BGSU baseball senior right-handed relief pitcher Connar Penrod stands alone in the Bowling Green record book with nine saves this year, the most in a single season in program history.
“For him to go out there and do it as good as anyone’s ever done it is a testament to how competitive he is and how much he hates to lose,” BG head coach Kyle Hallock said.
However, it has not been an easy path to glory for Penrod with the Falcons.
The Wauseon, Ohio, native began his collegiate career as a part-time starter in his freshman campaign.
“If you pitch at all, but especially at this level, everybody wants to be a starter,” Penrod said.
He struggled in six starts and 12 total appearances, posting a 1-4 record with a 12.20 earned run average (ERA). Hallock made the decision to move Penrod to the bullpen full-time after his rough season.
“It just happened based on the results and the numbers; that wasn’t quality, that wasn’t going to help us win,” Penrod said. “So, obviously, coach has to put the best guy in the position to win, and starting didn’t work at me for this level.”
The transition came with adjustments and challenges for Penrod.
“It’s definitely an adjustment; you don’t know when you’re going to pitch. If you’re a starter, you get six days to prepare for the seventh day and start. Out of the bullpen, you’re available Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You have no idea; I mean, it’s literally a few minute’s notice. The game’s going a little bit quicker,” Penrod said. “So, I’d say that was the hardest adjustment was getting ready without doing anything pregame or a couple days before knowing you’re about to pitch, just doing it on 10, 15 minutes notice and go out there and pitch, throw strikes and get outs.”
The move to the bullpen paid off immediately for Penrod, as he posted a 4-0 record with a 3.00 ERA in his sophomore season, striking out 40 and walking just 11 in 30 innings in 2023.
But Penrod was unable to carry over the momentum into his junior season.
The right-hander struggled in 2024, finishing with a 7.92 ERA and 24 walks in 25 innings — all of the issues stemming from mental battles.
“The game is mental, and I think that I was not only facing hitters when I was on the mound, I was facing myself,” Penrod said. “When you already have somebody with a weapon in the box trying to beat you, and then you’re battling yourself inside your own head, you’re never going to be successful in this game.”
The struggles marked the first time Penrod faced a battle of that kind while playing collegiate baseball.
“I just thought there was doubt that crept in, and he was fighting just to pitch past that,” Hallock said. “One of the things we talk about with our players is the other team’s already trying to beat us, so don’t have anything going through your head that could possibly beat yourself.”
Hallock worked with Penrod for over a month straight this past offseason to work on his mechanics and sharpen his craft.
“We’re just simplifying things with a guy like that. These guys are so talented that you’re, more than likely, looking to take things away from them; you simplify,” Hallock said. “So, I think we got back to the basics. I think we said we’re going to focus on these couple of things, and he bought completely into it.”
The goal of the training, which was during the six-week individual period between the end of fall ball and winter, was to get Penrod back to his form from the 2023 season, when he led the team in ERA and was tied for the team lead in wins.
“[Hallock] was just critiquing everything. We wanted to get it back to sophomore numbers. So, I’m playing catch with a catch partner in there. It was usually Ty Roder, and we were just playing catch. He’s sitting there watching every throw, telling us what we’re throwing. Whole detailed program, six weeks out to 60 yards,” Penrod said. “[Hallock] videotapes you from the side, from the front, from the back, so you get every angle. Then, we just compare and contrast that to what we want it to look like and what it looks like until we got it right.”
The hard work in the offseason has paid off for Penrod this year.
He has dominated on the mound this season, allowing just two earned runs and 14 hits in 19.1 innings pitched, which is good for a 0.93 earned run average (ERA). He has struck out 27 and walked only eight, with opponents batting just .192 against him.
“He’s been associated with winning every place he’s stopped, and for him to do it with us is really special, and for him to do it less than an hour away from his hometown is something that is unique,” Hallock said.
Penrod credits the work with Hallock for his historic levels of success.
“If you’re not a robot in your delivery in your mechanics, you’re never going to be successful,” he said. “So, 100% of getting the delivery back to where it needs to be is why the success is happening.”
Penrod has been crucial for Bowling Green this season, pitching more than an inning in half of his appearances out of the bullpen in high-leverage situations.
“Connar’s had enough experience in a lot of different roles; he’s pitched as a starter, he’s pitched as a middle reliever, and he’s pitched as a backend guy. But the great thing about him is he’s a pitcher,” Hallock said. “So, whether you’re asking him to get the last three outs of a game, the first 15 outs or out in the middle outs in there, he’s done a great job of understanding that he will do whatever it takes to win.”
Hallock knew Penrod was a special talent from the moment he started recruiting him in high school.
“His competitiveness was the first thing that stuck out, which was something that distinguished himself amongst that class with everyone we looked at in the state of Ohio, in Michigan and a little bit in Canada,” Hallock said. “He competed at a level that most people didn’t know existed, which led to Wauseon High School benefitting a lot from that, and we felt if that was translatable to the Division I level, he could help us out here at BGSU that same way.”
Penrod’s competitiveness is the shining characteristic that emanates from him whenever he stands on the rubber.
“He’s one of the fiercest competitors on our team. He’ll go in there in any situation, no matter what time, no matter when he’s called, and he’ll get it done. He’s a fierce competitor,” BGSU junior pitcher Jacob Turner said. “Every time he gets a save, he throws his glove. He’s hyped, and it’s a result of his failures and what he’s learned from his failures.”
The senior has been a model teammate and leader for the Falcons, helping elevate the pitchers around him.
“He’s kind of taught me to let our defense work and just go be fierce; that’s the word, fierce,” Turner said. “Go out there and compete and do anything you can for the team.”
While Penrod’s journey to success at Bowling Green has been a winding one, he has unlocked his full potential in his senior season with the Orange and Brown.
“The seriousness with which he goes about his business has always been there, but he’s now gone to a level that maybe he didn’t know he had in himself to produce. That’s what this game requires; that’s what this program requires. That’s what it’s producing on the field, in the classroom and in the community, and he’s the perfect example of growth and development,” Hallock said. “It’s not always linear; it’s going to be some peaks and valleys, but if you fight to stay there when the peaks show up, you got a chance to keep going that way, and he’s done an outstanding job of just battling through everything and coming out on the right side of it.”
