Falcons Fly* to Florida for Make It Happen Games

Friday, February 27

Madeira Beach, Fla.

12:30 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Illinois State

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Mackenzie Krafcik | Feb. 20, 2026, v ETSU

Photo by: ETSU Athletics

February 26, 2026 | Softball

BGSU Notes

BGSU to face five foes in Madeira Beach, Fla., this weekend

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

• The Bowling Green State University softball team, off to an 8-2 start to the season, travels to Madeira Beach, Fla., for this weekend's Make It Happen Games. Head coach Michelle Gardner and the Falcons are slated to play five games in the 10-team tourney, which will begin on Friday (Feb. 27) and run through Sunday (March 1) at R.O.C. Park.

* really, they're flying this time

• BGSU is scheduled to face Illinois State and UIC on Friday (Feb. 27), before meeting Albany and Colgate in Saturday (Feb. 28) action. The Falcons conclude tourney play on Sunday morning (March 1) against Bethune-Cookman.

• There are a total of 25 games scheduled for the three-day tourney. BGSU's schedule follows...
MAKE IT HAPPEN GAMES
R.O.C. Park; Madeira Beach, Fla.
Friday, Feb. 27   Bowling Green vs. Illinois St. 12:30 p.m.
Bowling Green vs. UIC 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 28 Bowling Green vs. Albany 12:30 p.m.
Bowling Green vs. Colgate 3:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 1   Bowling Green vs. Bethune-Cookman 9:00 a.m.

GREAT START!
• As mentioned, the Falcons are 8-2 on the young season. That is tied for the second-best start in school history.

• The 2018 team began the season with a 9-1 record, while the 2007 club, like this year's team, got off to an 8-2 start.
BEST STARTS IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Year   10G^ Notes & Numbers
2018   9-1   Then lost next 2 games & 6 of next 8
2026   8-2   BGSU heads to Florida this weekend
2007   8-2   Started 9-2, & got to 14-3
2000   7-3   Lost first 3 games of season, won next 10
2006   6-4   Won first 6 games, lost next 4 (all to ranked teams)
2012   6-4
2017   6-4   Started 6-2, then lost next 7 games
2029   6-4   Ended COVID-shortened season at 11-6
2021   6-4
2022   6-4   Then won 6 of 7 to reach 12-5
^ BGSU's record after 10 games

LAST WEEKEND (PLUS SOME FASCINATING FALCON FACTS)
• The Falcons went 2-1 at last weekend's ETSU Tournament. BGSU beat the host school, 5-2, on Friday (Feb. 20), as redshirt sophomore Addie Martin homered and freshman Hannah Simko broke a scoreless tie with a three-run double in the fifth inning. Senior Mackenzie Krafcik scattered seven hits en route to a complete-game win that moved her to 3-0 on the young season.

• Then, on Saturday morning (Feb. 21), Martin homered twice and drove in five runs as the Falcons thrashed Tennessee State, 12-0 in six innings. BGSU saw a five-game winning streak come to an end in the day's second game, as ETSU picked up a 3-2 win. Falcon pitching allowed just four hits – two in each game – on Saturday.

• Sophomore Madison Wendel picked up the victory in the circle against TSU, allowing just two hits in five innings. She faced just three batters over the minimum en route to her first collegiate win.

• In addition to Martin's offensive exploits, junior Taylor Behrendt had a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double, and classmate Cameron Kaufman doubled, homered and scored three runs vs. the Tigers.

• In the day's second game, junior Alyvia Roth fired a complete-game two-hitter, but one of those hits was a two-run homer. Senior Hannah Hunt homered for the Falcons in the loss. Sunday's (Feb. 22) games in the ETSU Tournament were canceled due to inclement weather.

FOUR WINS AT FURMAN
Prior to heading to ETSU, the Falcons went 4-1 at Furman's Purple & White Classic (Feb. 12-14). BGSU averaged 9.6 runs per game, with seven batters hitting over .300 on the weekend. Junior Cameron Kaufman scored 10 runs and stole six bases in the five games, with senior Ashley Chevalier driving in a total of 10 runs.

