Falcons Top Tiffin For Fourth-Straight Home Opener Victory
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team opened the home portion of the team's 2025 schedule on Tuesday (March 11), topping Tiffin University in an 8-7 final. The win gives BGSU four-straight home opener wins, a streak that goes back to 2022 and is the longest since winning 10 straight from 2000-09. Additionally, Bowling Green is now on a five-game winning streak with a homestand approaching on the other side of this weekend's series at Akron while being 10-5 on the season.
Each team tallied a run in the first inning before a three-run two-out rally came for the Falcons in the third, taking a 4-1 lead. Tiffin added a run in the top of the fifth, but three more for BGSU answered in the bottom half for a 7-2 lead. However, a five-run sixth for Tiffin tied the game at 7-7. In the bottom of the eighth, a run crossed for the Orange and Brown, giving them the 8-7 advantage for the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Tiffin tallied the first run of the game, scoring one in the first inning. TU loaded the bases, but the Falcons worked out of the jam with just one run crossing.
- The Falcons brought their answer in the bottom of the first. With two outs in the inning, Garrett Wright blasted an opposite field home run to right field, knotting it up at 1-1.
- In the third inning, Brayden Curlis began with a double to left field being joined on the bases by TJ Takats via walk. Gunner Antillon laid down a bunt to advance the runners, but a throwing error pushed Antillon to third with both Curlis and Takats scoring.
- In the next at-bat, Wright sent a deep fly ball to right field for a sacrifice fly that scored Antillon, making it a 4-1 Falcon advantage through three innings.
- The Dragons added a tally in the top of the fifth, narrowing the gap to 4-2.
- The Falcons answered with a two-out rally in the bottom half. Wright led the charge with a double into left field followed by an infield single from Gavin Ganun to put runners at the corners. Sam Seidel drew a walk to load the bases before another walk, this time to Zack Horky, pushed home Wright.
- Cooper McKenzie kept the rally going with a bloop single into shallow right field, bringing home both Ganun and Seidel for a 7-2 advantage through five innings.
- Tiffin recorded a five-run sixth inning, tying the game at 7-7.
- In the eighth inning, Brayden Curlis drew a walk and took second on a sacrifice bunt. An infield single from Antillon put runners at the corners. Wright put a ball into deep center that resulted in Curlis scoring for an 8-7 BGSU lead.
STAT LEADERS
- Garrett Wright: 2-for-3, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 SB
- Cooper McKenzie: 2-for-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB
- Brayden Curlis: 1-for-2, 1 2B, 2 R, 2 BB
- Sam Seidel: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB
- Nate Kress: W (1-0), 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 2 K
- Kade Arn: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER
- Perry Miller: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, 1 K
FALCON STAT FACTS
- With the win, the Falcons have won four-straight home openers, dating back to 2022. It's the longest streak for BGSU since winning 10 straight from 2000 to 2009.
- Bowling Green has now won five straight games, their longest winning streak of the season and the longest since winning a season-best seven straight last year from April 10-20.
- Garrett Wright continued to dominate at the plate, hitting a double and a home run in the game. Over the last four games, Wright now has nine hits with seven RBI and six runs scored. For the year, he has eight multi-hit games and a team-leading five doubles.
- A Bowling Green native, Nate Kress made his first appearance at Steller Field as a Falcon, earning the win with two innings of scoreless relief to go along with two strikeouts. The win is Kress' first of his BGSU career.
- Gunner Antillon and Gavin Ganun both logged hits in the game for the Falcons, increasing their individual hitting streak to six games each, tied for the longest active streak on the team.
- Antillon also scored again for the Falcons, having scored in seven-straight games for BGSU. For the season, Antillon has scored a team-high 13 times.
- Cooper McKenzie tallied two hits for his first multi-hit game of the season while extending his hitting streak to four games. McKenzie also walked twice for the first time this season and drove in two runs for his third multi-RBI game of the year.
- Brayden Curlis logged his first collegiate hit, ripping a double to left field. Curlis walked twice in the game as well and scored twice for the Falcons in the win.
- Defensively, the Falcons posted another error-free game after entering the contest with a .982 fielding percentage, ranked 16th in the nation. Additionally, BGSU turned three double plays, bringing their season total to 16 after entering the game inside the Top 50 in the nation for the stat.
UP NEXT
The Falcons will resume MAC play this upcoming weekend with a trip to Akron. BGSU and the Zips will have a three-game series from Friday through Sunday. Bowling Green will then be home for six straight games, beginning with a pair of midweek contests on Tuesday against Purdue Fort Wayne and then Wednesday against Dayton, both 3 p.m. starts.
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