FIRST PITCH...
• The Bowling Green State University softball team hits the road for the next six games, beginning with a Tuesday (April 1) twinbill. Head coach Michelle Gardner and the Falcons head to Northeast Ohio for a Mid-American Conference doubleheader vs.the University of Akron. First pitch of the first game is set for 1:00 p.m. at Lee R. Jackson Field.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will head to the MAC's "West Coast" for a three-game weekend series vs. Northern Illinois University. The Falcons and Huskies are slated to begin that series with a Saturday (April 5) doubleheader at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, followed by a single game on Sunday (April 6), starting at 1:00 p.m. ET. All three games will take place at Mary M. Bell Field.

NOTEWORTHY
• The Falcons enter the Akron doubleheader with an overall record of 12-20, and BGSU is 4-4 in MAC play. The Falcons have already doubled last season's overall win total while topping the 2024 MAC victory total as well (6-38, 3-23 last season).

• BGSU went 2-2 last week, including a sweep of Youngstown State in a Wednesday (March 26) doubleheader. The Falcons pounded out 27 hits in those two games, scoring six runs in the first two innings of each game.

• The wins gave BG a five-game winning streak, the team's longest in over five years (since March 6-8, 2020). The Falcons averaged 9.0 runs per game in those five contests.

• Freshman Morgan Beckham retired all nine batters she faced in the opener, earning a save in relief of junior Mackenzie Krafcik. Then, Beckham picked up a complete-game win in the nightcap vs. the Penguins.

• At the plate, seven different Falcons had at least three hits on the day. Juniors Katie Hutter and Kendall Mathews each had a pair of two-hit games. Junior Hannah Hunt and sophomore Taylor Behrendt both had four total hits in the DH as well, and freshman Ava McKee had two RBI in each end of the doubleheader vs. YSU.

• In the second game vs. the Penguins, BGSU had a season-high 16 hits in just four-plus innings. The Falcons sent 37 hitters to the plate and made only 13 outs.

• BGSU's winning streak came to an end on Saturday (March 29), as visiting Ball State posted a doubleheader sweep at Meserve Field. Redshirt freshman Addie Martin led the BG offense with four total hits on the day. She went 3-for-4 with a double, a homer and three RBI in the second game.

• The homer was Martin's 11th of the year, tying her for fourth on that single-season list. She is only the second player in school history to reach double digits in both categories in a season. The list...
    • Addie Martin, 2025 – 11 HR, 11 SB
    • Hannah Fulk, 2012 – 15 HR, 10 SB

• Martin's total of 11 round-trippers this season is the highest total by a Falcon since Madi McCoy hit 11 in 2021. Fulk holds the school record with 15 in that aforementioned 2012 season.

• Martin enters the week with a 10-game hitting streak, while Hunt has had at least one hit in nine-straight games. Behrendt currently has a 12-game reached-base streak, while Martin (10), Hunt (nine) and McKee (eight) each have reached base in at least eight consecutive games.

• In the second Ball State game, freshman Sydney Marshall – making her first appearance in exactly three weeks – threw four innings of shutout, one-hit ball. She struck out three Cardinals and faced just two batters over the minimum.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons are 12-20 on the young season, and BGSU is 4-4 in MAC play. As mentioned earlier, BG has topped the overall and conference win totals for last season.

• BGSU began the season with five games at the Spartan Classic, hosted by USC Upstate (Feb. 7-9), and the Orange and Brown participated in the Norman Tournament two weeks later. The Falcons turned some heads on the final day of the latter tourney (Feb. 24), battling then #2 Oklahoma into extra innings before falling, 8-5.

• The Falcons then played six games in Conway, S.C. (Feb. 28-March 3), including five at the Chanticleer Showdown, before wrapping up the pre-conference schedule with four games at Hoosier Classic (March 7-8).

• Three of the Falcons' losses have come against teams currently in the top 25 in the country in the latest RPI rankings, and a total of 10 of BG's setbacks are to teams ranked in the top 100.

• Head coach Michelle Gardner and her staff – Greg McQuillin, Tegan Cortelletti and Indya Smith – have 14 returning letterwinners, including four positional starters, from the 2024 club. Additionally, five of the seven pitchers from a season ago are on the '25 roster.

