BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team extended their win streak to 10 with an 11-9 victory over Dayton Wednesday (March 19) at Steller Field. With the win, the Falcons now have just the ninth double-digit winning streak and program history. Additionally, BGSU is now 15-5 on the season, matching the second-best start through 20 games in program history and the first time since 1989. The Falcons will look to improve on both marks this weekend as they return to league play against Kent State, the first home conference series of the season for Bowling Green. 

Dayton jumped out to an early lead in the game, scoring two in the first, but a four-run bottom half quickly pushed the Falcons in front. Bowling Green added one in the second and three in the third, taking an 8-2 lead through three innings. The Flyers chipped away with two in the fourth and one in the fifth, but BGSU added one for a 9-5 score. Owen Poole then entered on the mound for Bowling Green, tossing three scoreless frames while the Falcons tacked on two more in the seventh. Dayton challenged with four runs in the top of the ninth, but Titus Lotz came on and recorded the save for the victory. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Dayton hit a two-run home run in the first inning to take an early 2-0 advantage in the contest.
• In the bottom half the Falcons responded. TJ Takats drew a walk and Garrett Wright was hit by a pitch to put two on with both stealing to advance. DJ Newman was able to send a sacrifice fly out to right center, scoring Takats.
• In the next at-bat, Sam Seidel laced a single into right field, scoring Wright for a 2-2 tie game, but the Falcons weren't done in the inning.
• Caden Parker was hit by a pitch to join Seidel on the bases with BGSU using their second double steal of the inning. Garrett Sloan made it count, hitting a single into right field, bringing both runners home for a 4-2 BGSU lead after one.
• Takats began the Falcon half of the second with a single to center, taking second on a wild pitch. Dayton recorded two outs, but back-to-back walks to Seidel and Parker loaded the bases before another to Gavin Ganun pushed home Takats for a 5-2 lead.
• The Falcons added to their tally in the third inning. After a walk to Cooper McKenzie and bunt single for Alex Laird, Takats put a three-run home run off the top portion of the scoreboard in right center, pushing the lead to 8-2.
• Dayton added a pair of runs to their total in the top of the fourth and another in the fifth, cutting the deficit down to 8-5.
• The Falcons answered in the bottom of the fifth. Walks to Wright and Newman started the inning with a Seidel single loading the bases. Parker put a ball in play, but a fielder's choice got the out at home. However, a wild pitch brought home Newman for a 9-5 score.
• Bowling Green extended their lead in the seventh. Newman reached on a fielding error before another Seidel single put runners at the corners. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Parker to right center scored Newman for the first run of the inning. Ganun followed with a walk before Sloan found a gap in the left side of the infield, ripping a single to bring home Seidel for an 11-5 BGSU lead through seven innings played.
• Dayton fought to tally four in the top of the ninth, but Titus Lotz came on to close it down for the save and 11-9 Bowling Green win.

STAT LEADERS

• Owen Poole: W (2-0), 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, 3 K
• Titus Lotz: SV (2), 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER
• Sam Seidel: 4-for-4, 1 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 SB
• TJ Takats: 3-for-5, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 SB
• DJ Newman: 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB
• Garrett Sloan: 2-for-4, 3 RBI, 1 BB
• Cooper McKenzie: 1-for-3, 1 R

FALCON STAT FACTS

• With the win, the Falcons have now won 10-straight games, the longest winning streak in 15 years for BGSU. It also marks just the ninth double-digit winning streak in program history.
• Bowling Green is now 15-5 to start the season, tying for the second-best start to a season through 20 games in program history. BGSU also started 15-5 in 1989, 1983, 1976 and 1975. The best start is set at 18-2 from the 1944 season, a year in which BGSU went 20-3 overall. 
• Garrett Wright was hit by a pitch in the game, his 32nd time being hit in his BGSU career. Wright is now tied for the program record for HBPs in a Falcon uniform with TJ Blanton (2007-10). For the season, he's now been hit 11 times, tying for sixth in program history for a single-season, a record he set last year at 21. 
• DJ Newman doubled to the right center gap in the game, his third double in just two games, to extend his hitting streak to eight games and his on-base streak to 15.
• Cooper McKenzie added a hit in the game as well, bringing his hitting streak to seven games. Newman and McKenzie now have the two longest active hitting streaks for BGSU. 
• TJ Takats hit his second home run in as many days for the Falcons, belting a three-run shot to right center. Takats entered the week without a home run.
• At the plate, Sam Seidel logged a four-hit day for the Falcons, his second four-hit game of the season, but his first logging a hit in each of his at-bats. Seidel also scored twice in the game and has now scored two times in three straight games for BGSU. 
• Garrett Sloan added another two-hit game for the Falcons. In the last five games, Sloan now has four multi-hit days. He's added six RBI and three runs scored over the span as well. 
• Owen Poole logged his second consecutive scoreless appearance, going three innings for the Falcons with three strikeouts for the win. Poole now has a win in each of his last two outings, giving him three for his BGSU career.
• Titus Lotz came on for the Falcons to record the final out, getting a flyout to do so. With the appearance, Lotz earned his second save of the season. As a team, the Falcons now have nine saves this season, already just one shy of matching the total from the 2024 season. The program record for saves in a season is set at 12, being achieved in 2010, 2009 and 1994. 

UP NEXT
Bowling Green will remain at home for the weekend series, hosting Kent State for a three-game series at Steller Field. The series will start on Friday (March 21) with a 3 p.m. first pitch followed by 1 p.m. starts on both Saturday (March 22) and Sunday (March 23). 

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