Senior second baseman Kevin Cislo never ends a game with his uniform still clean.

Until yesterday, that is.

The tri-captain and the Michigan baseball team couldn’t get down and dirty against Bowling Green yesterday, and the Wolverines dropped another game against a Mid-American Conference team.

Cislo's streak of 68 games reaching base was snapped in the 8-3 loss, the Wolverines' second at Ray Fisher Stadium this season.

Michigan coach Rich Maloney was candid about his team’s performance.

“They played much better than us,” Maloney said sternly. “There’s no argument there. I mean, they won in all facets of the game. Today they definitely outplayed us.”

The Wolverines (16-8) had defeated Bowling Green in five straight meetings prior to yesterday. The loss dropped them to 37-13-1 versus the Falcons.

Freshman pitcher Brandon Sinnery took his lumps early, surrendering three runs in the first frame. But he held Bowling Green (11-12) in check after that, allowing just two hits over the next three innings and striking out two.

Eight batters came to the plate, and the Falcons scored their three runs with two outs in the first inning.

Sinnery said the game plan was to pitch the right-handed hitters inside, but he missed his spots early in the game.

“(In the first inning), I think they were just getting everything I wasn’t locating,” said Sinnery, who made his fourth career start.

Meanwhile, Bowling Green senior Brian Hangbers kept the Michigan bats quiet in three innings of work, allowing only one hit. No Michigan player advanced into scoring position.

The inability to find momentum and defensive mishaps hurt Michigan all game. In the sixth inning, a walk and two errors by freshman third baseman John Lorenz led to a 5-0 Bowling Green lead.

But the Wolverines wouldn’t go down quietly.

Junior first baseman/relief pitcher Mike Dufek hit his team-leading seventh home run, a solo shot, in the seventh inning to spark a comeback effort. Redshirt sophomore Jake McLouth walked and junior Alan Oaks blasted a shot over the wall in left field. The three-run inning kept Michigan within reach.

But Bowling Green responded. It scored on a sacrifice fly in the eighth and added two more runs with two outs in the ninth.

“When we did score the three runs, we needed to come down and shut them out right there,” Maloney said. “Had we kept the game at 5-3, there’s still a pretty good chance, because momentum had switched to our side that we could still pull this thing off.

“And lo and behold, we walk the very first guy. And you just can’t do that in that situation. … I really thought when we got to 5-3, if we held them, in my mind I really felt like we had a realistic shot.”

Michigan is now 2-2 against MAC teams this season, and Sinnery has started three of those four games, including both losses.

The Wolverines had the freshman’s back, providing 11 runs of support in a 11-2 win on Mar. 17 against Eastern Michigan. He got the loss after Michigan managed only one run against the Eagles on Mar 24. The two games against the Eagles epitomize Michigan's inconsistent run support this season.

In order for the Wolverines to fix their problems, it comes down to getting back to how they prepare for their games.

“You got to be consistent in your approach in everything that you do,” Maloney said. “I think too many guys are thinking of the non-success they had previously versus the successes they had in the past. But they know they can.

“So the bottom line is you’ve got to put your mistakes behind you and get that win the next play. Win the next pitch. Win the next at-bat. And they have to have that mindset. That’s the kind of tough mindedness that they have to develop.”

Michigan gets that chance again today at 3:05 vs. Oakland at Ray Fisher Stadium.