• Five Falcons have started all 32 games this season to date. That group includes juniors Hannah Hunt and Katie Hutter, sophomores Taylor Behrendt and Peyton Steffes and redshirt freshman Addie Martin. Freshman Hanna Massaro has made 30 starts, while juniors Kendall Mathews and Ashley Chevalier have started 27 and 26 games, respectively.

• Martin leads the Falcons with a .369 batting average, with Behrendt and Hunt batting .362 and .359, respectively. Hutter is hitting .290 and Steffes .283 on the season.

• Martin leads the Falcons in runs scored (35), hits (38), homers (11), stolen bases (11) and slugging percentage (.767), and Martin and Hunt each have 24 RBI to tie for the team lead in that category. Behrendt has a BG-best .455 on-base pct., as she and Hutter each have walked 17 times.

• A total of seven different Falcons have driven in at least 10 runs, after only three Falcons had double-digit RBI totals last season.

• In the circle, six different players have started at least one game each. Freshman Morgan Beckham has made a team-high nine starts, while junior Mackenzie Krafcik has made seven starts, sophomore Alyvia Roth six and freshman Sydney Marshall five.

• Krafcik and senior Scarlet Anderson each have pitched in 19 games, and Anderson has a team-high 57 innings pitched while leading the team in ERA (3.56) and opponent batting average (.276). Anderson has made 16 relief appearances this season.

• Krafcik leads the team in wins (six) and complete games (two). She has a 3.92 ERA this season, which drops to just 1.96 in MAC play.

• A total of 10 positional returnees made at least 10 starts last spring. In the circle, Krafcik made 16 appearances, including 12 starts, and threw 58 2/3 innings in 2024, leading the returning pitchers in all three categories.

THE OPPONENTS / THE SERIES
• Akron is 16-17 overall, and the Zips are 3-5 in MAC play after taking two out of three games at Toledo over the weekend. Meagan Lee is hitting a team-best .352 on the season, while Alexis Campbell and Sophia Wygast each are hitting .333. In the circle, Madie Jamrog has a 6-4 record and a team-low 3.43 ERA, while Macy Walters is 6-7 with a 4.41 ERA and a team-leading nine complete games. Last season, coach Craig Nicholson's team went 23-29 overall and 11-14 in the MAC.

• Northern Illinois is 8-20 overall and 3-6 in the MAC, heading into a Tuesday DH at Ball State. The Huskies posted a 9-1, five-inning win over preseason MAC favorite Ohio on Saturday. Madison Mathews and Jenna Turner are hitting .393 and .383, respectively, entering the week. Danielle Stewart paces the pitchers with a 5.32 ERA, while Lily Cassell has a team-high four complete games. Both pitchers have made 10 starts this season. Kathryn Gleason is in her first season at the helm of the Huskies, who went 18-34 overall and 9-19 in the MAC last year.

• BGSU leads Akron, 64-36-1, in the all-time series, but the Zips won the most recent meeting. Akron captured a 7-2 game earlier this season (Feb. 9, 2025) when the teams met at the Spartan Classic in Spartanburg, S.C. Last season, UA won two of the teams' three meetings at Meserve Field, with BGSU posting a 7-6, walk-off win in the final game of the series (April 7, 2024). The Zips swept all three games in BG's last trip to Lee R. Jackson Field, two years ago. BGSU is 29-19-1 at home, 26-14 on the road and 8-2 in neutral-site affairs with the Zips (note: the site of two series meetings is unknown).

• The Falcons trail Northern Illinois, 34-31, in that series. Last season, NIU won two games at Meserve Field, with BGSU picking up an 11-3, five-inning win in the middle game of the series (April 27, 2024). Two seasons ago, NIU took two games in DeKalb before the Falcons posted a 4-2 victory in the final game of the season (May 6, 2023). The Falcons are 12-13 at home, 14-18 on the road and 5-3 in neutral-site meetings vs. the Huskies through the years.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the NIU series, BGSU will wrap up the six-game road swing with a game at Notre Dame on Wednesday, April 9. That contest, which will begin at 8:00 p.m., will be televised on the ACC Network.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will return home to begin a three-game series vs. Western Michigan on Friday, April 11. That game also begins a five-game homestand which includes a doubleheader vs. Ohio on Tuesday, April 15.