After a rough stretch against tough competition to begin the season, BGSU baseball gears up for one final tune-up series before the start of Mid-American Conference (MAC) play, traveling south to face Samford in a three-game weekend series in Birmingham, Alabama .
First pitch at Joe Lee Griffin Field is set for 5 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday and Sunday. Recaps of every game will be available on bgfalconmedia.com.
Matchup History
Friday marks the first meeting between the teams.
Samford will mark the 274th different opponent all-time for Bowling Green.
Scouting Bowling Green
The Falcons have started the season slowly with a 1-6 record.
Bowling Green was swept by No. 5 Georgia Tech, dropped two of three to Western Carolina and was run-ruled in seven innings by Cincinnati. Every team the Falcons have faced to begin the season had at least 30 wins last year.
BG’s offense has started the season sluggishly, ranking last in the MAC with only 21 runs scored and a .298 on-base percentage (OBP). They also rank second-to-last in the conference with a .220 batting average, a .326 slugging percentage and 85 strikeouts.
Senior infielder Sam Seidel has been a bright spot. Seidel is raking at the plate, hitting .435 with a .552 OBP, three doubles, a home run, four RBIs, seven stolen bases and a 1.248 OPS.
However, redshirt junior infielder Brady Birchmeier is one of the notable players off to a slow start. He is hitting just .118 (2-17) with seven strikeouts.
Bowling Green’s pitching has been no better.
The team ranks last in the MAC with a 10.80 ERA, 22 doubles allowed and a .407 opponent batting average.
The Falcons have allowed double-digit runs in four of their seven games this season.
Scouting Samford
The Bulldogs are 3-5 this season after going 30-27 last year.
Samford won two of three games against Belmont. They then dropped a stand-alone game to Alabama before getting swept by No. 9 Georgia.
But Samford is coming off a one-run win over North Alabama on Tuesday.
Samford’s offense is also off to a slow start.
The Bulldogs rank last in the Southern Conference (SoCon) with a .229 batting average, 34 runs scored and six doubles across eight games. Samford has struck out 73 times compared to only 32 walks.
The Bulldogs do have three players batting at least .290 at the dish, anchored by sophomore infielder and outfielder Jake Souders, who is hitting .333 with two home runs.
Redshirt junior outfielder Luke Boykin is responsible for much of the run production, leading the team with four home runs and 14 RBIs. He is the only Bulldog with more than two home runs and five RBIs.
Samford’s pitching has also struggled to find success.
The team ranks last in the SoCon with a 10.04 ERA, a 1.87 WHIP, a .309 opponent batting average and 19 home runs allowed.
The Bulldogs have struck out 65 batters and walked 39 in 63.2 innings pitched.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Jacob Turner (Bowling Green No. 30)
The senior right-handed pitcher is the team’s Friday starter.
He has started the season solidly against high-level competition, holding a 7.00 ERA with seven strikeouts to only three walks across 9.0 innings pitched in his two starts against No. 5 Georgia Tech and Western Carolina.
Zack Horky (Bowling Green No. 34)
The redshirt senior catcher and outfielder is now a solidified starter this year after a breakout campaign last season.
Horky is batting .261 with a .565 slugging percentage, a .857 OPS, two doubles, a triple, a home run and five RBIs. He has had some plate discipline issues, striking out 10 times and walking just once.
The junior catcher and infielder is the third Bulldog hitting above .290, joining Sauders and Boykin, with a .292 mark at the plate.
A Second Team All-SoCon selection last season, Carr has a .752 OPS and five RBIs this year.
The 6-foot-6 senior right-handed pitcher has been Samford’s most consistent arm early in the season.
Lee has a 5.19 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP and seven strikeouts to just three walks in 8.2 innings pitched across three appearances and two starts.
