BGSU baseball (12-17, 7-8 MAC) upset the Ohio State Buckeyes 9-3 Tuesday night at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus.
“I think you saw a lineup full of guys that were just looking to do their job,” said Bowling Green head coach Kyle Hallock. “Bench guys came in ready to contribute.”
It was a chaotic top of the first inning, as the Falcons made senior pitcher Ryan Butler have a start he wishes he could erase from his memory. Butler only recorded one out after facing eight batters, allowing four hits, two walks and six runs, including three earned.
The Buckeyes defense was immediately tested as sophomore outfielder Carter Mottice tripled into the right field gap in his lead off at-bat for the Falcons.
Following in Mottice’s footsteps, senior infielder Sam Seidel singled between the first and second baseman to score Mottice and give BG a 1-0 lead.
After Seidel’s RBI single, freshman catcher Andrew DiLodovico walked and junior catcher Lance Vickers reached first on a throwing error made by OSU’s senior catcher Grant Mangrum.
Butler’s nightmare outing continued to get worse, as he walked senior infielder Anthony Mittawith the bases loaded, pushing in another run to make it 2-0.
The rally continued as junior infielder Vinny Salvione hit a single through the left side of the infield and scored DiLodovico and Vickers, bumping the lead to four.
Junior outfielder TJ Takats struck out, giving Butler his first and only out of the day. Butler was replaced by senior pitcher Luke Carrell after allowing sophomore outfielder Alex Laird to single into right field.
Carrell entered with the bases loaded and immediately caught a bad break. Mangrum made his second throwing error of the inning on a back-pick attempt to third base to try and catch Mitta off guard. The ball bounced past sophomore infielder Maddix Simpson at third base, allowing Mitta and Salvione to score to make it 6-0 in favor of the Falcons.
Ohio State escaped the inning as Mottice grounded out in his second at-bat of the inning.
BGSU scored six runs in the first inning for the first time since April 18th, 2025.
“That was really fun to start the game that way,” said Seidel. “Put some pressure on them early, but a six spot just sets the tone for the rest of the night.”
The Falcons will look to build off their upset victory as they battle Lourdes Wednesday before retuning to conference play against Central Michigan in a three-game series from Friday through Sunday, with all four games at Steller Field.
