 |
Butler Posts Split At Cleveland State
April 15, 2006
Sophomore Bryan Bokowy pitched seven strong innings and junior Tony Barnes drove in three runs to lead Butler to a 9-5 victory over Cleveland State in the first game of a Horizon League doubleheader at Forest Hill Park in East Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday, April 15. The host Vikings used a late rally to capture the second game, 4-3. The Bulldogs (14-19, 8-8 Horizon League) staked Bokowy to a 7-0 lead in the opener and the Butler lefthander held Cleveland State to four runs through seven innings. He recorded a season-high nine strikeouts for the second consecutive game, while walking just one. Senior Patrick Feeney pitched the final two innings for the Bulldogs. Barnes drove in Butler's first run with a single in the first inning, and he plated the Bulldogs' final two runs with a two-run, home run in the sixth frame. The home run was his career-best seventh of the season. Barnes finished with three hits in five trips to the plate. After scoring a pair of runs in the top of the second inning, Butler took command with four runs in the fourth. Freshman Michael Stout had a two-run single in the inning, junior Ricky Chomicz added an RBI bunt and freshman Joel Matheny drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk. Cleveland State (5-22, 4-9) took a 1-0 lead off of Butler starter Brian Deter in the first inning of the second game, but the Bulldogs tied things up in the third inning on junior Aaron Thompson's first home run of the year. Both teams scored a single run in the fifth inning, before sophomore Joe Pauley gave Butler a 3-2 lead with a solo home run in the seventh inning.
The Vikings scored the deciding runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on a single by John Westra, a double by Steve Chinn, a run-scoring single by Rich Ranells and a throwing error by Pauley. The two teams will play the final game of the three-game series at Forest Hills Park on Sunday, April 16, at 12 noon. |
