BGSU baseball continues gaining momentum as the calendar flips over to May and the dog days of the regular season.
The Falcons have won four straight games — a three-game sweep over Eastern Michigan and a 6-3 victory over Findlay on Wednesday.
However, the Orange and Brown are still not meeting their expectations.
“We’re in search of our perfect game and our level of play,” head coach Kyle Hallock said after the win over the Oilers. “We need to find a way to play to our standard.”
With the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament drawing closer by the day, Hallock is trying to change the mindset of the Falcons.
“We talked this week a lot about rather than playing to win, we need to play to dominate,” Hallock said. “That’s the next step for this team, and we need to find that before the regular season’s over and before we hit the conference tournament.”
BG has pretty much solidified themselves in fourth place in the conference standings with a 29-14 overall and 16-8 conference record — having lost series to the three teams ahead of them (Ball State, Kent State and Miami (OH))).
They have continued to have success without the help of three-star players, with sophomore two-way player DJ Newman, junior infielder Sam Seidel and sophomore first baseman Brady Birchmeier all missing action lately.
While Newman is wearing a knee/leg brace and Seidel is in a sling, Birchmeier has been dressing but not playing with an unspecified injury.
“[Birchmeier’s] still day-to-day, week-to-weekish. But he’s working through it to make himself available as early as Friday,” Hallock said. “We just continue to grind out the game of baseball, and we’re going to play with the hand we’re dealt, and Brady’s going to continue to do everything he needs to do to be available for us when we need him the most.”
With a few stars out, sophomore catcher/outfielder Garrett Wright and senior infielder Gunner Antillon have been shining.
Wright has been a constant for the Falcons, leading the MAC with a .436 batting average, a .544 on-base percentage (OBP) and a 1.249 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS).
The Massillon, Ohio, native is currently three points behind Kelly Hunt’s 2003 program record for single-season batting average with over 100 at-bats (.439).
Meanwhile, Antillon has caught fire over the past few weeks. He recently earned MAC Player of the Week, Brooks Wallace Award Player of the Week and one of four Dick Howser Trophy National Players of the Week.
The Rancho Cucamonga, California, native is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak, with 17 runs batted in (RBI), five doubles and two home runs over the stretch.
The Falcons are staring down a three-game series against their rivals, Toledo, from Friday through Sunday, with the first game being the annual Fifth Third contest.
“The Fifth Third Field game gets talked about for fan experiences as one of the best ways to play that game in one of the best spots,” Hallock said. “We’ve got those three games always circled on our schedule, and it’s a high priority to play well and get the job done.”
Bowling Green will head into the series with their new mindset.
“We have the experience. The guys have been out there and know what to expect when we’re practicing and playing to that standard that has been set by previous teams and then the one this one’s created,” Hallock said. “The needle has to move from playing to win to playing to dominate because if you play to dominate, you end up winning.”
The Falcons will also be aiming to achieve a few milestones against the Rockets.
BGSU can clinch a berth in the MAC Tournament with two wins against Toledo, along with a few other scenarios.
The Falcons can also clinch their 15th 30-win season with a single win against Toledo.
A win against the Rockets would also mark just the fifth time BG has earned 30 wins in back-to-back seasons in program history and the first time since the 2001 and 2002 campaigns.
Bowling Green will travel to Toledo as focused as they have been all season.
“We have to treat it like it’s the last game we’re going to play together because if we get out there and just act like we’re going to win, it’s not going to happen; you have to make stuff happen,” Wright said.
