Falcons Continue Trek Eastward With MAC Weekend At UMass

Friday, April 17

Amherst, Mass.

3 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

UMass

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

April 16, 2026 | Baseball

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BGSU, UMass Set For Three-Game Series On ESPN+

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team resumes MAC play this weekend with a trio of contests against the UMass Minutemen. The series will be the first conference series between BGSU and UMass all-time with the first six meetings being in non-conference play. The series will begin on Friday (April 17) at 3 p.m. before continuing on Saturday (April 18) with a 1 p.m. first pitch and concluding on Sunday (April 19) with a 12 p.m. start. Stay up-to-date with any schedule changes through the baseball schedule at BGSUFalcons.com as well as Twitter/X (@BGSU_Baseball).

Current Weekend Schedule
Friday, April 17 at UMass | 3 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, April 18 at UMass | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Sunday, April 19 at UMass | 12 p.m. | ESPN+

Falcons Finding Their Power Swings
Over the last three games, the Falcons have hit their stride in the home run department. During the three-game stretch, Bowling Green has belted 12 home runs as a unit, including six against Canisius on Wednesday (April 15). The newfound power has pushed the Falcons' home run total for the season up to 35 after entering last weekend with 23 on the season. Andrew DiLodovico and Zack Horky lead the way with five each followed by Anthony Mitta, Vinny Salvione and Sam Seidel each with four.

Scouting UMass
The Minutemen enter the weekend with a 9-19 record on the season while being 5-13 within the MAC. UMass is coming off a 17-12 loss to Harvard in the midweek, but swept Eastern Michigan last weekend in MAC play. The Minutemen outscored Eastern Michigan 33-17 over the course of the series, including a 10-0 final last Saturday (April 11). The other two wins for UMass in the MAC have been against Northern Illinois on April 3 in a 4-0 final and over Akron on March 14 with 5-4 victory.

Series History Against The Minutemen

Bowling Green and UMass have met six times previously, but this will be the first meeting as conference opponents. The six matchups have been an even 3-3 split between the two.
All six of the previous meetings between Bowling Green and UMass have been at neutral site locations as part of spring trips. The all-time list consists of two games in 1976 (split), two games in 1977 (split), one in 1978 (won by UMass, 3-0) and one in 1995 (won by BGSU, 10-2).
The first meeting between the two came on March 20, 1976 with Bowling Green claiming an 8-5 victory. UMass fought back the next day for an 11-7 win.
The last meeting between BGSU and UMass was on March 23, 1995 with a 10-2 Bowling Green win.

What To Watch For

Bowling Green started their current road trip with a 9-3 win on Wednesday (April 15) at Canisius. After the three-game set at UMass, the Falcons will face Michigan on April 22 to wrap up the five-game road trek.
Entering the weekend, BGSU is undefeated on the road in April at 2-0, pairing Wednesday's win at Canisius with another 9-3 victory, beating Ohio State on April 7.
The Falcons enter the weekend with an 8-10 record within the MAC, sitting in seventh with the top six teams going to the MAC Tournament in Avon, Ohio. However, the top six spots in the MAC are separated by just one game. Kent State leads (13-5) followed by a five-way tie for second at 12-6 (Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Ball State, Toledo).
So far this season, Bowling Green has had the toughest schedule in the MAC and rank 69th in the nation. The next team in the MAC is Miami (OH) at 106. The Falcons are currently projected to have the hardest schedule in the conference for the entire season as well.
Andrew DiLodovico is nearing the top 10 in program history for single-season hit-by-pitches. He has been plunked eight times this season, needing two more to total 10 and break into the top 10 all-time. Currently, there is an eight-way tie for 10th.

DiLodovico Locating The Long Ball
Andrew DiLodovico is currently in the midst of a team-best 18-game on-base streak that dates back to March 13, but over the last three games he's found his power as well. Entering Sunday's (April 12) game against Central Michigan, DiLodovico had one home run this year, from March 15. Three games later, he now has five. DiLodovico hit one on Sunday against CMU, one on Tuesday (April 14) against Dayton and two against Canisius on Wednesday (April 15). The power surge has helped DiLodovico boost his slash line to .315/.402/.522 for his freshman campaign, now with two doubles, a triple and five home runs.

Stade Catching Fire
Ethan Stade has been lights out for the Falcons over his last six outings, logging eight or more strikeouts in five of the six appearances including in each of the last four. During those six appearances, Stade is 2-2 with a save to go along with a 3.62 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Additionally, over his last six outings, Stade is averaging 8.2 strikeouts per appearance and for the year he's averaging 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings. Stade is now not only leading the MAC in the stat, but ranked 14th in the nation. As for total strikeouts, Stade is just four off the MAC lead, held at 59 by NIU's Max Vaisvila.

Striking Out The Competition
So far this season, BGSU has posted 15 different pitching outings with 5+ strikeouts. Ethan Stade leads the way with five followed by three from Jacob Turner. Nate Kress and Carrson Sova have both produced two with the list rounding out with one from Kade Arn, Jackson Miller and Ty Roder. As a team, the Falcons are averaging 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings with 320 on the year. On the current pace with 54 games on the schedule, Bowling Green will total 494 strikeouts this year, which would obliterate the program record, set last year, at 431. BGSU has set a new team strikeout record each of the last two seasons, registering 403 in 2024. Prior to 2024, the record had been set at 368 since 1999.

Totaling Up The Triples
This season, the Falcons have knocked 10 triples as a team, coming from nine different players. The total has BGSU ranked second in the MAC, behind only Ball State's 12, while also being 48th in the nation. The 10 triples for the Orange and Brown has already matched last year's total with 19 games still left on the schedule. For the Falcons, Zack Horky is the lone player with multiple (2) while the list of one triple includes Brayden Curlis, Andrew DiLodovico, Pauly Mancino, Anthony Mitta, Carter Mottice, Vinny Salvione, Griffin Scheiderer and TJ Takats.

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