Lima, OH- In what was supposed to be a triple header to beat the weather predicted for Saturday afternoon, the Falcons instead got in two seven inning matchups against the University of Northwestern Ohio Racers (5-14-1) due to poor weather conditions. The Falcons were able to earn a victory in both, defeating the Racers 12-5 in Game 1, and then an 18-10 slugfest in the nightcap. With the two wins the Falcons have improved to 17-10 with one game remaining on the Spring trip.
Game 1- The Racers jumped on the board first as they welcomed Falcons starter Johann Doerrer (Dolgeville, NY) to the game with a 2-run blast from Michael Knollman to give the home team an early 2-0 lead. Neither team could get much going over the next three inings and the score would remain the same until the Falcons earned a run in the 5th to make it a 2-1 ballgame. Racers starter Alex Brinkman lead off the inning with two consecutive walks to Braxten Ramirez (Amarillo, TX) and Jacob Deziel (Merrimac, MA) to put two runners on with no outs. The Racers made a change and brought in reliever Ryan Jungbauer to face Jorge Sanchez (Caguas, PR). Sanchez got his bat on a tough 1-2 pitch and knocked a single by the shortstop into left allowing Ramirez to score easily to make it 2-1. Jungbauer settled in and was able to retire the 2-3-4 batters in order to get out of the inning with his team up. The Racers could not take advantage though, as they struggled to get anything going off of Doerrer after the first inning, as he held them to just four hits over the next five innings. The Falcons took the lead in the 6th as John Batista (Lawrence, MA) started the inning off with a triple to right center. Cameron Pearson singled him just two pitches later knotting the game at two a piece. After Joshua Rogers (Highlands Ranch, CO) reached on a fielder's choice, Deziel earned his first RBI of the day taking a double to left field giving his team their first lead of the day, 3-2. Mitchell Lundholm (Plymouth, MA) made it 5-2 after smacking a single through the middle plating Sanchez and Rivera who were walked and hit by a pitch, respectively. The Falcons put the game out of reach when Rogers and Jonathan Rosado (Bayamon, PR) each drilled homeruns to cap off a seven hit-seven run inning for the Falcons to put them up 12-2. The Racers did add three runs in the 7th on three straight hits, but it was not enough and the Falcons held on for the 12-5 win.
Lundholm led the way for the Falcons again as he went 3 for 4 at the plate for the second consecutive game, while adding three RBI's. Sanchez and Batista also collected two hits a piece in the victory, with Sanchez now hitting safely in his last 10 games. Johann Doerrer settled in nicely after the shaky first and pitched a complete game for his first win of the season, allowing seven hits and striking out five. The Racers were led by leadoff man Frazier Lorenz who was 3 for 4 at the plate with a pair of RBI in the losing effort. Mitch Ebben would take the loss for the Racers giving up the four runs in the 6th.
Game 2- The Falcons continued right where they left off in the nightcap as they got on the scoreboard first with a run in the top of the first. Jorge Sanchez did what he has done all season and started the game off with a hit. He was plated three batters later when Jonathan Rosado hit a sac fly to make it 1-0 after half an inning. The Racers matched the Falcons run in the bottom of the first off of Falcons starter Jose Galan (Alta, PR) to knot the game at 1-1 after one full. The Fisher bats continued to stay hot in the second grabbing a pair of runs off of two hits, and then breaking the game open with a 6-run top of the third. The Falcons got hits from Rogers, Sanchez, Ivan Rivera (Brooklyn, NY) and Lundholm while earning four walks off of Racers pitching to make it a 9-1 game after the top of the third. The Racers got to Galan in the bottom of the 4th as they got a solo shot from Rubel Perez and took advantage of a Fisher error to make it 9-3 heading to the top of the 5th. FC got another six runs in the 5th, giving the Falcons extra breathing room. Nine of the first ten batters in the inning reached as the Falcons had six hits to make it a 15-3 game. The Racers did not go quietly however, as they stuck around and scored seven runs off of Falcons relievers to make it 15-10 heading to the top of the 7th. Fisher was able to put the game out of reach as they added another three runs in the 7th and held on for the 18-10 victory.
Ivan Rivera had the hot stick in the nightcap, going 4 for 4 at the plate with 4 RBI and a double to help lead his team to their 17th victory of the season. Sanchez extended his hit streak to 11 games as he had two hits, while Lundholm and Ramirez each tacked on two hits a piece. Jose Galan pitched well for the Falcons and earned his first win of the season allowing just two hits while striking out six Racers. Rubel Perez was the offensive leader for the Racers as he went 3 for 4 with three RBI and a pair of dingers in the losing effort. Brett McEldowney took the loss on the mound as he did not get out of the second inning, allowing three earned runs while striking out one.
The two teams will finish up their series with a 1pm matchup Saturday afternoon. The game can be watched live here.