Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, February 20
Cullowhee, N.C.
4 p.m.
Bowling Green State University
at
Western Carolina
Photo by: Georgia Tech Athletics
Falcons Continue Road Start With Weekend Series At Western Carolina, First Midweek at Cincinnati
February 18, 2026 | Baseball
BGSU Game NotesLive Stats vs. Western CarolinaWatch Friday (ESPN+)Watch Saturday (ESPN+)Watch Sunday (ESPN+)Live Stats vs. CincinnatiWatch Tuesday (ESPN+)Support Our Student-Athletes
WCU, UC Both Coming Off 30-Win 2025 Campaigns
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team will continue their start to the season with road games four through seven of the first 17. The Falcons will begin with a three-game weekend series with Western Carolina, coming off a 30-win 2025 campaign and an opening weekend sweep, despite dropping a midweek on Tuesday (Feb. 17). From there, Bowling Green will transition to their first game in the state of Ohio this season and their first midweek, taking on Cincinnati on Tuesday (Feb. 24). Cincinnati tallied 33 wins in 2025, advancing to the Knoxville Regional. All four games are set to be streamed on ESPN+. Stay up-to-date with any schedule changes through the baseball schedule at BGSUFalcons.com as well as Twitter/X (@BGSU_Baseball).
Current Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Feb. 21at Western Carolina | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, Feb. 22 at Western Carolina | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Sunday, Feb. 23 at Western Carolina | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Tuesday, Feb. 24 at Cincinnati | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
One Win Away From Program History
Bowling Green enters the weekend with 1,799 wins over the course of the program's history, dating back to 1915. The first win of the 2026 season will mark 1,800 for the Falcons all-time. The 1,700-win milestone was reached during the 2022 campaign, leaving what would be just barely four years between milestones if BGSU hits the mark. The shortest span between milestones in program history stands at three, being the difference between five milestones. The most recent was between wins 1,400 and 1,500 which came in 2007 and 2010. The last 124 wins for the Falcons have come under current head coach Kyle Hallock.
Scouting Western Carolina
Western Carolina opened the season at home last weekend with a three-game sweep over George Washington, including an extra-innings win on opening day with a 7-5 final. However, The Catamounts suffered their first loss of the season on Tuesday (Feb. 17) in a midweek contest, falling 17-0 to USC Upstate on the road. Western Carolina is coming off a 30-28 season in 2025.
Series History Against The Catamounts
Scouting Cincinnati
Cincinnati is off to a strong start to the 2026 season. They began by taking two of three from Jacksonville State during the opening weekend with the loss being just a 1-0 final. The Bearcats bounced back on Tuesday (Feb. 17) with an 8-0 road win over No. 9 Auburn. Before facing the Falcons, Cincinnati will play a four-game series at UAB this weekend, beginning on Thursday and spanning through Sunday with a game per day. Last year, Cincinnati posted a 33-26 record, earning a spot in the Knoxville Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
Series History Against The Bearcats
What To Watch For
Seidel Starting Strong
Sam Seidel had quite the opening series for the Falcons, going 5-for-8 with two doubles, a home run and five walks drawn. Seidel's stellar start has placed in him among the best in the nation for multiple offensive stats. Through the first weekend, Seidel leads the MAC in batting average and on-base percentage. His average is currently .625, ranking 25th in the nation, while his OBP is .769, 17th in the nation. Additionally, Seidel swiped four bases over the course of the series, averaging 1.33 per game, which ranks 12th in the nation while his four total steals come in at 16th in the country.
Running With The Rankings
Now in Coach Hallock's sixth season at the helm of the Falcons, BGSU has played at least one ranked team in four of the six seasons with Georgia Tech adding to the list. The last ranked opponent for the Falcons was No. 8 Tennessee during the third weekend of the 2024 campaign, playing a three-game series against the Volunteers. However, the last ranked win for the Falcons came at No. 5 Louisville on Feb. 25, 2023. After nearly topping the Cardinals the day before in a 2-1 loss, the Falcons rallied back to best Louisville in the second game with a 9-6 victory. The win marked the first over a Top-5 team in program history.
