After losing their first Mid-American Conference (MAC) series of the season to Kent State, BGSU baseball emphatically responded by rattling off four straight wins.
The Falcon’s recent bounceback was highlighted by a road sweep of Central Michigan, as the Orange and Brown defeated the Chippewas 7-5 and 4-3 in a doubleheader on Friday before winning 6-5 in 10 innings on Sunday.
The victories marked the first time Bowling Green has swept Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant in program history while being the first time BG has swept CMU in back-to-back series since the 1994 and 1997 seasons.
The highlight of the weekend was senior closer Connar Penrod, who has built a case for the best closer in the country this season.
Penrod earned saves in all three wins to move into a tie for first place in program history for single-season saves with eight and ninth in BGSU history in career saves with nine. His eight saves are also tied for the most in the nation.
Penrod, who won MAC Pitcher of the Week, has a 1.17 earned run average (ERA), allowing just two earned runs in 15.1 innings pitched. The Wauseon, Ohio, native also has 24 strikeouts to just six walks.
There was a lot of concern for Penrod after last season, in which he had more walks than strikeouts and finished with a 7.92 ERA.
However, he has looked sharper than ever this season and is a major reason why Bowling Green is continuing to have strong conference play success for the second straight year.
“Connar Penrod has been very consistent in his role at the back end of our bullpen through the first half of our season,” head coach Kyle Hallock said. “He’s competing at the highest level of his college career and is determined for this team to have a special season.”
Junior infielder Sam Seidel also had a breakout performance, driving in the game-winning run on Sunday with a sacrifice fly.
Seidel, who was hitless through the first two games of the series, went 3-4 on Sunday, driving in three runs and stealing two bases.
After a tremendous sophomore campaign last year, where he earned All-MAC First Team honors, Seidel started this season slow. However, he has rebounded, driving in eight runs in the past five games and elevating his batting average to .310.
Meanwhile, sophomore catcher, outfielder, third baseman and all-around utility player Garrett Wright continues to excel and improve.
Wright currently leads BGSU with a .417 batting average, a .520 on-base percentage (OBP), a .688 slugging percentage, a 1.208 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), eight doubles, three triples and 30 runs scored.
Still an underclassman, Wright is giving two-way star DJ Newman a run for his money for the crown for the best player on the team and has proven himself to be one of the most versatile and consistent chess pieces for Hallock.
Bowling Green has proven so far this season that if they can stay healthy, they have all the pieces they need to win the MAC Tournament.
In fact, they are on pace to win the MAC Regular Season Championship for the second straight year, sitting atop the standings with a 20-7 overall and 10-2 conference record.
Dating back to last season, BGSU is a ridiculous 34-8 in conference play during the regular season, far and away the best mark in the MAC.
However, the Falcons are not going to be able to cruise to another title without passing a few challenges, as they still have a very tough rest of conference play.
It all begins with their next series against Miami (OH), who is right behind BG in the standings at 15-13 overall and 10-2 in MAC play.
After the RedHawks, BG still has to play reigning Western Michigan, Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Toledo and Northern Illinois.
Bowling Green’s remaining MAC opponents have a combined conference record of 34-32, with Miami and Ball State sitting at second and third in the conference standings, respectively.
In short, the series against the RedHawks is going to tell us a lot about this BG team and how good they really are.
BGSU will play Miami in a doubleheader at Steller Field on Friday, with the first game beginning at 11 a.m. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Tyler Kavalecz and Coyle Withrow will have the call of the first game on WBGU 88.1 FM and the second game on Falcon Radio.
The Falcons and RedHawks will conclude the series on Saturday, weather permitting. A start time for that game is still to be announced.
