BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team will continue their six-game homestand with their first home conference series of the season. Bowling Green will welcome the Kent State Golden Flashes to Steller Field for a three-game weekend series (March 21-23). The Falcons enter the weekend with a 10-game overall winning streak as well as a six-game conference streak. As always, admission is free at Steller Field for all games. 

At The Ballpark
Saturday's (March 22) game will have a pair of promotions for Falcon Fans. The theme will be Wii Sports Day while fans will also be able to partake in an Orel Hershiser Bobblehead giveaway, the first of two dates that 200 will be handed out. 

Current Weekend Schedule
Friday, March 21 vs. Kent State | 3 p.m.
Saturday, March 22 vs. Kent State | 2 p.m. **TIME CHANGED**
Sunday, March 23 vs. Kent State | 12 p.m. **TIME CHANGED**

Scouting Kent State
The Golden Flashes enter the weekend with an 8-10 overall record while being 2-1 within the MAC. Kent State opened MAC play against Northern Illinois, winning the bookends of the series before having their off weekend from conference play last weekend. In similar fashion, Kent State took the bookends against Hofstra last weekend. Other wins for KSU this year have come against Eastern Kentucky, East Carolina, Indiana State and Mercyhurst. 

Series History Against The Golden Flashes

• Bowling Green and Kent State have met 202 times entering the weekend series with the all-time series leaning to KSU with a 133-69 record. 
• Last year, the Golden Flashes took two of three in the series. The last series win for Bowling Green over Kent State came at home in 2012. 
• The last season series sweep for BGSU over KSU came in 1980, winning both of two meetings. The last three-game series sweep for the Falcons over the Golden Flashes came in 1971.

What To Watch For

• With a 15-5 record, the Falcons now hold a .750 winning percentage, tied for 40th in the nation and ranking first in the MAC. The record ties for the second-best start in program history through 20 games, matching totals from 1989, 1983, 1976 and 1975 while only trailing the 1944 season (18-2).
• The Falcons are in the midst of a 10-game winning streak, the ninth double-digit winning streak in program history. A Friday win would cut the list down to just the sixth 11-game win streak. In program history, the Falcons have had a 12-game winning streak just twice (2008, 1976) and a 13-game winning streak once, setting the program record in 1976.
• As for MAC play, Bowling Green swept their first two series of the conference season and are 6-0 for the second straight season. A win on Friday would give BGSU a 7-0 record in MAC play for just the third time in program history, joining the 2024 and 1995 teams. If the Falcons can reach 8-0 it would be just the second time in program history, happening in back-to-back seasons. 
• As a team, the Falcons have posted a .978 fielding percentage so far this season, ranking 40th in the nation and third in the MAC. BGSU has set the program record for fielding percentage each of the last two seasons, currently at .976 from the 2024 team. 
• Bowling Green has tallied 217 hits as a team so far this season, ranking 38th in the nation and second in the MAC behind only Ball State (221). 
• BGSU also ranks inside the nation's top 50 in sacrifice flies with 12 on the year, tied for 38th in the nation while being first within the MAC. 

Wright Matches Program Record
As a freshman last year, Garrett Wright set the program record for times being hit by a pitch in a season with 21, passing TJ Blanton's 15 from the 2010 season. Now, Wright has matched Blanton's career record as well. Wright has already been plunked 11 times this year, pushing his career total to 32, one away from holding the record solely. As for the season, Wright is already tied for sixth all-time with his 11 HBPs. The mark is tied for 10th in the nation while his hit-by-pitch per game average of 0.55 is tied for 28th in the country. 

Last Team Standing
For the second straight season, Bowling Green is the last team left in the Mid-American Conference with an undefeated MAC record. BGSU is now 6-0 through two weekends after sweeps on the road over Ohio and Akron. Last year, BGSU posted a MAC baseball record 17-0 start to MAC play, the second-best in BGSU Athletics history. Before the 2024 season, the best MAC start in program history had been set at 7-0, achieved once in 1995. Now, the Falcons are one MAC win away from hitting that mark in consecutive seasons. 

Newman Earns National Honor
Earlier this week, DJ Newman was named the nation's John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Week by the College Baseball Foundation. Newman has been starring for BGSU on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he leads the team in batting average, hitting .452. The mark has him tied for the MAC lead and 15th in the nation. Additionally, he's averaging 1.65 hits per game, tied for 42nd in the nation and second in the MAC. As for on the mound, Newman has maintained a 3.65 ERA, the best among BGSU players with at least one start this season. He's also struck out 12 batters over 12.1 innings of work. 

Birchmeier At The Bat
Brady Birchmeier has positioned himself as one of the MAC's most dangerous hitters this season. So far this year, Birchmeier has driven in a MAC-leading 29 RBI for the Falcons with a four-RBI cushion between himself and the next on the list. Birchmeier is currently the only player in the MAC to be hitting above .350 with at least five home runs and 20 RBI, posting a .352 batting average and six long balls in addition to his 29 RBI. Birchmeier's strong start has placed him 13th in the nation for RBI per game, averaging 1.71, while being 36th overall for total RBI. The effort earned Birchmeier a MAC Co-Player of the Week honor after last weekend.

Penrod From The 'Pen
Connar Penrod has emerged as a leading arm in the BGSU bullpen. Penrod now has five saves on the season and just needs one more to enter the program's top 10 for saves in a single-season. To start the year, Penrod has registered 11.0 scoreless innings, maintaining a perfect 0.00 ERA. He's also struck out 21 batters over that span, second on the team despite having less than half the innings of the team's leader, Nic Good with 27 strikeouts over 22.1 innings. Penrod is now tied for the MAC lead in saves and is tied for fifth in the nation in the stat, being just two shy of first in the country. In eight appearances this season, Penrod has five saves and two wins, giving him just one outing without a say in the decision. 

Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons' baseball team on social media
Twitter - @BGSU_Athletics and @BGSU_Baseball
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgsu_baseball'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics'
YouTube - 'Falcons Athletics'