New Faces To The Falcons
Bowling Green will roster 36 players this season, including 15 new student-athletes to the program, accounting for over 40-percent of the roster. Of the 15 newcomers, eight arrive as transfers and seven come in as true freshmen. The freshmen class is on par for the program, welcoming seven in 2025 as well. However, the transfer number is up from last year's four. The Falcons have added at least one transfer each season under head coach Kyle Hallock, but this year's total of eight are the most since Hallock's first season at the helm when BGSU added seven new transfers. Bowling Green added four each of the last two seasons.
Back On The Bump
Despite the multitude of new faces, the Falcons will return the bulk of their pitching staff from the 2025 campaign. BGSU returns 64.2-percent of the team's innings pitched from a season ago as well as 56.8-percent of the team's strikeouts and 60.6-percent of the unit's wins. Bowling Green has snapped the program's single-season strikeout record each of the last two seasons, sending down 403 batters in 2024 followed by 431 last season. Leading that charge, and returning this season, was starter Jacob Turner with 51.
Falcons At The Plate
The Falcons will return a group from their offensive production a year ago. Of the returners, Sam Seidel led the group with a .324 batting average followed closely by Brady Birchmeier's .318 and Zack Horky's .308 marks. In total, the Falcons return 52.5-percent of their RBIs, 51.0-percent of their home runs and 44.8-percent of their runs scored from the 2025 season. Birchmeier blasted nine home runs and tallied 50 RBI last season, leading the team in both categories, while TJ Takats' 35 runs scored leads the returners for the stat.
Building On The Momentum
The Falcons have established strong momentum within the program the last two seasons, registering 33 wins in both 2024 and 2025. The 33-win seasons marked the first back-to-back 30-win seasons for the program since winning 36 games in 2001 and 32 games in 2002. Similarly, the 66 combined wins were the most over a two-year stretch for BGSU since the same 2001-02 stretch that resulted in 68 wins. The Falcons will now look to continue the streak. The last time BGSU had three or more consecutive 30-win seasons was a four-year stretch from 1976-79, winning 33 games in 1976, 36 games in 1977, 33 games in 1978 and 32 games in 1979.
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 Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Feb. 21at Western Carolina | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, Feb. 22 at Western Carolina | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Sunday, Feb. 23 at Western Carolina | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Tuesday, Feb. 24 at Cincinnati | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
One Win Away From Program History
Bowling Green enters the weekend with 1,799 wins over the course of the program's history, dating back to 1915. The first win of the 2026 season will mark 1,800 for the Falcons all-time. The 1,700-win milestone was reached during the 2022 campaign, leaving what would be just barely four years between milestones if BGSU hits the mark. The shortest span between milestones in program history stands at three, being the difference between five milestones. The most recent was between wins 1,400 and 1,500 which came in 2007 and 2010. The last 124 wins for the Falcons have come under current head coach Kyle Hallock.
Scouting Western Carolina
Western Carolina opened the season at home last weekend with a three-game sweep over George Washington, including an extra-innings win on opening day with a 7-5 final. However, The Catamounts suffered their first loss of the season on Tuesday (Feb. 17) in a midweek contest, falling 17-0 to USC Upstate on the road. Western Carolina is coming off a 30-28 season in 2025.
Series History Against The Catamounts
- Bowling Green and Western Carolina have met three times previously in program history with a three-game series during the 2009 season that the Catamounts swept to open the season.
- The last series between the two opened the 2009 season. While Western Carolina swept the series, Bowling Green went on to win the MAC that season.
Scouting Cincinnati
Cincinnati is off to a strong start to the 2026 season. They began by taking two of three from Jacksonville State during the opening weekend with the loss being just a 1-0 final. The Bearcats bounced back on Tuesday (Feb. 17) with an 8-0 road win over No. 9 Auburn. Before facing the Falcons, Cincinnati will play a four-game series at UAB this weekend, beginning on Thursday and spanning through Sunday with a game per day. Last year, Cincinnati posted a 33-26 record, earning a spot in the Knoxville Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
Series History Against The Bearcats
- Bowling Green and Cincinnati have met 44 times previously in program history with the series leaning to Bowling Green, 30-14.
