BGSU Baseball Set To Close Home Schedule With Weekend Against Western Michigan

Tuesday, May 5

East Lansing, Mich.

6:05 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Michigan State

Photo by: Hailey Pettit-Mastroianni, BGSU Athletics

BGSU Baseball Set To Close Home Schedule With Weekend Against Western Michigan

May 04, 2026 | Baseball

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Falcons Scheduled For Midweek Against Michigan State Tuesday

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team will conclude their current road trip on Tuesday (May 5) against Michigan State before returning home for the final weekend home series of the season, hosting Western Michigan. The weekend for the Orange and Brown will begin in East Lansing, Mich. on Tuesday with a 6:05 p.m. first pitch against Michigan State. From there, the Falcons will be back at Steller Field for the final time during the regular season with a three-game series against Western Michigan. The series will start on Friday (May 8) with a 6 p.m. first pitch followed by a 3 p.m. start on Saturday (May 9) and a 1 p.m. start on Sunday (May 10). 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 5 at Michigan State | 6:05 p.m. | B1G+
Friday, May 8 vs. Western Michigan | 6 p.m. | ESPN+/BCSN
Saturday, May 9 vs. Western Michigan | 3 p.m. | ESPN+/BCSN
Sunday, May 10 vs Western Michigan Michigan | 1 p.m. | ESPN+/BCSN

At The Games
Friday, May 8 vs. Western Michigan

Prior to Friday's game, longtime equipment manager for BGSU baseball and hockey, Scott "Scotter" Jess will be recognized and will be throwing out the first pitch. Jess will be retiring at the end of the season following 30 years of service to BGSU Athletics.

Saturday, May 9 vs. Western Michigan

Prior to Saturday's game, the Falcons will be honoring this year's Senior Class as well as holding a Commencement Recognition for members of the team that will be earning degrees during the Spring and Summer semesters at BGSU.

Falcons Closing In On Team Ks Record
So far this season, BGSU has posted 23 different pitching outings with 5+ strikeouts. Ethan Stade leads the way with eight followed by three 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 now totaled 409 strikeouts with the current single-season strikeout record as a team set at 431 from last year. BGSU has set a new team strikeout record each of the last two seasons, registering 403 in 2024. Prior to 2024, the record has been set at 368 since 1999. With eight games left in the regular season, Bowling Green needs to average 3.6 strikeouts per game to break the record and are currently averaging 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

Scouting Michigan State
The Spartans head into the week with a 16-28 record on the season while being 10-17 in the Big Ten. MSU is coming off a weekend where they were swept by No.1 UCLA, but stayed within three runs or less of the Bruins in each contest. As for the MAC, Michigan State is 2-0 against the conference with a 13-5 win over Eastern Michigan on March 10 and a 19-8 win over Central Michigan on March 24. The Spartans had additional games scheduled against Central Michigan and Western Michigan, but those contests were canceled. After facing BGSU, Michigan State will turn around and face WMU on Wednesday (May 6) with a 6:02 p.m. first pitch.

Series History Against The Spartans

Bowling Green and Michigan State will be meeting for the 14th time in program history with the all-time series leaning to the Spartans with an 8-5 record.
The Falcons won the last meeting between the two teams with a 12-3 victory in East Lansing on March 29, 2022.
The last win for Michigan State in the series was a 13-3 final on March 27, 2012, a game that was also played in East Lansing.

Scouting Western Michigan
The Broncos enter the week with a 22-20 record on the season while being 16-11 within the MAC. Last weekend, Western Michigan took one of three from Miami (OH) at home with each game having at least 20 combined runs. The pair of losses dropped WMU down to fifth in the standings with two conference weekends remaining. Before facing the Falcons in the weekend series, Western Michigan will also play Michigan State with their game set for Wednesday (May 6) at 6:02 p.m. in East Lansing.

Series History Against The Broncos

Bowling Green and Western Michigan have met 172 times previously in program history with the series leaning to the Broncos with a 101-71 record.
Last year, Western Michigan took the series in Kalamazoo, winning two of the three games. The last trip to Bowling Green for WMU was in 2024 with the same series result.
The last series win for the Orange and Brown over the Broncos came during the 2022 season, taking three of four games from Western Michigan at home during a series that spanned from April 22-24 with a scoring margin of 46-41 in favor of the Falcons.

Stade Enters Record Book
Ethan Stade has entered the top 10 in BGSU's program history for single-season strikeouts, now with 81 on the season. The mark for Stade pushes him into a tie for sixth on the list, trailing Doug Bair's 83 in 1970 for fifth. Stade has logged six or more strikeouts in eight of his last nine appearances, including in each of his last seven. For the year, Stade is averaging 14.0 strikeouts per nine innings, ranking ninth in the nation. As for the MAC, he leads in strikeouts per nine, total strikeouts and strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.76). Stade is also fourth in the MAC for opposing batting average (.223) and 14th for ERA (4.67).

Power Conference Opponents
Earlier this season, the Falcons knocked off Ohio State in Columbus with a 9-3 win on April 7. The win marked the first for Bowling Green against a Power Conference opponent since topping nationally-ranked Louisville, 9-6, on Feb. 25, 2023. With the game against Michigan State on Tuesday (May 5), the Falcons have an opportunity to tally multiple Power Conference wins in the same season for the first time since 2009. During that 2009 campaign, the Falcons topped Michigan State, 16-3, on March 17 and Michigan, 8-3, on March 31.

Heffernan Finding Stride
Andrew Heffernan has been strong over his last seven appearances for the Falcons, including three starts. Over the seven outings, Heffernan has amassed 31.0 innings while maintaining a 1.45 ERA and posting a 3-1 record. During the stretch he's held opponents to a .187 batting average in addition to registering 18 strikeouts, allowing just five earned runs and only five walks. For the season, Heffernan has allowed just 10 walks, first in the MAC among qualified pitchers. He's also coming off an eight-inning start against Eastern Michigan where he carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning.

Taking One For The Team
Andrew DiLodovico and Griffin Scheiderer have found their way in front of pitches enough this season to both enter the top 10 for the program's single-season hit-by-pitch list. Scheiderer leads the way with 13 HBPs while DiLodovico trails not far behind with 11. Scheiderer's mark has him in a tie for fifth in program history while DiLodovico is currently tied for ninth. As a team, the Falcons have drawn 71 HBPs this season with the two freshmen leading the way.

Follow the Falcons
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Twitter - @BGSU_Athletics and @BGSU_Baseball
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