Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, February 16
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
2 p.m. EST
Bowling Green State University
at
Middle Tennessee
Photo by: Levi Phillips, BGSU Athletics
Falcons To Open 2024 Season This Weekend With Three-Game Series Against MTSU
February 14, 2024 | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Bowling Green State University baseball team will open up the 2024 campaign this weekend with a trip to the state of Tennessee, taking on Middle Tennessee State. BGSU and MTSU will begin the season with a three-game series from Feb. 16-18. This will mark the fourth time in program history that Bowling Green will open a season against Middle Tennessee, doing so in 2007, 2019 and 2021 as well. The series between the Falcons and Raiders will be available to stream through ESPN+.
Current Weekend Schedule
Friday, February 16 | 2 p.m. EST
Saturday, February 17 | 3 p.m. EST
Sunday, February 18 | 2 p.m. EST
Projected BGSU Rotation
Friday: RHP DJ Newman
Saturday: LHP Nic Good
Sunday: RHP Calvin Mitchell
Scouting Middle Tennessee State
MTSU is coming off a 2-23 campaign where they went 27-29 on the season and 14-16 within Conference-USA. The Raiders made it to the conference semifinals in tournament play. Head Coach Jerry Meyers served in an interim role in 2023 before becoming the head coach of the Raiders this season and removing the interim title. A season ago, MTSU posted a 17-12 record at home, including wins in their first five home contests.
Series History
What To Watch For
Falcons Facts To Follow
Newman Looks To Build On 2023
As a freshman in 2023, DJ Newman earned unanimous Freshman All-America honors. A two-way player, Newman was named the MAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year as well as All-MAC First Team as a DH. Newman led all MAC freshmen with a batting average of .383, ranking fourth overall in the MAC. He also posted the third best on-base percentage in the MAC (.481). As for the mound, Newman registered an ERA of 1.80 in MAC play, allowing just three runs.
Archer Spends Summer In Cape Cod
Over the summer, Nathan Archer suited up for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod Baseball League. Archer appeared in 24 games for the Red Sox and aided the team to an Eastern Division Championship title. In his 24 games, Archer hit .269 with three home runs, nine RBI and five stolen bases. Now a junior, Archer has played in 100 of 102 games for the Falcons over the last two seasons. He also earned MAC All-Defensive Team and All-MAC Second Team honors last season.
Penrod From The Pen
Last season, Connar Penrod recorded the win in four of BGSU's first five wins, all coming out of the bullpen. The four wins for Penrod concluded the season atop the stat sheet as the most wins by a member of the pitching staff. The total also tied for 13th in the MAC. Penrod made 18 appearances for BGSU last year, all out of the pen, and logged 10 scoreless appearances. He finished the season with a 3.00 ERA, the lowest among BGSU pitchers with 10.0+ innings pitched.
The Seidel Side Of BGSU Baseball
Brothers Isaiah and Sam Seidel will both suit up for the Falcons for the second straight season. This year will be Sam's sophomore year while Isaiah is entering his senior campaign and third with Bowling Green. Last season, Isaiah, the older of the two brothers, made 16 appearances out of the bullpen and registered two saves for the Falcons. As for Sam, he made 42 starts for the Orange and Brown, reaching base in 31 of his starts as well as 34 of his 47 games played. He led the MAC in sacrifice bunts with eight and drew 36 walks, tied for 11th in the MAC.
Backyard Baseball
The Falcons are a homegrown team this season with 11 players being from within 50 miles of Bowling Green's home field, Steller Field. The closest players to home for Bowling Green are TJ Takats (Perrysburg, Ohio, 15 miles), Nate Kress (Weston, Ohio 12.5 miles), Astin Morman (Waterville, Ohio, 11.1 miles) and David Silva (Tontogany, Ohio, 7.5 miles). In total, on the roster of 36 players, the Falcons have 27 players from the state of Ohio and six from Michigan.
Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons' baseball team on social media
Twitter - @BGSU_Athletics and @BGSU_Baseball
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgsu_baseball'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics'
YouTube - 'Falcons Athletics'
Current Weekend Schedule
Friday, February 16 | 2 p.m. EST
Saturday, February 17 | 3 p.m. EST
Sunday, February 18 | 2 p.m. EST
Projected BGSU Rotation
Friday: RHP DJ Newman
Saturday: LHP Nic Good
Sunday: RHP Calvin Mitchell
Scouting Middle Tennessee State
MTSU is coming off a 2-23 campaign where they went 27-29 on the season and 14-16 within Conference-USA. The Raiders made it to the conference semifinals in tournament play. Head Coach Jerry Meyers served in an interim role in 2023 before becoming the head coach of the Raiders this season and removing the interim title. A season ago, MTSU posted a 17-12 record at home, including wins in their first five home contests.