- The last meeting was a three-game series in 2019, being a sweep for Cincinnati. The last BGSU win in the series was a 9-3 final on March 12, 2008, part of a MAC title season for the Falcons.
What To Watch For
- Bowling Green currently sits at 1,799 wins in program history entering the weekend, needing just one more to reach 1,800 all-time.
- The Falcons will be looking for their first win of the season after beginning 2026 against nationally-ranked Georgia Tech.
- The first 17 games of the season for Bowling Green will be played on the road before their home opener on March 17, the first game on the team's new turf playing surface.
- Bowling Green will be competing in their 110th season for baseball, dating back to 1915 with a hiatus in both 1935 and 1937.
Seidel Starting Strong
Sam Seidel had quite the opening series for the Falcons, going 5-for-8 with two doubles, a home run and five walks drawn. Seidel's stellar start has placed in him among the best in the nation for multiple offensive stats. Through the first weekend, Seidel leads the MAC in batting average and on-base percentage. His average is currently .625, ranking 25th in the nation, while his OBP is .769, 17th in the nation. Additionally, Seidel swiped four bases over the course of the series, averaging 1.33 per game, which ranks 12th in the nation while his four total steals come in at 16th in the country.
Running With The Rankings
Now in Coach Hallock's sixth season at the helm of the Falcons, BGSU has played at least one ranked team in four of the six seasons with Georgia Tech adding to the list. The last ranked opponent for the Falcons was No. 8 Tennessee during the third weekend of the 2024 campaign, playing a three-game series against the Volunteers. However, the last ranked win for the Falcons came at No. 5 Louisville on Feb. 25, 2023. After nearly topping the Cardinals the day before in a 2-1 loss, the Falcons rallied back to best Louisville in the second game with a 9-6 victory. The win marked the first over a Top-5 team in program history.
New Faces To The Falcons
Bowling Green will roster 36 players this season, including 15 new student-athletes to the program, accounting for over 40-percent of the roster. Of the 15 newcomers, eight arrive as transfers and seven come in as true freshmen. The freshmen class is on par for the program, welcoming seven in 2025 as well. However, the transfer number is up from last year's four. The Falcons have added at least one transfer each season under head coach Kyle Hallock, but this year's total of eight are the most since Hallock's first season at the helm when BGSU added seven new transfers. Bowling Green added four each of the last two seasons.
Back On The Bump
Despite the multitude of new faces, the Falcons will return the bulk of their pitching staff from the 2025 campaign. BGSU returns 64.2-percent of the team's innings pitched from a season ago as well as 56.8-percent of the team's strikeouts and 60.6-percent of the unit's wins. Bowling Green has snapped the program's single-season strikeout record each of the last two seasons, sending down 403 batters in 2024 followed by 431 last season. Leading that charge, and returning this season, was starter Jacob Turner with 51.
Falcons At The Plate
The Falcons will return a group from their offensive production a year ago. Of the returners, Sam Seidel led the group with a .324 batting average followed closely by Brady Birchmeier's .318 and Zack Horky's .308 marks. In total, the Falcons return 52.5-percent of their RBIs, 51.0-percent of their home runs and 44.8-percent of their runs scored from the 2025 season. Birchmeier blasted nine home runs and tallied 50 RBI last season, leading the team in both categories, while TJ Takats' 35 runs scored leads the returners for the stat.
Building On The Momentum
The Falcons have established strong momentum within the program the last two seasons, registering 33 wins in both 2024 and 2025. The 33-win seasons marked the first back-to-back 30-win seasons for the program since winning 36 games in 2001 and 32 games in 2002. Similarly, the 66 combined wins were the most over a two-year stretch for BGSU since the same 2001-02 stretch that resulted in 68 wins. The Falcons will now look to continue the streak. The last time BGSU had three or more consecutive 30-win seasons was a four-year stretch from 1976-79, winning 33 games in 1976, 36 games in 1977, 33 games in 1978 and 32 games in 1979.
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
INF
/ Baseball
C/OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
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