BGSU Baseball Back On The Road With Weekend Stay In Akron
AKRON, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team will be back on the road this weekend for a three-game conference series against the Akron Zips. BGSU and Akron are scheduled for a game on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (March 14-16) with a 2 p.m. start on Friday followed by 1 p.m. first pitches on Saturday and Sunday. Friday will be streamed on Zips Digital Network while Sunday will be on ESPN+
Scouting Akron
The Zips will head into the weekend with a 6-10 record on the season while being 0-3 within the Mid-American Conference. The first weekend for Akron in conference play was against Eastern Michigan at home, but they rebounded with a 10-5 win over Dayton on Tuesday (March 11). The other wins for Akron this season have included two against Radford, one against Purdue who was receiving votes at the time as well as one against both Youngstown State and Oakland.
Series History
- Bowling Green and Akron have met 85 times entering the weekend series with BGSU holding the all-time advantage with a record of 52-33 dating back to 1983.
- The Falcons swept last year's series at Steller Field, but the last sweep for BGSU at Akron came during the 2014 season.
- BGSU's last trip to Akron was in 2023 with the Zips taking two of three in the series. The win for the Falcons came in extra innings during the series finale.
What To Watch For
- The Falcons will enter the weekend with a 3-0 MAC record after starting the 2024 campaign with a conference-record 17-0 standing. In program history, BGSU Baseball has never had back-to-back 4-0 starts to MAC play.
- Bowling Green is in the midst of a five-game winning streak, their longest of the season. Last year, BGSU posted a season-best seven-game winning streak. If the Falcons can sweep Akron and extend their streak to eight games, it would mark the longest for BGSU since winning 11 straight in 2010.
- As a team, Bowling Green has turned 16 double plays this season, leading the MAC and tied for 15th in the nation. The program record for double plays turned in a season is set at 65 from the 2002 season.
- Additionally, the Falcons have posted a fielding percentage of .983, which ranks 11th in the nation and third in the MAC. BGSU broke the program record for fielding percentage in a season each of the last two years, currently set at .976.
- Garrett Wright has been hit by a pitch eight times this year, tied for 33rd in the nation and second in the MAC. For his career, Wright has been hit 29 times, just four away from breaking the program record for career HBPs. Wright is averaging 0.53 hit-by-pitches per game, tied for 39th in the nation and third in the MAC.
- Connar Penrod has recorded three saves this year for the Falcons, tying for 24th in the nation and third within the MAC.
- Brady Birchmeier enters the weekend tied for the MAC-lead in RBI with 20 on the season while being tied for fourth in the conference for home runs with four.
For The First Time Since…
The Falcons have the opportunity to do something that's never been done in program history. After starting last year with a MAC-record 17-0 start to conference play, Bowling Green is now 3-0 this year within the MAC. If BGSU can advance to 4-0 in conference play with a win on Friday, it would mark the first time in program history that the Falcons will start back-to-back MAC seasons 4-0. Bowling Green first joined the MAC for baseball in 1953. The Falcons are also in the midst of a five-game winning streak, their longest since winning seven last year.
Wright Closing In On 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 is closing in on Blanton's career record as well. Wright has already been plunked eight times this year, pushing his career total to 29. The total has him tied for fourth in program history with Jon Berti (2009-11) and just four away from breaking the program record. Currently, the mark stands at 32 HBPs, set by Blanton from 2007-10.
Falcons In The Field
Through the first 15 games of the season, Bowling Green is positioning themselves as one of the best defensive teams not only in the MAC, but in the nation. Only three teams in the country rank inside the Top 11 for fielding percentage and inside the Top 15 for double plays turned. The list includes Arkansas, Ball State and Bowling Green. All three have turned 16 double plays this season, tied for 15th in the nation, while Arkansas leads the nation in fielding percentage (.989) with Ball State at seventh (.985) and BGSU at 11th (.983).
Things Going Wright At The Plate
For Garrett Wright, he's been off to a hot start at the plate for the Falcons. Through the first 15 games of the season, Wright has plastered his name all over the MAC leaderboards offensively. Currently, Wright is slashing .415/.542/.698, ranking inside the top four in the MAC for all three stats. Additionally, his 22 hits are tied for the MAC lead, his five doubles tied for sixth in the conference and his two triples are tied for second. Wright has also improved defensively, playing both catcher and left field with a perfect fielding percentage so far this season. In the early going, Wright has already built off the momentum of his freshman campaign that resulted in being named MAC Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-MAC, All-MAC Defensive Team and a Perfect Game Freshman All-American.
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'
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