Seidel’s Solo Shot Sparks Falcons In Season Opener Against #4/5 Georgia Tech

Friday, February 13

Atlanta, Ga.

4 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

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#4/5 Georgia Tech

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Bowling Green

Georgia Tech

Photo by: Georgia Tech Athletics

Seidel’s Solo Shot Sparks Falcons In Season Opener Against #4/5 Georgia Tech

February 13, 2026 | Baseball

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Four Falcons Make Their BGSU Debuts, Three In Starting Lineup

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

ATLANTA, Ga. – The Bowling Green State University baseball team opened the 2026 campaign Friday night (Feb. 13) against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets who entered the season as a top-five team in the national polls. BGSU and Georgia Tech played two scoreless frames to start the game with the first runs coming in the bottom of the third for the Yellow Jackets. The Falcons answered with a Sam Seidel solo shot in the fourth, but the Ramblin' Wreck maintained their advantage for the eventual 11-5 final, moving the Falcons to 0-1 after the season opener.

Seidel's home run was just the beginning of his day, adding on a double, two walks, two stolen bases and another run scored over the course of the game. Anthony Mitta and Pauly Mancino added multi-hit days of their own to the offensive effort for the Falcons during their BGSU debuts. As for the mound, the Orange and Brown used a crew of four arms, capped off by a scoreless frame from CJ Boudreaux, including a pair of strikeouts.

The Falcons and Yellow Jackets will be back in action on Saturday (Feb. 14) with the first doubleheader of the season for both teams. The day will begin at 1 p.m. with the second game starting an hour after the first concludes.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After one-two-three innings from both starting pitchers, Anthony Mitta tallied the first hit of the game, leading off the second by legging out an infield single up middle to a diving second baseman. Later in the inning, the Falcons tallied another single up the middle, this one from Pauly Mancino. Working an 11-pitch at-bat, Mancino knocked a single up the middle to a diving shortstop for a single.
Georgia Tech tallied their first hit in the bottom of the second. With one out, they sent a chopper up the middle through the infield for a base knock.
The first run of the game came in the bottom of the third with an inside-the-park home run for Georgia Tech that careened off the wall in center to begin the frame. The Yellow Jackets added an insurance run with two outs in the inning for a 2-0 advantage.
The Falcons immediately brought an answer. Just four pitches into the fourth inning, Sam Seidel launched a home run to right for the first BGSU run of the season.
A three-run home run for Georgia Tech in the bottom of the fourth extended their lead to 5-1.
In the sixth inning, Seidel drew a walk before stealing second and third, but couldn't find a path home with the score holding at 5-1. Georgia Tech added to their lead with three in the sixth inning, pushing the score to 8-1.
Bowling Green answered in the seventh. After a pitching change for the Ramblin' Wreck, Brayden Curlis drew a four-pitch walk. Cooper McKenzie laced a single past the third baseman to put two one before a Vinny Salvione single into shallow left scored Curlis from second for an 8-2 score.
Seidel kept it going in the next at-bat for the Falcons, ripping a one-hop double to the right field wall, bringing McKenzie around from second to cut the lead to 8-3.
Georgia Tech again answered in the bottom half to make it 9-3, but the Falcons quickly continued the back-and-forth. Mitta and Mancino both singled in the eighth for BGSU, putting two on. McKenzie grounded to third, but an errant throw allowed McKenzie to reach with Mitta scoring from second for a 9-4 tally.
Georgia Tech stretched the score to 11-4 with two in the bottom of the eighth, but the Falcons again answered in the ninth. Seidel and Birchmeier drew back-to-back walks to start the inning with an error on a pickoff moving both runners up. Zack Horky put a ball in play to short that brought Seidel home. A throwing error allowed Horky to reach as well with the score at 11-5.

STAT LEADERS

Sam Seidel: 2-for-3, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SB
Anthony Mitta: 2-for-5, 1 R
Pauly Mancino: 2-for-5
Brady Birchmeier: 1-for-4, 1 BB, 1 SB
Cooper McKenzie: 1-for-4, 1 R
Vinny Salvione: 1-for-5, 1 RBI
CJ Boudreaux: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 2 K

FALCON STAT FACTS

Multiple Falcons made their BGSU debuts in the game, including Pauly Mancino, Anthony Mitta and Vinny Salvione in the starting lineup. Ethan Papacek joined the list with an appearance out of the bullpen.
The five runs for Bowling Green are the most in a season opener since tallying eight runs against Middle Tennessee State to open the 2024 season. The run total is the most against a ranked opponent for BGSU since scoring six against No. 8 Tennessee on March 3, 2024.
Sam Seidel had himself a day for the Orange and Brown, logging the team's first home run of the season, the team's first double of the season and the team's first stolen base of the season. Seidel finished with two swipes on the base paths, the first multi-steal game by a Falcon since both him and DJ Newman each stole two against Central Michigan on March 30, 2025.
Brady Birchmeier tallied a hit and drew a walk for the Falcons. Dating back to last season, Birchmeier holds the longest active streaks for both hitting and on-base. His hitting streak stands at eight games while his on-base is now at 10.
Titus Lotz recorded five outs out of the bullpen with three of those coming via strikeout. Similarly, CJ Boudreaux tossed a scoreless frame for the Falcons with a pair of strikeouts.

UP NEXT
Following a schedule change, the Falcons and Yellow Jackets are now set to conclude the weekend series on Saturday (Feb. 14) with a doubleheader. The day will begin at 1 p.m. with the second game following an hour after the conclusion of the first game. Any schedule changes will be announced on BGSUFalcons.com as well as Twitter/X (@BGSU_Baseball).

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