• On Thursday (Feb. 12), BG put crooked numbers on the scoreboard in five of the seven innings, en route to a 17-8 win over Furman. BGSU batters drew 13 walks, and once they reached base, the Falcons were a perfect 10-for-10 in stolen-base attempts. The stolen-base total is believed to be a school record.

• Each of BG's nine starters in the batting order reached base at least twice via hit, walk or hit-by-pitch. Chevalier had six RBI in the win, doubling her previous career best, while Kaufman scored four times.

• In the nightcap, the Paladins responded with a 10-4 victory. Senior Kendall Mathews homered in each end of the twinbill.

• On Friday (Feb. 13), the Falcons defeated Towson, 7-2, then scored four times in the seventh for a 9-8, walk-off win over Lipscomb. Senior Mackenzie Krafcik scattered four hits in a complete-game victory over the Tigers.

• In the nightcap, Lipscomb put five runs on the board in the sixth inning, then added another run in the seventh to take an 8-5 lead, but BG rallied to win, with senior Katie Hutter's sacrifice fly scoring Chevalier from third for the win.

• Then, on Saturday (Feb. 14), BGSU rallied from six runs down to pick up an 11-10 win over Towson. Senior Hannah Hunt had three hits and drove in four runs for the Falcons, with Chevalier picking up three more RBI.

• Down, 7-1, the Falcons scored four times in the third inning and three in the fourth to take the lead on Chevalier's two-run single. The Tigers tied the game, but Kaufman's fifth-inning single gave BG the lead once again. The Falcons went up by an 11-8 count before holding off a sixth-inning rally by the Tigers. Krafcik came on to pick up the save, getting the last out of the sixth before retiring the side in order in the seventh.

400!
• BGSU's first win at the Furman tourney, the 17-8 win over the host school, was the 400th career victory of Michelle Gardner's career. That storied career has included head-coaching stints at Nevada and Indiana, in addition to BGSU.

SCORE MORE
• BGSU's total of 17 runs in the opening game at Furman was the Falcons' highest in nearly seven years, since a school-record 21-run performance against St. Bonaventure on March 16, 2019, and it was tied for the fourth-highest run total in program history.

ADDITIONAL STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• Redshirt sophomore Addie Martin hit three homers in the three games at ETSU last weekend. She now has a career total of 18 round-trippers, and is tied for eighth on the BGSU career list.

• Senior Ashley Chevalier entered the Furman tourney with a career total of 12 runs batted in. She then proceeded to drive in no fewer than six runs in the first game vs. Furman. After heading to Furman with that career total of 12 RBI, Chevalier drove in 10 runs in three days.

• Cameron Kaufman scored four runs in the opening game at Furman. That is the highest total by a Falcon since the aforementioned win over St. Bonaventure (March 16, 2019). Sarah Gonzalez scored four of BGSU's 21 runs in that victory.

• The Falcons scored 11 or more runs in back-to-back games for just the fifth time in program history, and the first time in 34 years, since a doubleheader sweep at Florida A&M on March 24, 1992. BGSU won those games by scores of 11-0 and 11-1.

• Last season, BGSU did not play a seven-inning game that lasted longer than 2:25. This season, the Falcons played four such games in the first seven contests.

• The win over Hampton on opening day three hours and nine minutes to play. By comparison, none of BGSU's 52 games last season lasted more than 2:54, and that game (against Toledo) was a 10-inning contest.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• Head coach Michelle Gardner and her assistants, Greg McQuillin and Indya Smith, welcomed back 15 of 19 letterwinners from last year's team, including all nine positional starters and three of the six pitchers who saw action in 2025.

• That 2025 club surpassed the overall and Mid-American Conference win totals for the previous two years combined. BGSU went 16-36 last spring, after posting a combined record of 15-79 in the 2023 (9-41) and '24 (6-38) campaigns.

