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WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team fell to Bowling Green State, 8-4, on Sunday in its first game of the 2009 RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. BGSU pinch hitter Clay Duncan delivered a two-out, two-run single in the top of the seventh that gave the Falcons a lead they would not relinquish.

Junior Chris Hord started on the mound for EKU and pitched 6.1 solid innings, allowing just three runs (one earned) on six hits. He left the game in the seventh with a 4-3 lead. Freshman Greg Terry (0-1) got the loss as he was responsible for the two runners who scored on Duncan’s base hit. Senior David Owens went two thirds of an inning and allowed one run on two hits while sophomore Macon Smith worked the final 1.2 innings of the game for EKU, giving up two runs on five hits.

Richie O’Brien (1-0) received the win for BGSU, pitching two thirds of a scoreless inning and allowing just one hit.

Sophomore Jayson Langfels led the Colonels at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Derek Spencer paced BGSU offensively, batting 2-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI.

Bowling Green got on the board first when shortstop Ryan Shay singled to open the game and was later brought home on a fly out to center by Spencer.

EKU evened the score in the bottom of the third when freshman Jacob Daniel tripled and was later plated on a sacrifice fly to right field by senior Matt Davis.

After Spencer doubled and scored in the fourth to give the Falcons a 2-1 advantage, the Colonels plated three in their half of the inning to take a two-run lead. Langfels led off the inning with a triple and scored when junior Joey Stevens reached first on an error by the BGSU second-baseman. The fourth batter of the inning, sophomore Ryan Faidley, then blasted a triple to center, scoring Stevens. Faidley would later score on a passed ball, making it 4-2.

The Falcons got a run back in the top of the sixth, and in the seventh they took the lead when Duncan laced his two-out, two-run single through the left side of the Colonel infield.

EKU loaded the bases with just one out in the home half of the seventh; however, Langfels grounded into a 463 double play to end the threat and the inning.

The Falcons padded their lead in the eighth. Second-baseman Logan Meisler ripped an RBI single to right for one run. Jon Berti brought home another run with an RBI bunt single that made it 7-4.

The Colonels return to action tomorrow, March 9, when they take on Sacred Heart at 4:00 p.m.