FIRST PITCH...
• The Bowling Green State University softball team travels to the Glass City for a three-game  Mid-American Conference series vs. the arch rivals this weekend. Head coach Michelle Gardner and the Falcons will meet the University of Toledo in Friday (April 25) action, with first pitch set for 3:00 p.m. at Scott Park.

(UPDATE: Friday's game has been moved to a 12:00 p.m. start)

• Then, the Orange and Brown will face the Rockets in a Saturday (April 26) doubleheader, beginning at 1:00 p.m. All three games are slated to be aired on BCSN in the Toledo area, and will be streamed on ESPN+ as well.

ADDIE. MARTIN.
• Redshirt freshman Addie Martin has 12 homers in 2025, tying her for second on the BGSU single-season list. She is just three round-trippers shy of the school record of 15, set by Hannah Fulk in 2012.

• Martin also has a team-leading 15 stolen bases this year to date. She is the first player in school history with at least a dozen homers and a dozen steals in the same season.

• In addition to the single-season mark for dingers, she is also in position to threaten the BGSU record for slugging percentage. Martin currently has a slugging pct. of .695, putting her within striking distance of that mark (.746 by Hayley Wiemer in 2007).

• Entering the Toledo series, Martin is ranked in the top 20 on six BGSU single-season lists...
HITTING HER WAY INTO THE RECORD BOOK: ADDIE MARTIN ON THE BGSU SINGLE-SEASON CHARTS
Category     Total/Avg.     Ranking   Current Record
Slugging Pct.     .695      (Third)             .746
Home Runs           12     T-Second               15
Runs                41        Sixth               57
Total Bases         98    T-Seventh              126
Batting Avg.      .355       (18th)             .439
Stolen Bases        15       T-16th               53

STATS, STREAKS, STORYLINES AND SIDEBARS
• Senior Scarlet Anderson hit the first homer of her collegiate career on Senior Day (April 12), as the Falcons posted a run-rule win over Western Michigan. The third-inning dinger was one of three round-trippers in that frame.
 
• BG hit three homers in a four-batter span in that inning. Cameron Kaufman and Anderson  began the inning with back-to-back bombs – the first career homer for each player – and after Ava McKee singled, Kendall Mathews hit a two-run blast to give BG a 7-0 lead.

• It marked the team's first three-dinger game in nearly three years, since a win at Kent State on May 7, 2022. BGSU had not hit three homers in the same inning since earlier that season (Feb. 26, 2022, vs. Central Connecticut State).

• And, it marked the first time the Falcons had three homers in the same inning against a MAC opponent in over six years (March 23, 2019, at Ohio).

• Freshman Morgan Beckham was named the MAC Pitcher of the Week on April 15. She pitched in all three games in the Western Michigan series, with an ERA of 0.00 in 7 2/3 innings.

• Beckham and fellow Falcon freshman Sydney Marshall combined to throw 12 shutout innings in BG's DH sweep of the Broncos. That came one week after junior Mackenzie Krafcik threw a complete-game shutout at Northern Illinois (April 5).

• Falcon pitchers threw three shutouts in a span of six games, after BGSU had posted three shutouts in the previous 144 contests.

• BGSU's back-to-back shutouts vs. WMU were the program's first since April 10-12, 2022, and BG posted two shutout wins on the same day for the first time since March 6, 2020.

• BGSU had not recorded shutouts in both ends of a doubleheader in over 11 years (April 7, 2014, vs. North Dakota). And, the Falcons had not blanked a MAC team in both games of a twinbill in just over 12 years, (April 5, 2013, vs. Akron).

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Toledo series with an overall record of 15-30. BGSU has more than doubled the win total for all of last season, after going 6-38 in 2024.

• BGSU is 7-14 in MAC games this season after going a combined 5-51 in the previous two years.

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

• The Falcons then played six games in Conway, S.C., including five at the Chanticleer Showdown, before wrapping up the pre-conference schedule with four games at Hoosier Classic.

• A total of 10 of the Falcons' losses have come against teams currently ranked 62nd or better in the latest RPI rankings.

• 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.

• Three Falcons have started all 45 games this season to date. That trio includes junior Hannah Hunt, sophomore Peyton Steffes and redshirt freshman Addie Martin. Sophomore Taylor Behrendt has made 44 starts this year, while junior Kendall Mathews and freshman Hanna Massaro have started 40 games apiece and junior Katie Hutter 39. Soph Cameron Kaufman started the first 20 games of the season, then missed the next 14 contests due to injury before returning for the NIU series. She has started the last 11 contests.

• Hunt leads the Falcons with a .357 batting average, with Martin and Behrendt batting .355 and .318, respectively. Hutter is hitting .263 and Kaufman .245 on the season.

• Martin leads the Falcons in runs scored (41), hits (50 - tied for team lead), homers (12), RBI (32), total bases (98), stolen bases (15) and slugging pct. (.695). Hunt paces the team in doubles (10) and on-base pct. (.429) and is deadlocked with Martin for the hits lead. Behrendt and Hutter have drawn 20 walks each, while Mathews has 18.

• A total of eight 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 and junior Mackenzie Krafcik have made 13 starts apiece, with freshman Sydney Marshall and sophomore Alyvia Roth having started eight and six contests, respectively, this year to date.

• Krafcik (26), Beckham (25) and senior Scarlet Anderson (22) each have made over 20 appearances. Krafcik has a team-high 89 1/3 innings pitched and is 7-9 with a 4.00 ERA. Anderson leads the Falcons in ERA (3.99) and relief appearances (19), while Beckham has a team-low .259 opponent batting average.

• In MAC play, Martin and Hunt are hitting .333 and .317, respectively, while junior Delaney Davis is batting .324 in 34 at-bats. Krafcik has a team-low 3.20 ERA, while Beckham has a 3.21 ERA in conference competition to date.

• 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 OPPONENT / THE SERIES
• Toledo has an overall record of 14-26, and the Rockets enter Friday's action with a 7-12 MAC record. UT captured one of three games in a series at Buffalo last weekend, with a 3-1 win in the series finale. Eli Enriquez is hitting a team-best .442, and has 15 stolen bases in just 26 games. Audrey Miller and Kendra Vander Lugt are batting .350 and .326, respectively. In the circle, Sophia Knight is 8-11 with a team-high 81 strikeouts and a team-low 4.14 ERA. Last season, head coach Jessica Bracamonte's club went 26-23 overall and 15-10 in the MAC.

• The Falcons lead Toledo, 74-48, in the all-time series, but the Rockets swept all three of last year's meetings, which took place at Meserve Field (March 22-23, 2024). Two years ago, BGSU captured one of three games in a series that was held at the Total Sports Dome in Rossford due to inclement weather. The teams have not met at Scott Park in four years, since the Falcons secured a 5-3, nine-inning victory on April 20, 2021. BGSU is 43-18 at home, 26-28 on the road and 5-2 in neutral-site meetings vs. the Rockets through the years.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the UT series, BGSU will end the regular-season schedule with six games in a five-day span. The Falcons will host defending MAC champion Miami on Tuesday (April 29), with that doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Meserve Field.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will face Notre Dame in a single game on Thursday evening (May 1). That contest will begin at 5:30 p.m. at Melissa Cook Stadium.

• The regular season concludes with a three-game series vs. Robert Morris, including a single game on Friday, May 2, beginning at 3:00 p.m., and a 1:00 p.m. twinbill the following day (May 3).
 
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on the BGSU softball team, follow the Falcons on Twitter/X (@BGAthletics and @BGSUSoftball) and Instagram (@bgsu_softball), as well as on the web at BGSUFalcons.com.