Series History
- This will be the 11th matchup all-time between Bowling Green and MTSU with the series dating back to 2007. Middle Tennessee State leads the series with a 7-3 record.
- The last BGSU win in the series came on Feb. 16, 2019 by a score of 4-3.
- Middle Tennessee State has won the last four meetings, including a 10-inning game in 2021.
What To Watch For
- The Falcons will be looking to win their season opener for the first time since 2022 when they bested St. Louis 22-8 to begin the season.
- The 2022 season also marked the last time BGSU won the opening series to a season, taking two of three from St. Louis.
- The last time BGSU opened a season with a sweep was in 2006 on the road against Murray State.
- This will be Bowling Green's first series in Murfreesboro since opening up the 2021 campaign against Middle Tennessee State.
- Bowling Green tallied 20 wins last season, tying for the most wins in a season under head coach Kyle Hallock during his first three years at the helm of the Falcons.
Falcons Facts To Follow
- With 30 stolen bases over his first two seasons as a Falcon, Nathan Archer is 10 away from breaking into the Top 10 all-time in program history.
- Nathan Archer enters the season with seven career triples, needing two more to enter the Top 10 all-time. In 2022, Archer had five triples to tie for fifth in program history and came just one shy of tying the program record.
- Last season, Nathan Archer hit a team-leading nine home runs to bring his career total to 17. He needs to reach 28 to reach the Top 10 all-time.
Newman Looks To Build On 2023
As a freshman in 2023, DJ Newman earned unanimous Freshman All-America honors. A two-way player, Newman was named the MAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year as well as All-MAC First Team as a DH. Newman led all MAC freshmen with a batting average of .383, ranking fourth overall in the MAC. He also posted the third best on-base percentage in the MAC (.481). As for the mound, Newman registered an ERA of 1.80 in MAC play, allowing just three runs.
Archer Spends Summer In Cape Cod
Over the summer, Nathan Archer suited up for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod Baseball League. Archer appeared in 24 games for the Red Sox and aided the team to an Eastern Division Championship title. In his 24 games, Archer hit .269 with three home runs, nine RBI and five stolen bases. Now a junior, Archer has played in 100 of 102 games for the Falcons over the last two seasons. He also earned MAC All-Defensive Team and All-MAC Second Team honors last season.
Penrod From The Pen
Last season, Connar Penrod recorded the win in four of BGSU's first five wins, all coming out of the bullpen. The four wins for Penrod concluded the season atop the stat sheet as the most wins by a member of the pitching staff. The total also tied for 13th in the MAC. Penrod made 18 appearances for BGSU last year, all out of the pen, and logged 10 scoreless appearances. He finished the season with a 3.00 ERA, the lowest among BGSU pitchers with 10.0+ innings pitched.
The Seidel Side Of BGSU Baseball
Brothers Isaiah and Sam Seidel will both suit up for the Falcons for the second straight season. This year will be Sam's sophomore year while Isaiah is entering his senior campaign and third with Bowling Green. Last season, Isaiah, the older of the two brothers, made 16 appearances out of the bullpen and registered two saves for the Falcons. As for Sam, he made 42 starts for the Orange and Brown, reaching base in 31 of his starts as well as 34 of his 47 games played. He led the MAC in sacrifice bunts with eight and drew 36 walks, tied for 11th in the MAC.
Backyard Baseball
The Falcons are a homegrown team this season with 11 players being from within 50 miles of Bowling Green's home field, Steller Field. The closest players to home for Bowling Green are TJ Takats (Perrysburg, Ohio, 15 miles), Nate Kress (Weston, Ohio 12.5 miles), Astin Morman (Waterville, Ohio, 11.1 miles) and David Silva (Tontogany, Ohio, 7.5 miles). In total, on the roster of 36 players, the Falcons have 27 players from the state of Ohio and six from Michigan.
Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons' baseball team on social media
Twitter - @BGSU_Athletics and @BGSU_Baseball
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgsu_baseball'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics'
YouTube - 'Falcons Athletics'
Players Mentioned
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