Sophomore Matt Trowbridge saves the weekend with a win on Saturday
Most closers have to sit and wait until the ninth inning to get their chance on the mound.
Sophomore Matt Trowbridge isn't one of those closers.
Head coach Steve Jaksa called on the lefty Saturday with one out in the sixth inning with runners on the corners, and he needed him to work out the jam. Trowbridge responded with two strikeouts and the score still tied at three.
Trowbridge continued the momentum by finishing the game and picking up the win with six strikeouts.
"The bullpen was a little light after (Pat Kaminska) went down," Jaksa said.
The bullpen had to do extended work in the first game, making Trowbridge's work out of the pen that much more important with back-to-back midweek games coming up.
"Matt has been a pillar out there," Jaksa said. "He had one outing where he stubbed his toe a little bit, but he's done a great job pitching out of jams."
Trowbridge had to battle his way through jams throughout the game on Saturday.
After his third strikeout and a lineout, Bowling Green had a runner on first with two down in the seventh, but, after a single and an error, the Falcons had runners on second and third with the score still tied at three.
That's when Trowbridge came up with his well-timed fourth strikeout of the game.
He found himself in trouble again in the eighth after giving up a single and wild pitch that put a runner on second with no outs and the game remaining tied at three.
And, once again, he answered that adversity with strikeout number five of the game.
That runner would advance to third before Trowbridge recorded strikeout number six to end the inning.
Finally, he was able to return to the mound with a lead after his team picked up two runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Sophomore second baseman Pat MacKenzie had an error but redeemed himself a player later by ranging deep to his left and finding Trowbridge covering first to record the second out of the inning. Trowbridge finished the game by getting a ground ball to third for the out at first.
"I'm really proud of (Trowbridge) and it was much-needed," Jaksa said.
Trowbridge has five saves since becoming the closer, but he earned his first win of the season, improving his record to 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA.
