Falcons Set Sights On Ball State With MAC Tournament Berth Within Reach

Tuesday, May 12

Toledo, Ohio

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Toledo

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Falcons Set Sights On Ball State With MAC Tournament Berth Within Reach

May 11, 2026 | Baseball

BGSU Game Notes Buy Fifth Third Field Tickets Fifth Third Field Pregame Event Information Watch vs. Toledo (BCSN/ESPN+)Live Stats Tuesday Live Stats Thursday Live Stats Friday Live Stats Saturday Support Our Student-Athletes

BGSU, Toledo Scheduled For Sixth Annual Fifth Third Field Game Tuesday Night With Non-Conference Meeting

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team will wrap up the regular season this week with four games on deck. The week for the Falcons will start with a non-conference game on Tuesday (May 12), hosting the sixth annual Fifth Third Field game against Toledo. The game is set for a 7 p.m. first pitch with pregame festivities preceding the event. From there, Bowling Green will turn to the regular season finale against Ball State, needing a sweep and a UMass loss to Central Michigan to clinch a spot in the MAC Tournament. The series against Ball State will begin on Thursday (May 14) with a 3 p.m. first pitch. Stay up-to-date with any schedule changes through the baseball schedule at BGSUFalcons.com as well as Twitter/X (@BGSU_Baseball).

Current Week Schedule
Tuesday, May 12 vs. Toledo | 7 p.m. | ESPN+/BCSN
Thursday, May 14 at Ball State | 3 p.m.
Friday, May 15 at Ball State | 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 16 at Ball State | 1 p.m.

Fifth Third Field Pregame Event
The Falcons will be hosting a pregame event at Fifth Third Field prior to Tuesday's (May 12) game against the rival Rockets. Registration and event information can be found HERE.

Battle of I-75 Presented by Fremont Federal Credit Union

The Battle of I-75, presented by Fremont Federal Credit Union, is a head-to-head, points-based competition between Bowling Green and Toledo. The event promotes a friendly rivalry between the two NW Ohio schools.
BGSU currently leads the series 71-50.
Visit bgsufalcons.com/sports/2025/9/26/battle-of-i-75 for more information and updated standings.

MAC Hopes On The Line
Bowling Green enters the final weekend of the season still in the hunt for the sixth, and final, seed in the MAC Tournament. Entering the final MAC series, Ball State, UMass and Bowling Green are still in play. For Ball State, a win clinches the spot for them. For UMass, they need to sweep their series against Central Michigan and need Bowling Green to sweep Ball State with UMass holding the tiebreaker over BGSU. As for the Falcons, a sweep over Ball State and one UMass loss during their series against CMU would secure the final spot in favor of the Falcons.

Scouting Toledo
Since the last meeting between Bowling Green and Toledo, the Rockets have rattled off a 7-1 record with the only loss being a 4-3 final in extra innings against Ohio this past Friday (May 8). The streak has included a sweep over Ball State, two wins over Ohio and midweek victories over both Oakland and Butler. The surge has clinched Toledo's spot in the MAC Tournament, currently slated as the fourth seed with a range of the first through fifth seeds still in play for the Rockets.

Series History Against The Rockets

Bowling Green and Toledo will be meeting for the fourth time this season and the 247th time in program history with the series leaning to the Falcons, 141-102.
This will mark the sixth annual Fifth Third Field game between Bowling Green and Toledo with this contest being a non-conference game.
In the three meetings earlier this season, Toledo holds the series advantage with a record of 2-1.

Scouting Ball State
After canceling their lone midweek game, originally set for Tuesday (May 12) against Purdue at home, Ball State enters the week with BGSU as their next opponent. The Cardinals are coming off a Sunday (May 10) win over Northern Illinois, 17-5, that snapped a six-game losing streak for Ball State. As for MAC play, the Cardinals have dropped nine of their last 11 conference games with the wins including Sunday over NIU and a 10-9 win over UMass at home on April 25.

Series History Against The Cardinals

Bowling Green and Ball State have met 143 times previously in program history with the all-time series being close at 73-68-2 in favor of the Cardinals.
This will mark BGSU's first trip to Muncie since sweeping a series in 2024 that spanned from March 15-17 with the Falcons outscoring the Cardinals 54-20 over the three games.
Last year, Ball State claimed the series over Bowling Green, taking two of three games between the two with the score differential being 43-36 in favor of Ball State.

Stade Among Nation's Best
Ethan Stade's strikeout numbers are making waves in the nation and in program history. This season, Stade is averaging 14.5 strikeouts per nine innings, ranking fifth in the nation. He's also totaled 96 Ks, ranking 25th in the nation and third in program history for single-season strikeouts. Stade has logged six or more strikeouts in nine of his last 10 appearances, including in each of his last eight, capping out with a career-high 15 last time out as well as 14 against UMass earlier this season on April 18. On top of the strikeout numbers, Stade is holding opposing batters to a .214 batting average, ranking second in the conference, while maintaining a 4.22 ERA, eighth in the MAC.

Falcons Break Team Strikeout Record
So far this season, BGSU has posted 25 different pitching outings with 5+ strikeouts. Ethan Stade leads the way with nine followed by four from Jackson Miller, Jacob Turner and Carrson Sova. Nate Kress has produced two with the list rounding out with one from each of Kade Arn, Luke Krouse, Titus Lotz and Ty Roder. As a team, the Falcons have totaled 458 strikeouts, obliterating the team strikeout record for the third straight season. The Falcons tallied 431 last year and 403 in 2024 after the record had previously stood since 1999 at 368.

Falcons On The Base Paths
This season, Bowling Green has swiped 92 bases as a team, the most stolen bases by the team since stealing 104 bases during the 1990 campaign. The current single-season record for BGSU is set at 106 stolen bases during the 1990 season. Leading the charge this season has been Alex Laird and Sam Seidel, both with 18 stolen bases with Laird's coming on 20 attempts and Seidel's on 22 attempts. Laird and Seidel are both closing in on the top 10 in program history for single-season stolen bases, needing 22 to tie Shawn Gillenwater (1990) and break into the top 10. The single-season record is set at 42 by Brandon Howard in 2015.

Seidel Etching His Name In History
A leading senior on the BGSU squad, Sam Seidel has worked to place his name across the Bowling Green record book for career stats. So far this season, Seidel has already breached the top 10 for career stats in at-bats, bases on balls, hit-by-pitches and stolen bases. Of the group, he ranks highest in stolen bases, entering the weekend tied for fifth with 54. Next is his career HBP mark of 27, ranking seventh in program history. As for walks, he's drawn 102 in his collegiate career to rank ninth. The list rounds out with his career at-bats mark, breaking into the top 10 this past weekend with 647 to tie for 10th.

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