BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team's 11-game winning streak came to an end on Saturday (March 22) at Steller Field. The Falcons fell to Kent State for the team's first MAC loss of the season after a 7-0 conference start. Kent State pulled away with a 20-4 victory in seven innings, scoring 14 in the fifth inning for the win. Bowling Green and Kent State will be back at Steller Field for the series rubber match on Sunday (March 23), now set for a 12 p.m. first pitch. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Kent State scored two in the first inning, jumping out to a 2-0 lead.
• The Golden Flashes later added four in the fourth inning, extending their lead to 6-0.
• The Falcons tallied their first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Caden Parker singled for the first BGSU hit of the day before Garrett Sloan was hit by a pitch to put two on. Gavin Ganun singled through the right side, scoring Parker for a 6-1 score. 
• Kent State scored 14 runs in the fifth inning, pushing their lead to 20-1.
• In the bottom of the fifth, Cooper McKenzie drew a walk for BGSU. Brady Birchmeier hit into an error, putting two on. A single from Sam Seidel plated McKenzie for the second Bowling Green run of the game.
• The Falcons added two more in the sixth. Caden Bates and Gunner Antillon tallied back-to-back singles with both coming around to score on a McKenzie double to right field, bringing the score to the 20-4 final. 

STAT LEADERS

• Cooper McKenzie: 1-for-1, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB
• Sam Seidel: 1-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB
• Gavin Ganun: 1-for-2, 1 RBI
• Zack Horky: 1-for-2, 1 2B
• Caden Bates, 1-for-1, 1 R
• Caden Parker: 1-for-2, 1 R
• Gunner Antillon: 1-for-3, 1 R
• CJ Boudreaux: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 2 K
• Carrson Sova: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 2 K

FALCON STAT FACTS

• The overall winning streak for the Falcons finishes at 11 games, one of just six winning streaks in program history of 11 games or more and the first since 2010. Meanwhile, the 7-0 MAC start finishes as just the third in program history and the second in as many seasons. 
• Garrett Wright was hit by a pitch in the first inning, his 33rd time being hit as a Falcon. The HBP broke the program record for career hit-by-pitches for BGSU. Wright has also been hit 12 times now this season, tying him with Kurt Wells for fifth in a single-season. 
• Caden Bates tallied a single for the Falcons, marking his first collegiate hit. He also came around to score for his first collegiate run as well. 
• Caden Parker singled in the game for the Orange and Brown, pushing his on-base streak for the Falcons to a now team-leading 14 games. 
• Cooper McKenzie's double late in the game extended his hitting streak to a new team-best eight games. McKenzie has also drawn a walk in six of the eight games as well, reaching base 19 times over the eight-game stretch. 
• Sam Seidel logged a hit for the Falcons in the game, moving his hitting streak to six games, the second longest active streak on the team. 
• Gavin Ganun logged another RBI for the Falcons and now has at least one in four consecutive games for BGSU, totaling eight over the four game span.

UP NEXT
Bowling Green and Kent State will conclude the series on Sunday (March 23) with a currently scheduled 12 p.m. start at Steller Field, moved up from the original 1 p.m. start. Stay up-to-date on all schedule changes by checking BGSUFalcons.com and following @BGSU_Baseball on Twitter/X. 

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