The Bowling Green baseball team is hitting the road for the final time this regular season, travelling to Ypsilanti, Michigan, to battle Eastern Michigan in a three-game series from Friday to Sunday.
The first pitch between the Falcons and Eagles is set for 3 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
With a win over the weekend, BG would secure their first 20-win season since 1999.
With a sweep, the Orange and Brown would tie the program record for most Mid-American Conference (MAC) wins in a season with 22.
Additionally, with two wins, the Falcons would clinch a share of the MAC Regular Season Championship, while a sweep would secure the title outright.
However, there are a few other paths to gold for BGSU as they seek their first MAC Regular Season Championship since 2009.
Matchup History
The teams have played each other 187 times since 1939, with Eastern Michigan leading the all-time series, 112-75.
Bowling Green won two of the three games against the Eagles last season.
However, BG’s last series win against EMU dates back to 1999, while the last time the Falcons won a series of three games or more in Ypsilanti was 1986.
Scouting Bowling Green
Bowling Green sits atop the MAC standings with a 27-17 overall and 19-5 conference record.
Although the Falcons are coming off a 5-2 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday, they have lost their past two MAC series, falling to Kent State and Western Michigan.
BGSU’s offense is one of the best in the country.
Heading into the weekend, the Falcons are averaging 9.8 runs scored per game, the third-most in the nation, trailing only Austin Peay (11.2) and Wofford (10.5).
The Orange and Brown also rank 11th in the country with a .428 on-base percentage (OBP), 12th with 433 runs scored, 19th with 270 walks drawn, 22nd with a .310 batting average (BA) and 39th with a .514 slugging percentage (SLG).
The 270 walks drawn by BG this season is a program record, eclipsing the previous best mark of 253 during the 1978 campaign.
However, BGSU’s pitching has not been as dominant.
The Falcons rank sixth in the MAC with a 7.10 earned run average (ERA), seventh with 336 strikeouts and ninth with a .306 opponent batting average (BAA).
Although Bowling Green pitchers have walked just 202 batters, fourth-fewest in the MAC, they have given up 93 doubles and thrown 44 wild pitches, the third-most in the conference.
The Orange and Brown’s defense has been great this season.
The Falcons hold a .974 fielding percentage, the third-best in the MAC.
The mark is on pace to break the program record of .973, set during the 2022 campaign.
Scouting Eastern Michigan
Eastern Michigan has been one of the worst teams in the MAC this season, maintaining a 13-32 overall and 8-16 conference record.
The 13 wins are the fewest in the conference this season. Meanwhile, only Central Michigan (6) has fewer MAC wins than the Eagles.
EMU has faceplanted down the stretch, losing their last 13 games.
Eastern Michigan’s last win was a 15-6 clobbering of Ohio University in the first game of a doubleheader on April 13.
However, the Eagles have proved to be dangerous at times this year. Before their current skid, they tallied series wins against Ball State, Western Michigan and Central Michigan while routing Michigan in a run-rule victory on March 19, 14-4.
EMU’s offense has been one of the best in the MAC this season.
Eastern Michigan ranks second in the conference with 85 doubles and 12 triples, third with a .297 BA and 68 stolen bases, fifth with a .465 SLG and a .385 OBP, sixth with 48 home runs and seventh with 293 runs scored.
On the flip side, EMU’s pitching staff has been one of the worst in the MAC this season.
The Eagles rank 10th in the conference with an 8.48 ERA and have struck out just 282 batters, the fewest in the MAC.
Additionally, Eastern Michigan has given up 72 home runs and hit 83 batters, the second-worst marks in the conference.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Nathan Archer (Bowling Green #8)
The junior outfielder has been one of the best players in the MAC this season.
Archer leads the MAC with 60 runs scored. He also ranks second in the conference with 57 runs batted in (RBI) and three triples, fifth with 65 hits and 13 doubles and sixth with 16 home runs.
The Lagrange, Ohio, native has put his fingerprints all over the BGSU record books.
Archer ranks fourth in program history in single-season home runs (16), seventh in single-season RBI (57), eighth in single-season runs scored (60) and ninth in single-season total bases (132). He also ranks sixth in career home runs (33) and triples (10) and ninth in career total bases (324).
Sam Seidel (Bowling Green #21)
The sophomore infielder has been one of the most consistent players for BG this season.
Seidel has reached base in all 36 games he has played this season.
The Greenwich, Ohio, native has reached base in 47 consecutive games dating back to last year.
Giano Zuccaro (Eastern Michigan #33)
The junior outfielder has been arguably the best EMU hitter this season.
Zuccaro leads the Eagles with a .366 BA, a .453 OBP and 12 doubles.
The Middleburg Heights, Ohio, native is currently riding a four-game hitting streak and has recorded a hit in 16 of his last 17 games played.
Kyle Schroedle (Eastern Michigan #25)
The fifth-year outfielder is the main power threat on threat in Eastern Michigan’s lineup.
Schroedle leads the Eagles with a 1.008 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), a .614 SLG and nine home runs.
The Redding, California, native also ranks second on the team with 11 doubles and 31 RBI.
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