The score of BGSU baseball’s first game of the season might have given a few Falcon fans a near heart attack — an 18-0 defeat to Middle Tennessee State.
In the end, the Falcons bounced back with 7-6 and 12-9 comeback victories, the second in overtime, winning their first season-opening series since 2022 and checking off a lot of boxes in the process.
That 18-0 score is still hard to forget, regardless of the two comeback wins after it. The explanation for the result seems fairly simple — a game featuring a team who has been practicing outside for months and another that has been locked inside a fieldhouse for months.
Nevertheless, the highlight of the series was the back-to-back comeback wins for the Orange and Brown, showcasing the fight that this year’s reloaded Bowling Green team has.
Some of the best performances in the lineup against MTSU came from guys in the middle of the order, specifically senior shortstop Gunner Antillon, senior outfielder Gavin Ganun and sophomore first baseman Brady Birchmeier.
In his first series with the Falcons after transferring to Bowling Green from Cal Baptist, Antillon exceeded early expectations at the plate, going 6-13 with a double, a run batted in (RBI), a walk and two stolen bases while striking out just once. His six hits led the Falcons over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Ganun has a lot to live up to this season in the outfield after the departures of fellow outfielder Nathan Archer (drafted by the Chicago White Sox) and Jack Krause (graduated) after last season. Even though he played in just two of the three games, Ganun has already made a major impact early in the season.
After going hitless in three at-bats during the first game and sitting out the second, Ganun went 3-6 at the plate in the final game of the series on Saturday, launching two home runs, driving in four runs and stealing a base. His three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning kickstarted a run of six straight unanswered runs by the Falcons to take the lead in the ninth.
However, the breakout star of the weekend may have very well been Birchmeier. Birchmeier went 4-15 at the plate, smashing a double and a home run. He leads the Falcons with five RBI after the first three games of the season.
Birchmeier’s home run could not have come at a better time in the game, as his three-run blast put Bowling Green ahead by one in the top of the ninth. Then, in the 10th inning, after junior two-way star DJ Newman drove in a run on a double, Birchmeier delivered with another double to score Newman and put the game out of reach for the Blue Raiders.
“Brady Birchmeier has taken everything he’s worked on in the offseason and implemented it right into the beginning of our season. His approach at the plate and the consistency of his at-bats led to his big-time performance at the plate,” head coach Kyle Hallock said. “He also played an outstanding first base this weekend and is becoming a complete baseball player. I am very happy for him.”
Another great sign by the Falcons was the performance of their high-leverage bullpen arms. Owen Poole, Ty Roder and Connar Penrod gave up just one run in six innings of action in relief.
Poole was the only of the three to appear in two games. In his first appearance in the 7-6 win, Poole struck out two of the three batters he faced and set the Blue Raiders down in order to earn his first career save. While he did give up a solo home run in his second outing, Poole tallied two more strikeouts and completed the inning without allowing any further damage.
In his first appearance as a Falcon since transferring from Wright State, Roder looked electric, striking out three batters and not allowing a hit in two innings of work in the second win.
Meanwhile, Penrod looked like the star relief arm fans saw two years ago at Stellar Field — the one who had a 3.00 earned run average (ERA) rather than the one who carried a 7.92 ERA last season. Although he threw a wild pitch, walked two batters and gave up three hits, Penrod struck out four batters in the 10th and 11th innings, with the final strikeout coming with the bases loaded and two outs to earn his first win of the season.
While it is just three games of a long, long season, a lot of boxes were checked, and question marks answered during the team’s first series of the season.
Next, the Orange and Brown will USC Upstate on Friday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. In between, they will battle Presbyterian on Saturday at 3 p.m., with all three games taking place in South Carolina.
After the weekend slate, the Falcons will head west to play Butler in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Tyler Kavalecz and Henry Kosko will have the call on WBGU 88.1 FM, beginning at 2:45 p.m. for pregame.
