcenter that just cleared the wall for his first career home run, giving Middle Tennessee a 4-3 advantage.

In the seventh Ray led off with a blast over the leftfield wall, his first of the year, extending the lead to 5-3. Doug Birkofer then singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and then to third on a sacrifice bunt from Wayne Kendrick. Adam Warren chopped a single over the third baseman's head to score Birkofer.

Bishop then belted his second home run of the season off the crosswalk in leftcenter, giving the Blue Raiders an 8-3 lead.

Bowling Green cut into the lead with a run in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Mark Galvin singled to leftfield and Gacom doubled with two outs to plate pinch-runner Kevin Leady.

Middle Tennessee added three more runs in the eighth, as well. Drew Robertson walked to leadoff before Ray hit his second homer in as many innings, this one from the other side of the plate, just over the rightfield wall. One batter later Kendrick hit his first homer of the season, just inside the leftfield foul pole, giving the Blue Raiders an 11-4 lead.

The two teams play again Saturday at 1 p.m. at Reese Smith Field and conclude the series Sunday at 1 p.m.

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