After a long 265-day wait, BGSU baseball is back, following a 2024 campaign that featured the Orange and Brown winning a Mid-American Conference (MAC) Regular Season Championship.
The first test for the Falcons will be a doubleheader on Friday, with BGSU travelling to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to take on the Middle Tennessee State (MTSU) Blue Raiders.
Although it was originally slated as a three-game weekend series, the first two contests have been pushed together into a doubleheader. The third game will be played on either Saturday or Sunday, depending on the weather.
Matchup History
Both rosters should be relatively familiar with each other as the Blue Raiders and the Falcons most recently played in both teams’ 2024 season opener, with MTSU winning the series 2-1.
In terms of most recent wins, however, BGSU holds the title as the final game of the last series, on Feb. 18, 2024, featured the Orange and Brown winning convincingly 7-3.
Historically, the two teams have played 13 times, and despite a most recent Falcon win, MTSU have a chokehold on the series, winning nine of the 13 games.
Only one game has ever gone into extra innings in the history of the series, with a long 10-inning game in 2021 where the Blue Raiders would pull away late, 5-4.
Scouting Bowling Green
The Falcons have high expectations going into the 2025 season. Besides the 2024 regular season championship, BGSU was ranked fourth in the MAC preseason coaches poll, which is four spots higher than their 2024 ranking.
BGSU’s roster stays relatively the same, with the team having nine losses, most notably MAC Player of the Year, Nathan Archer, who was drafted in the 12th round of the MLB draft by the Chicago White Sox.
In 2024, the Falcons had the second-highest batting average in the MAC (.302), fifth-best earned run average (ERA) (6.81) and second-highest fielding percentage (.976).
Scouting Middle Tennessee
The Blue Raiders finished the 2024 season 20-36, going 8-16 in Conference USA (CUSA) play, ranking eighth out of the nine teams in the conference.
Statistically, MTSU was sixth in batting average (.283), seventh in ERA (7.46) and eighth in fielding percentage (.961) in the CUSA.
Above home plate, the Blue Raiders only had one player rank in the top five conference players statistically: senior infielder Gabe Jennings whose 76 hits put him fourth in the CUSA in 2024; he is no longer with the team.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
#3 Garret Wright | Bowling Green | Catcher
The sophomore catcher burst onto the scene in 2024, earning himself the MAC Freshman of the Year award and a First Team All-MAC nod.
Ranking second in the MAC with a .380 batting average last season, the Massillon, Ohio, native was always a threat to get on base. His .503 on-base percentage was the best in the conference during his freshman year.
#28 DJ Newman | Bowling Green | RHP/OF
Orange and Brown will need a central player to step up offensively since losing Archer and Newman could be just the answer. He finished the year with a .371 batting average that was seventh in the MAC despite his time being limited due to injury.
Newman is also known for his dominant arm and two-way ability, with a 3.61 ERA. Newman was the usual Friday starting pitcher for BGSU.
Snider will be asked to be the primary slugger for the Blue Raiders in 2025 as the team lost their top two batters to graduation, with the Franklin, Tennessee native holding the third-best batting average (.318).
The senior put up 70 hits, resulting in 44 runs, 28 runs batted in (RBI), 10 doubles, two triples and four home runs in 224 at-bats last season.
#14 Chandler Alderman | MTSU | LHP
Similar to Snider, Alderman is expected to be the “next man up” for MTSU, following several key pitchers graduating last year.
Through 69.1 innings last season, the sophomore from Poplar Grove, Illinois, allowed 73 hits, 49 runs, 39 earned runs, 25 walks, 74 strikeouts and a 5.06 ERA.
