The 2026 BGSU baseball season got underway on Friday afternoon in Atlanta, Georgia, at Russ Chandler Stadium as the Falcons (0-1) took an 11-5 loss against No. 5 Georgia Tech (1-0).
The game opened with three up and three down from both Yellow Jackets junior right-hander Tate McKee and Falcons senior right-hander Jacob Turner.
McKee dealt for five innings, finishing with six strikeouts while giving up three hits, one walk and a single run. Three of McKee’s strikeouts came in the third inning, as he struck out the side looking.
Turner battled against the high-powered Yellow Jacket offense for four innings, in which he struck out two while allowing eight hits, one walk and five runs.
The Orange and Brown were the first to find themselves on base, when redshirt senior infielder Anthony Mitta and junior outfielder Pauly Mancino both singled up the middle in the second inning.
Mitta and Mancino are two of the Bowling Green transfer portal pick-ups from the offseason.
The Yellow Jacket offenses began to heat up in the third inning by scoring the first two runs of the game and the season.
Sophomore utility player Caleb Daniel began the inning with an inside-the-park home run after Mancino was unable to come down with a catch at the center field wall.
Following Daniel, junior infielder Carson Kerce placed a ball into center field for a single, before being scored by junior infielder Kent Schmidt, doubling to left field.
The Falcons struck back quickly in the fourth inning with senior infielder Sam Seidel homering to right field for the first Bowling Green run of the season.
Daniel continued his spectacular game in the fourth inning with a three-run home run to center field, putting the Yellow Jackets in the lead 5-1.
Georgia Tech pushed their lead up to 8-1 in the sixth inning as Will Baker singled into right field, scoring two runners put on base by redshirt sophomore left-hander Titus Lotz.
Lotz worked through 1.2 innings, letting up three runs on three walks and three hits by pitches.
Bowling Green continued to fight, putting up two runs in the seventh inning. Both Seidel and junior infielder Vinny Salvione recorded RBIs with a double and a single, respectively.
The Yellow Jackets picked up another run in the seventh inning as sophomore utility player Alex Hernandez singled to left field, scoring one and pushing the lead to 9-3.
The Orange and Brown took one final stab at cutting the lead down in the eighth inning. After a throwing error scored Mitta, the Falcons found themselves with bases loaded, before Salvione struck out swinging to end the inning.
Georgia Tech pushed the game out of reach in the eighth inning when Daniel doubled to deep right field, scoring two. Daniel finished the game with three hits, six RBIs and two runs.
Bowling Green picked up one final run in the ninth inning as Seidel scored on a fielding error.
The Falcons will continue their three-game opening series against Georgia Tech on Saturday with a doubleheader.
