BGSU baseball is just 5-12 overall and 2-4 in conference play to begin the season.
However, the season is still too young to make a determination on how good the Falcons are.
First of all, Bowling Green has faced the toughest schedule in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the 13th hardest schedule in the conference by strength of schedule, with no other MAC team int he top 85.
“It really just allows us to find out what our margin for error is, and obviously, when you’re playing good teams, you know that’s slim,” head coach Kyle Hallock said. “We know who we’re playing, but also the teams we’re playing are playing a pretty good team, too.”
BG’s opponents are a combined 99-44 this year, and the Falcons have played all 17 of their games on the road.
It’s been a tough scheduled start to the season, to say the least.
Add on that Bowling Green has 15 new players, with six starting a game for the Orange and Brown.
However, multiple players have started to emerge as key pieces.
After taking a year off from baseball, junior infielder Vinny Salvione has been raking at the plate, leading the Falcons with four home runs and 16 RBIs. He also has a .290 batting average, five doubles and a triple.
On the mound, redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Nate Kress has emerged as one of the most reliable arms for BG.
Kress is 3-0 in five appearances and two starts with a team-best 3.74 ERA. The Bowling Green HS alum has 21 strikeouts to just three walks, and is holding opponents to a .253 batting average.
While the Falcons have started the season slow, they are nowhere near out of conference contention.
Bowling Green faced the top two teams in the MAC, according to the preseason poll, on the road to begin the season, avoiding a sweep in both road series against Kent State and Miami (OH), taking a good win against both.
Now, the Falcons will play at the newly-renovated Steller Field for the first time this season, facing a struggling Ohio team, who is just 3-18 this year and have lost seven straight games.
Bowling Green will have a real chance to make a run in the middle of conference play, as after Ohio, the Falcons face Northern Illinois (10-7), Akron (9-10), Central Michigan (7-10) and UMass (5-7).
