Bowling Green baseball will try to return to their winning ways after a Dayton loss on Wednesday ruined a three-game win streak. The Orange and Brown will take on the Ball State Cardinals in a three-game series at the Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex starting Friday, March 15
First pitch on Friday is at 3 p.m. in Muncie, Indiana with the Saturday and Sunday games both starting at 1 p.m. This is the second Mid-American Conference (MAC) series for both teams, with BGSU sitting at a perfect 3-0 in the MAC and Ball State a lesser 1-2.
The Cardinals come into the matchup on a high, taking out the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on Tuesday in seven innings. Ball State currently has a two-game winning streak.
Matchup History
The Falcons hold a slight disadvantage historically against Ball State, going 64-70-2 all time against the Cardinals. The last ten matchups have not been kind to the Orange and Brown either, holding a 2-8 record in that stretch.
BGSU have struggled in Muncie over the past few seasons, in 2022 losing three of their four games in just seven innings. The Falcons have not won a game at Ball State since 2016.
Scouting Bowling Green
Bowling Green is one of only three teams still undefeated in MAC play after one week of action. Despite the hot start in conference, BGSU has struggled with a record of 5-8 but they have a chance to be .500 on the season with a sweep, which they did not achieve at all in 2023.
Pitching woes continued this week for the Falcons as they had a handful of pitchers attempt to slow down Dayton. Having six different pitchers throw for an inning or more against the Flyers.
BGSU now has the third worst ERA in the MAC allowing an average of 9.03 a contest. The Orange and Brown have also let up ten plus runs in eight of their last nine games.
Batting has been solid for the Falcons who find themselves fifth in the MAC in runs at 103 while also having the least at bats (444).
A lone bright spot on Wednesday was senior outfielder Jack Krause, who was the only Falcon to create an RBI in BGSU’s 14-1 loss against Dayton.
Scouting Ball State
Ball State cruised to a 19-7 win in seven innings against Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday which was their largest margin of victory all season.
The Cardinals also find themselves at the top of nearly every MAC stat, leading every team in pitching with a 5.01 ERA despite playing the most games of every MAC team.
Bats are hot for Ball State as they are second in the MAC in batting average with (.288) and lead in hits (161), doubles (35) and homeruns (23).
Fielding is also played tightly by the Cardinals, who post the second-best fielding percentage in the MAC, sitting at (.974).
Falcon Four Players To Watch
Gavin Ganun (Bowling Green #14)
The junior outfielder is just one game removed from what could be called the best game of his Falcon career after a two homerun day helped him elevate BGSU past Miami (OH) on March 10th.
The Blissfield, MI, native has started in seven games so far, playing in a total of nine. Through these matchups he has recorded a (.348) batting average, paired with a (.739) slugging percentage and (.444) on base percentage.
Above home plate he has eight hits, with three of those being home runs which brought home ten RBI’s resulting in four runs for himself.
Sam Seidel (Bowling Green #21)
The sophomore infielder is looking to continue a massive streak, reaching base in all 12 games that he has played this season. If the 2023 season is counted, then he has an active streak of 23 games where he found first base.
The Greenwich, Ohio native has a (.239) batting average, a (.370) slugging percentage and a (.407) on base percentage.
This pairs with his 11 hits, one double, one triple and one homerun which resulted in eight RBIs on the season.
Merritt Beeker (Ball State #20)
The junior lefty pitcher is coming off a hot performance against Eastern Michigan recording ten strikeouts in just 5.2 innings pitched.
The Lexington, NC, native is also credited in a BIG 10 win against Michigan State where he pitched 5.0 innings recording another ten strikeouts and just four hits.
Beeker leads the MAC in strikeouts with 30 along with being ranked 39th in the country in the same statistic.
Micheal Hallquist (Ball State #25)
The senior infielder is an offensive weapon for Ball State, finding himself sixth in the MAC in batting average, while also recording a perfect fielding percentage.
The Fargo, ND, native posts a (.394) batting average with a (.803) slugging percentage and a (.431) on base percentage.
Hallquist also leads the MAC homeruns with seven and RBIs with 21. Along with this he has tallied four doubles and one triple through 26 hits.
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