BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team opened the series against Ball State with a 6-4 win Thursday night (April 17). Ball State opened the game with a solo home run, but a pair of runs in both the third and fourth innings put the Falcons in the driver's seat, not giving up the lead for the rest of the game. The win moves Bowling Green to 25-11 on the season while being 13-6 within the Mid-American Conference. BGSU and Ball State will continue the series on Friday (April 18) with a 1 p.m. start.

The Bowling Green bats were led by the duo of Gunner Antillon and Gavin Ganun. Ganun tallied the first four RBI of the game for the Falcons, belting a two-run home run in the third inning before a two-run double in the fourth. Antillon picked up from there, finishing with three extra base hits. For the second-straight game, Antillon logged two doubles and a home run. Connar Penrod topped the game off, nailing down his program record 10th save of the season, the first double-digit save campaign by a BGSU pitcher in program history. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• On the first pitch of the game, Ball State put a home run off the batter's eye in center for a 1-0 lead.
• In the third inning, Garrett Wright drew a walk to start the inning. With Wright on first, Gavin Ganun destroyed a ball, sending it deep to left field for a two-run home, putting the Falcons in front 2-1.
• In the fourth inning, Alex Laird drew a walk and stole second. With two outs, Wright drew a walk as well before both runners moved up on a wild pitch. A third walk in the inning, this time to Brady Birchmeier, loaded the bases for the Falcons. Ganun stepped up, drilling a two-RBI double into right center to score both Laird and Wright for a 4-1 lead, prompting a Ball State pitching change.
• The Cardinals chipped away at the lead with a run in the fifth inning, bringing the score to 4-2.
• Gunner Antillon started the bottom of the fifth with a double to right center before moving up to third on a wild pitch. Brayden Curlis lifted a sacrifice fly to left center, completing Antillon's route around the bases for a 5-2 advantage.
• Ball State added a run in the seventh with a solo home run or a 5-3 tally.
• In the bottom half, Antillon crushed his second home run of the week, a solo shot to push the score to 6-3 Falcons.
• The Cardinals scored one in the eighth, pulling the gap down to the eventual 6-4 final.

STAT LEADERS

• Jacob Turner: W (3-2), 5.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R/ER, 2 K
• Connar Penrod: SV (10), 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER
• Gunner Antillon: 3-for-4, 2 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R
• Gavin Ganun: 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 R
• Brayden Curlis: 2-for-3, 1 RBI
• Brady Birchmeier: 1-for-3, 1 BB; Fielding: 9 Putouts, 4 Assists, 1 Unassisted Double Play

FALCON STAT FACTS

• Connar Penrod registered the save for the Falcons, his 10th of the season to become the first Falcon in program history with double-digit saves in a season. It also marked Penrod's 11th of his BGSU career, moving up to a tie for fifth all-time with Mike Muzi (1997-2000) and Eric Stachler (1994-95). The program record for career saves is set at 17 by Neil Schmitz (2001-04). 
• After registering two doubles and a home run in the midweek game, Gunner Antillon picked up where he left off for the Falcons with another pair of doubles and another home run. The doubles came in the third and fifth innings while the home run was in the seventh.
• Gavin Ganun belted his fifth home run of the season and logged his seventh double for the Falcons. Ganun accounted for BGSU's first four RBI in the game, his second time this season with four RBI in a game. 
• Garrett Wright was hit by a pitch in the first inning, his 19th time being hit this season. It also extended his hitting streak to 24 games for the Falcons. Wright ended the game with two walks drawn, a hit by pitch and two runs scored. 
• Brayden Curlis logged a single for the Falcons in the second inning, giving him a hit in three straight contests. He's also tallied a base knock in six of the last seven games.
• Brady Birchmeier defensively showed out for the Falcons. Birchmeier fielded eight balls hit to him over the course of the game, including an unassisted double play on a snagged line drive in the fourth inning and back-to-back web gems in the sixth inning. 
• Jacob Turner earned the win on the mound for the Falcons. Turner now has three wins this season, tied for the team lead with Penrod, Owen Poole and Carrson Sova.

UP NEXT
The Falcons and Cardinals will continue the series on Friday (April 18) before wrapping it up on Saturday (April 19), both scheduled for 1 p.m. starts. Check the baseball schedule at BGSUFalcons.com and @BGSU_Baseball on Twitter/X for updates and changes. 

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