BGSU baseball will stay on the road this weekend, the Falcons will face USC Upstate and Presbyterian in South Carolina.
The Falcons will battle USC Upstate at Harley Park in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Friday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. while playing Presbyterian at PC Baseball Complex in Clinton, South Carolina, on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Orange and Brown are seeking to win four of their first six games for the first time since 2007.
Matchup History
Bowling Green has never faced USC Upstate, meaning the Spartans will be the 272nd different opponent in program history.
Meanwhile, BGSU has faced Presbyterian two times before in Georgia in 2016, splitting the series.
Scouting Bowling Green
The Falcons are coming off their first opening-season series win since 2022 after winning two out of three games against Middle Tennessee. BGSU lost the first game 18-0 before winning two games in comeback fashion, 7-6 and 12-9.
Last season, Bowling Green shattered over 10 records, winning the Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season championship with a program-record 24 conference wins.
Through the first three games of the season, the Falcons are batting .274, with six doubles and three home runs.
Bowling Green has six stolen bases on the base paths, the most in the MAC.
For the most part, BGSU pitching had a tough first weekend, largely inflated by the blowout in the season opener. The Falcons have a 9.64 ERA with 29 strikeouts and 18 walks in 28 innings.
Defensively, BG turned five double plays against MTSU, tied for the eighth-most in the nation, with only 30 teams having turned at least five so far this season. They are tied for fourth in the nation with 1.67 double plays turned per game.
Scouting USC Upstate
The Spartans are 1-2 in the young season and have lost back-to-back games.
USC Upstate defeated Boston College 10-7 in their season opener. They have since lost two close games, 11-9 to Boston College and 10-7 to Western Carolina.
Last season, USC Upstate was 36-24 overall and 16-8 in conference play, finishing with the most overall wins of any Big South team. Notably, they defeated then-No. 2 Clemson in April last season.
The Spartans finished third in the Big South standings last year before losing to High Point in the conference tournament championship game. Notably, they defeated then-No. 2 Clemson in April last season.
USC Upstate’s offense is off to a hot start. They are batting .288 through three games with eight doubles and eight home runs.
However, their pitching has gotten off to a slow start. As a staff, they have a 6.58 earned run average (ERA), having given up 28 runs and 19 earned runs in three games.
Scouting Presbyterian
Presbyterian is 2-2 this season but, like USC Upstate, has lost back-to-back games.
The Blue Hose began their season with back-to-back wins against Georgetown, 7-6 and 6-5. However, they have since lost 5-1 to Georgetown and 16-3 to Elon.
Presbyterian won the Big South regular season championship with an 18-6 conference record this season, even though they were 29-27 overall. They were eliminated in the conference tournament by USC Upstate.
The Blue Hose’s offense has been solid out of the gates this year, hitting .279 as a team with four doubles, three triples and two home runs.
Presbyterian’s pitching staff has a 6.17 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 35 innings.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Brady Birchmeier (Bowling Green #43)
Birchmeier delivered in the clutch in BG’s final win of the MTSU series, hitting a three-run home run to give BGSU the lead in the top of the ninth before driving in another run with a double in the 11th inning.
The sophomore first baseman leads the Falcons and is tied for sixth in the MAC with five runs batted in (RBI) this season.
Gavin Ganun (Bowling Green #14)
The senior outfielder had an explosive performance on Saturday against Middle Tennessee, launching two home runs and driving in four runs.
Ganun leads the Falcons with two home runs this season after hitting seven homers and batting .287 last year.
The redshirt junior infielder is off to a hot start this season, batting .364 with five RBI on three doubles and a home run.
His three doubles are tied for the second-most in the Big South. The Akron, Ohio, native batted .252 last season, hitting five home runs, driving in 19 runs and drawing 31 walks compared to just 23 strikeouts.
Amman Dewberry (Presbyterian #35)
The junior outfielder has been a big bat in Presbyterian’s lineup early in the season.
The Conyers, Georgia, native leads the Blue Hose with four RBI. Last season, Dewberry batted .292 in 22 games.
