First-Place Falcons Set For Home Opening Series At Steller Field This Weekend

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team will return to Steller Field for the first time during the 2024 season, hosting the Akron Zips. BGSU and Akron are set for a three-game weekend series in Bowling Green. The first game is set for a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday (March 22) before 1 p.m. starts on both Saturday (March 23) and Sunday (March 24).

The Falcons enter the series first in the Mid-American Conference as the only undefeated team left in conference play (6-0). No other team has more than four MAC wins. Bowling Green is 2-1 in home openers under head coach Kyle Hallock with wins in 2022 and 2023.

Current Weekend Schedule
Friday, March 22 | 3 p.m. | Ghostbusters Day
Saturday, March 23 | 1 p.m. | Sandlot Day
Sunday, March 24 | 1 p.m. | MLB Day, Wear An MLB Jersey

Scouting Akron
Akron enters the series with a 1-5 MAC standing after being swept by Toledo and losing two of three to Northern Illinois, all at home. Despite the slow MAC start, Akron has tallied wins this season over #10/12 Duke and Illinois in non-conference play. Wins over Fordham and Wright State give them a 5-14 record overall. Entering the weekend, Akron is currently last in the MAC for runs scored and hits and is second-to-last in home runs.

Series History

The Falcons and Zips have played 82 times in program history with Bowling Green leading the all-time series with a record of 49-33.
Bowling has won seven of the last 10 meetings, including the last three games played at Steller Field between the two teams.
Last season, Akron took the series, 2-1, with the Falcons winning the series finale in 10 innings (5-4).

What To Watch For

Bowling Green enters the home opener at .500 (8-8) on the season. This marks the first time BGSU has been .500 or better at the home opener since the 2008 season (.500, 7-7).
DJ Newman has scored 25 times for the Falcons this season, averaging 1.67 runs per game which leads the MAC and is tied for eighth in the nation.
Sam Seidel has reached base in every game he's played in this season for the Falcons, bringing his on-base streak to 15 games this season. Dating back to last season, Seidel has reached base in 26-straight games.
Tyler Ross has reached base in each game he's played in this season, accounting for a 14-game streak. Ross reached in the 2023 season finale as well for a 15-game streak going back to last year.
Last Time BGSU Began _____ in the MAC -- 7-0, 1995; 8-0, Never

Falcons Facts To Follow

Tyler Ross and Sam Seidel have both reached base in every game they've played in this season for Bowling Green.
Nathan Archer entered the record book for career triples and is currently tied for ninth all-time with nine. Another triple will tie him for sixth all-time with 10.

Falcons At The Plate
On Saturday (March 16), the Falcons scored 34 runs, just four shy of the program record all-time and the most runs by BGSU in a MAC game. On the year, Bowling Green is averaging 9.8 runs per game, which not only leads the Mid-American Conference, but is 16th in the nation. The run production has come in large part to home runs. BGSU is averaging 1.75 home runs per game which also leads the MAC and is tied for 27th in the country. The Falcons are among the ranks nationally for triples too, coming in at 40th in the nation with an average of 0.38 per game.

BGSU Stands Atop The MAC
Through the first two weekends of the conference season, Bowling Green has gone 6-0 in the MAC, all on the road, and remains the only undefeated team left in the conference play. Despite playing the fewest games in the MAC overall (16), the Falcons lead the conference in runs (157) and are tied for second with Kent State in RBI (140), trailing Western Michigan (150) with both Kent State and Western Michigan having played 19 games. The Falcons also have three of the league's top five games for home runs, hitting seven once and five twice.

Krause Named MAC Player Of The Week
Krause was the catalyst for the Falcons during a week where BGSU scored 58 runs, including a program record in a MAC game with 34 on Saturday (March 16) against Ball State. Krause's best game of the weekend was in the Saturday win, going 5-for-7 with five runs scored and four RBI with a double. He followed it up with a 3-for-5 day on Sunday (March 17) with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored. Over the course of the four games, Krause reached base 13 times and scored nine times. He finished the week with a slash line of .558/.650/1.059, logging 10 hits with two doubles, two home runs and nine RBI.

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'

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results