AKRON, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team extended their win streak to six-straight games on Friday (March 14), claiming a 7-3 victory over the Akron Zips. The win moves BGSU to 4-0 in the MAC for the second consecutive season, the first time going 4-0 to start MAC play in back-to-back seasons in program history. Additionally, the win marks the first on a Friday at Akron for the Falcons since the 2014 campaign. On the year overall, Bowling Green is now 11-5 in addition to the 4-0 MAC standing. 

The two teams played three scoreless innings before a two-run home run put Akron on the board in the bottom of the fourth. BGSU quickly tied it with back-to-back home runs from Garrett Wright and DJ Newman in the top of the fifth. The home runs sparked the BGSU offense, taking the lead with three runs in the sixth and adding two more in the seventh. Akron closed the gap with one in the eighth. Connar Penrod came on with the bases loaded in the ninth, nailing down the save to secure the win. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• With two outs in the top of the first, DJ Newman made contact with a single to left center for the first hit of the day. Brady Birchmeier followed with another single, but the Falcons weren't able to get a run across.
• The Falcons put two on in the second as well. Garrett Sloan singled followed by a Caden Parker walk, again with two outs, but a run couldn't score.
• The BGSU offense came alive again in the fourth inning. Gunner Antillon and TJ Takats started the frame with back-to-back singles. The Zips were again able to work out of the jam, keeping the scoreboard empty.
• A two-run home run for Akron in the bottom of the fourth put the first runs on the board with a 2-0 Zip lead.
• The Falcons brought their answer in the top of the fifth. Garrett Wright and DJ Newman belted opposite field home runs to right on back-to-back pitches, quickly knotting the score at 2-2.
• Bowling Green went back to work in the sixth. Sloan led off with a single to left center with a walk to Wright putting two on for the Falcons. Akron opted for a pitching change, but the new arm walked Newman to load the bases. With the bases juiced, Birchmeier delivered a single to center, scoring both Sloan and Wright for a 4-2 BGSU lead.
• A wild pitch later in the inning scored Newman, pushing the Bowling Green advantage to 5-2.
• The Falcons added two more in the seventh. Takats started the inning with a single followed by another from Gavin Ganun, taking second on a throw to third from the outfield. Caden Parker was able to bring both home with a sacrifice bunt, scoring Takats from third and Ganun from second on the bunt for a 7-2 BGSU lead.
• Akron added a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to narrow the gap to 7-3.

STAT LEADERS

• Brady Birchmeier: 3-for-5, 2 RBI
• TJ Takats: 3-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB
• Garrett Wright: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
• DJ Newman: 2-for-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB
• Garrett Sloan: 2-for-5, 1 R
• Ty Roder: W (2-0), 3.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R/ER, 4 K
• Connar Penrod: SV (4), 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER
• Titus Lotz: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 2 K

FALCON STAT FACTS

• With singles in the first inning, both Brady Birchmeier and DJ Newman extended their on-base streaks, the longest two active streaks on the team. Birchmeier's is now up to 17 games going back to last season while Newman's is at 11. 
• Birchmeier finished with three hits on the day, logging his fifth multi-hit day of the season. He also recorded two RBI to push his season total to a MAC-leading 22. 
• Gunner Antillon knocked a single in the fourth inning while Gavin Ganun added one in the seventh, pushing their respective hitting streaks to a team-leading seven games. 
• Garrett Wright's fifth inning home run marked his third of the season, all coming within the last five games. He hit one against Tiffin on Tuesday (March 11) as well, giving him a long ball in back-to-back games. Wright now has a five-game hitting streak as well as a five-game scoring streak with 10 hits and eight runs scored over the last five games.
• Connar Penrod logged the save for the Falcons, picking up his fourth of the season. The program record for saves in a season is currently set at eight, tied between Tony Landi (2016) and Bob Reichow (1996). 
• DJ Newman's home run was his first of the season and first since April 21 of last season. Newman now has 12 home runs as a Falcon, second among active players. 
• TJ Takats finished with a season-high three hits in the game, also marking his third multi-hit game of the season. Takats also swiped his fourth stolen base of the year, already halfway to his 2024 season total. 
• Garrett Sloan tallied two hits in the game for his first multi-hit game of his BGSU tenure. He also scored in the game, having now scored in three straight with a total of four runs over that span. 

UP NEXT
The Falcons and Zips will continue their weekend series on Saturday (March 15) with a 12 p.m. start and Sunday (March 16) at 1 p.m. From there, Bowling Green will return home for a six-game homestand, beginning with two midweek games, scheduled for Tuesday (March 18) and Wednesday (March 19) with 3 p.m. first pitches. 

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