Ball State, Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan got off to hot starts in Mid-American Conference (MAC) play with three-game sweeps over their opponents.
Meanwhile, Western Michigan, the reigning MAC Tournament champions, continues to struggle, having lost its first 14 games in a row.
There’s plenty of season left but here’s how the teams stack up after the first weekend of MAC matchups.
- Ball State (12-5, 3-0 MAC)
The Cardinals rolled through their opening MAC series, sweeping last-place Western Michigan to remain atop the conference standings.
Junior outfielder Houston King was a standout player for Ball State, batting .333 with a home run and two runs batted in (RBIs) in the series.
Ball State will take on Toledo next as they try to stay undefeated.
- Bowling Green (10-5, 3-0 MAC)
Bowling Green had an impressive three-game sweep over Ohio, as well as a close 8-7 victory over Tiffin, to improve their winning streak to five games.
Senior right-handed closer Connar Penrod continues to mow down opposing hitters, earning two saves in the Ohio series. Penrod now has three saves on the season, good for third-best in the conference and a new career high.
The Orange and Brown will take on Akron over the weekend before playing their first home game on March 18 against Purdue Fort Wayne.
- Eastern Michigan (7-7, 3-0 MAC)
The top offense in the MAC scored 27 runs in their three wins against Akron, making them a third of the way to their MAC win total for last season.
Junior first baseman Devan Zirwas had a particularly good game in their 12-5 second-game win, tallying four RBIs, two hits, two runs scored and a home run.
The Eagles will face archrival Western Michigan next.
- Miami (OH) (7-9, 2-1 MAC)
Miami won two out of three against Toledo in the closest series of the opening weekend.
RedHawk junior pitcher Hayden Cuthbertson started the only shutout of the weekend, throwing six scoreless innings in Miami’s 5-0 opener win over Toledo.
Miami will host Northern Illinois next in a battle of second-year head coaches on Friday.
- Kent State (6-8, 2-1 MAC)
The Golden Flashes went 2-1 in their series win over NIU. The series was an offensive onslaught with Kent State having a 33-28 run advantage.
Kent State will play Hofstra this weekend as the only MAC team playing a non-conference opponent.
- Northern Illinois (7-6, 1-2 MAC)
The Huskies lost two of three to Kent State but hit six home runs in the process.
The power surge was led by junior catcher Logan Gregorio who hit three homers in the series and now ranks third in the MAC in home runs.
NIU will face Miami this weekend, the team that has given up the most home runs in the MAC this season.
- Toledo (5-10, 1-2 MAC)
The Rockets had a decent past week, going 1-2 in a close series against Miami and barely losing 6-4 against Michigan on Tuesday.
Toledo is a weirdly inconsistent team so far this year. They had a historically good series against Oregon earlier in the season and now went toe-to-toe against another top Big Ten school in Michigan.
However, they’ve also lost badly to High Point and Richmond and can’t seem to get their offense on track, which is last or second-to-last in the MAC in seven different offensive categories.
Toledo will play first-place Ball State this weekend in an attempt to find their consistency and move up in the standings.
- Akron (6-10, 0-3 MAC)
The Zips were outscored by 15 runs against Eastern Michigan and struggled heavily on the offensive side in the series defeat.
Akron struck out a staggering 24 times over the three games against the Eagles and scored just 12 total runs.
The Zips are hoping a 10-5 win over Dayton on Tuesday will give them momentum heading into their next series with Bowling Green.
- Ohio (3-11, 0-3 MAC)
The Bobcats continue to be one of the best offenses in the MAC, putting up 20 runs in their win against Morehead State and averaging 5.67 runs against Bowling Green’s talented pitching staff.
However, Ohio’s pitching didn’t do well at all, averaging eight runs per game given up against the Falcons and giving up 17 to Morehead State in one game.
Ohio will need to balance out their team if they want to stay relevant in the MAC standings and succeed against Central Michigan this weekend.
- Central Michigan (3-13, 0-0 MAC)
The Chippewas went 1-4 over the last week, dropping three straight to Liberty and splitting their series against Marshall.
CMU faces Ohio over the weekend to start their MAC schedule. The Chippewas will need to improve their poor pitching to come away with the series win as Ohio has the best power-hitting offense in the MAC.
- Western Michigan (0-14, 0-3 MAC)
Western Michigan is still winless as they were outscored by Ball State 21-12 in the three-game series.
However, junior pitcher Ty McKinstry was a bright spot for the Broncos in the 3-1 opening loss, hurling seven strong innings with seven strikeouts, no walks, three hits and two earned runs.
The Broncos will try to get in the win column against Eastern Michigan on Friday.
