Despite only four hits baseball was able to salvage a 5-3 win in the finale of its Mid-American Conference home-opening series Saturday against Bowling Green.

After a 9-5 loss in game one of a double-header on Saturday and a 1-0 loss in the opener on Friday the Chippewas relied on solid pitching and timely contact, not hitting, to pick up the win.

Senior Rick Dodridge started the game on the mound and went 5.1 innings recording six strikeouts and one earned run.

“I thought Rick Dodridge was outstanding,” said head coach Steve Jaksa. “I thought he pitched a great game and showed a lot of heart. I give him a lot of credit.”

But, Dodridge only got into the sixth inning, so somebody else had to finish the game.

That responsibility went to sophomore Matt Trowbridge.

With runners on the corners and two outs, Trowbridge entered the game and picked up two strikeouts to get out of the inning with the score tied at three.

Trowbridge kept the Falcons at three by picking up four more strikeouts and only two hits and two walks.

“Matt has really done a great job pitching out jams,” Jaksa said. “We’ve done this historically, having closers be able to pitch multiple innings.”

CMU picked up three hits in the first inning, including a two-run home run by freshman first baseman Zack Fields, his third home run on the season after hitting one in game one of the double-header.

Fellow freshman, outfielder Logan Regnier hit a RBI single that knocked in his sophomore outfielder brother Nick before Fields did his damage.

The team would have a chance in the fifth inning to take the lead with the bases loaded and nobody out.

Junior shortstop Noel Santos hit a ball to left-center field that looked like it was going to drop, causing freshman third baseman Morgan Oliver to take off for home, but he ended up getting doubled off of third after a diving grab by leftfielder Andrew Kubuski.

The Chippewas broke through in the eighth inning and picked up two runs without recording a hit.

Nick Regnier leadoff the inning with a walk, and Santos bunted him over to second base before Logan Regnier also walked to put runners on first and second.

That led to Fields smacking a grounder to third base, causing an error by Nick Glazman that allowed the ball to trickle into left field and give the speedy Nick Regnier time to round third and score.

“I thought (Fields) had a quality day, and he’s going to do nothing but get better,” Jaksa said. “He has a great attitude at the plate, which means he’s able to make adjustments, so I’m pleased with his progress.”

They weren’t quite done scoring, redshirt sophomore Tyler Hunty added a little insurance with a perfectly placed suicide squeeze that allowed Logan Regnier to score and give Trowbridge two insurance runs as he closed the game in the ninth.

GAME 2

In the early game of the double-header CMU had five runs again and 11 hits but didn’t pick up the win after some pitching struggles dug it into a hole.

Senior Pat Kaminska got the start but only lasted an inning after giving up three hits and two runs, Jaksa cited the early exit to a strain that the team thought was healed.

Sophomore Dylan Rheault entered the game and struggled through 3.2 innings with seven walks and five earned runs, freshman Jimmy McNamara came in and was strong in 4.1 innings, allowing one earned run, but his team couldn’t mount the comeback behind him.

GAME 1

On Friday, the team saw a 10-inning scoreless streak increase to 19 after it couldn’t get a run across the plate to support sophomore Jordan Foley and another impressive day on the mound for him.

Foley pitched 7.2 innings with eight strikeouts and just one earned run, but that one run was all BGSU needed.

“It was a really good college baseball game,” head coach Steve Jaksa said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way, but we both had about equal opportunities in terms of guys in scoring position and just opportunities. Most of them came with two outs on both sides.”

The score was tied at zero in the bottom of the third, and a different key call by the first base umpire could have changed the game.

With two outs, Noel Santos was on third base after a single to left center and Logan Regnier on second after a walk.

Nick Regnier stepped up to the plate and was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

But, Bowling Green’s pitcher Cody Apthorpe picked off Regnier at first to squash the Chippewas hopes of getting on the scoreboard.

The team would continue to threat but were never able to cross the plate.