• In MAC play, BGSU was 7-19 last year, after going a combined 5-51 in the previous two seasons.

• BGSU had four seniors on last year's roster. Two of those four players did not see action in 2025, and only one of the four players saw action in any games after March 8.

• At the plate, the players returning in 2026 combined for ...
   • 1,339 of the team's 1,362 at-bats (98.3%) in 2025;
   • 212 of the 219 runs scored (96.8%);
   • 195 of the Falcons' 198 RBI (98.5%); and
   • 360 of the team's 361 total hits (99.7%).

• In the circle, returning Falcons combined to pitch 215 of the 328 1/3 total innings (65.5%), including 134 1/3 of the 167 2/3 innings (80.1%) in MAC action.

• The 2025 Falcons scored 219 runs, the fourth-highest total in program history, and last year's BGSU club also ranked in the top five in school history in runs per game (4.21, fifth); RBI (198, third); walks (153; fifth); batters hit by pitch (32, third); on-base percentage (.350; fifth) and sacrifice flies (13, tie-third).

• Addie Martin was named to the MAC's All-Freshman Team. She hit 13 homers, the second-highest single-season total in program history. Martin became the first player in program history to hit at least 12 homers and steal at least 12 bases in the same season.

THE OPPONENTS / THE SERIES
• Illinois State heads to Florida with a 6-5 record on the season. Morgan Calhoun is hitting .406 on the year, while Paige McLeod has a team-low 2.60 ERA in a team-high 32 1/3 innings. Last season, the Redbirds finished with a 24-30 overall record and a 16-11 Missouri Valley Conference mark under head coach Tina Kramos.

• UIC is 6-9-1 on the young season. Cameron Rios is batting .435 with a team-leading 11 RBI, while Jasmine Whorley has a 5-3 record and a 5.11 ERA in the circle. Megan Coronado is in her first season as head coach of the Flames, who went 9-46 overall and 5-22 in the MVC last season.

• Albany is 1-3 to date. Katie Parisi batted .500 in the first four games, while Mary Kate Murray homered twice and was named the America East Player of the Week for her performance. Last season, the Great Danes went 2026 overall and 9-8 in America East action under head coach Chris Cannata.

• Colgate heads to Florida with a 5-10 record. Nora Megenity is batting a team-high .370, and is one of four players with at least three homers for head coach Marissa Lamison-Myers. Last year, the Raiders went 18-33 overall and 6-12 in the Patriot League.

• Bethune-Cookman is 3-13 this season to date. Emma Bradley-Tse and Alana Cypress are hitting .310 and .306, respectively, for head coach Laura Watten. Last season, the Wildcats finished 23-31 overall and 14-10 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

• BGSU trails Illinois State, 4-3, in the all-time series. The last meeting saw the Redbirds post a 13-4 win just under two years ago (March 10, 2024) at the NKU Spring Classic.

• BG trails UIC, 3-2, in that series, but the Falcons picked up a 7-6 win last season in Bloomington, Ind. (March 7, 2025).

• The Falcons and Albany are tied, 2-2, in that series. Three of the previous four meetings came in 2012, as BG picked up a 3-2 win in Rock Hill, S.C. (March 10, 2012), and the teams split two more games in Fairvax, Va., the following week (March 17-18, 2012).

• BGSU trails Colgate, 1-0, with the lone meeting being a 1-0 Raider win in Orlando 12 years ago (March 7, 2014).

• BGSU is 1-0 against Bethune-Cookman, as the Falcons posted an 8-6 victory in Clearwater, Fla., on March 3, 2012.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the Make It Happen Games, the Falcons will stay on the road, facing Coastal Carolina in a single game on Wednesday (March 4). That contest will begin at 4:00 p.m.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will play a three-game weekend series at Charleston Southern, with a Friday (March 6) doubleheader and a Saturday (March 7) single game.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on the BGSU softball team, follow the Falcons on Twitter/X (@BGAthletics and @BGSUSoftball) and Instagram (@bgsu_softball), as well as on the web at BGSUFalcons.com.