With how much time the Falcons have spent in warm climates to start the year, don’t be surprised if they never come home to the cold of northwest Ohio.
Bowling Green continued their “tropical” travel this season, heading from Tennessee to South Carolina for a weekend series that featured two bouts against USC Upstate, separated by a game against Presbyterian on Saturday.
Friday’s game had everything that a Falcon fan would ever want in a 5-2 victory as BGSU set the tone for USC Upstate offensively, keeping the Spartans to two runs during the contest.
The Orange and Brown got themselves into a pitching duel, which was few and far between during last year’s historic season, as BG usually stomped their opponents into submission instead of outlasting them.
To see the Falcons be able to slowly weather an opponent down was a breath of fresh air on the mound. Senior right-hander Landon Willeman and redshirt freshman lefty Titus Lotz highlighted pitching.
Willeman got his second start of the 2025 campaign, which could be a sign of things to come with Mid-American Conference (MAC) play on the horizon. Lotz stunned in 2.1 innings, allowing one hit but no runs with one walk and three strikeouts.
During the first two games of their series in South Carolina, BGSU was able to stand strong with pitching while scoring during the “big-time” moments.
This is a sign of a winning team and could be evidence of things to come as moments like catcher junior Cooper McKenzie’s pinch-hit three-run homerun single-handedly kept the Falcons above the Spartans in game one, which does not happen from sheer luck.
The roster for Bowling Green to start the 2025 season is deep and seasoned, which is something that will be pivotal during a season as long as college baseballs.
Against Presbyterian on Saturday, BGSU showed how deep their roster was, especially in hitting, as eight players combined for 17 singles, not recording any extra-base hits.
Despite the somewhat surprising performance, the Orange and Brown scored all the runs they would need in the game during the first inning with five, eventually winning the game 11-4.
The stunner of the weekend came during Sunday’s rematch against USC Upstate, which had BGSU unable to fool the Spartans a second time, losing 9-2.
From the two scores, however, BGSU mustered two big-time plays that were both solo home runs. The first was scored by redshirt freshman infielder Alex Laird who could become a breakout player candidate if he gets more reps.
On the second homerun, sophomore infielder Brady Birchmeier began to change his name tag from early success to massive surprise, continuing to impress above home plate.
In general, it’s clear that many of the pieces the Falcons need to compete are already established in the roster, and some may just need more time, but from just two individual series, BGSU looks hungry to get back to the heights they reached in 2024.
Up next for the Orange and Brown is a trip to Illinois that features four games: one Friday, Feb. 28, at 1 p.m. against Southern Indiana, two Saturday, March 1, with the first being against Southern Illinois at 1 p.m. and the second versus Southern Indiana at 5 p.m. Finishing Sunday with the Falcons rematching against Southern Illinois at 2 p.m.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Chas McNeil, Coyle Withrow, Noah Seeley and Tyler Kavalecz will recap the games in order each day.
During BGSU’s spring break on Wednesday, March 5, the Orange and Brown return to the state of Ohio to play the Dayton Flyers in Dayton starting at 3 p.m. Kavalecz will also have the recap of this game later on Wednesday.
