CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Bowling Green State University baseball team split a doubleheader in Carbondale, Ill. on Saturday (March 1). The Falcons started the day with a 4-1 loss to Southern Illinois, but bounced back with a 4-1 win of their own, topping Southern Indiana. The day moves BGSU to 5-4 on the season with one more game left, a rematch with Southern Illinois set for Sunday (March 2) at 1 p.m. EST. 

HOW IT HAPPENED, GAME 1

• After two scoreless innings, the Falcons opened up the scoring column in the third inning. Caden Parker singled and Gunner Antillon was hit by a pitch. A grounder moved both runners before another grounder, this one off the bat of DJ Newman, scored Parker for a 1-0 BGSU lead.
• Southern Illinois matched the run with one in the bottom of the fourth for a 1-1 tie. A run in the sixth for the Salukis made it a 2-1 score in their favor.
• A pair of solo home runs in the eighth for SUI pushed their lead to 4-1 for the eventual final. 

STAT LEADERS, GAME 1

• Landon Willeman: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 4 K
• Garrett Wright: 2-for-2, 1 3B
• Sam Seidel: 1-for-3, 1 2B
• Caden Parker: 1-for-4, 1 R
• Brady Birchmeier: 1-for-4

HOW IT HAPPENED, GAME 2

• Gunner Antillon began the second game with a walk before a DJ Newman single put runners at the corners. Brady Birchmeier hit into a fielder's choice, but it was enough to plate Antillon for the first run of the game. 
• In the third inning, Garrett Wright was hit by a pitch. A fielding error on a Newman knock put two on, setting up an RBI single for Birchmeier through the right side to increase the BGSU lead to 2-0.
• Later in the inning, the Falcons utilized a double steal to score Newman before Sam Seidel was caught at second, making it a 3-0 lead.
• In the eighth inning, Southern Indiana added a run, cutting the lead down to 3-1. 
• The Falcons answered in the bottom of the eighth. Wright was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. A single from Birchmeier put two on while a fielder's choice from Caden Parker replaced him for Birchmeier on the bases. After a pitching change, Seidel was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Garrett Sloan drew a walk to push Wright home for a 4-1 score. 

STAT LEADERS, GAME 2

• Nic Good: W (2-1), 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R/ER, 9 K
• Connar Penrod: SV (1), 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, 5 K
• Brady Birchmeier: 2-for-4, 2 RBI
• Caden Parker: 2-for-4
• DJ Newman: 1-for-4, 1 R
• Garrett Wright: 0-for-2, 2 4, 2 HBPs

FALCON STAT FACTS

• Nic Good was stellar in his game two start, tossing seven scoreless innings while striking out nine batters. The nine strikeouts are the most by a Falcon so far this year and set a new career-high for Good. 
• Connar Penrod nailed down the save in the second game, striking out all five outs recorded while he was on the mound over 1.2 innings of work. The save is Penrod's first of the season and the second of his career. 
• Garrett Wright was hit by a pitch twice in the second game of the day, his 25th and 26th times being hit as a Falcon. The total gives Wright sole possession of eighth all-time for career HBPs, passing Jeff Scott (2017-19). 
• Brady Birchmeier logged a hit in each game, in addition to multiple RBI, to push his hitting streak to a team-best nine games, logging a hit in each BGSU contest this year. 
• Birchmeier also leads the team in RBI, adding two more to his tally for 13 on the season. He has at least one RBI in seven of BGSU's nine games. 
• Caden Parker extended his strong start to the weekend. Through three games, Parker is 5-for-12 (.417) with three RBI and a run scored for the Falcons. 

UP NEXT
The Falcons will conclude their weekend on Sunday (March 2) with a 1 p.m. EST first pitch against Southern Illinois. From there, Bowling Green will return to the state of Ohio with a midweek on Wednesday (March 5) against Dayton. 

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