BGSU baseball will travel north to take on the Michigan State Spartans on Tuesday at 6:05 p.m at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Tyler Kavalecz and Sam Bork will call the game on WBGU 88.1 FM, streaming on bgfalconmedia.com
Matchup History
MSU leads the all-time series between the two teams as they hold a 7-5 record against BG.
The Falcons won the most recent road matchup in 2022, but the Spartans have won three of the five games they have hosted.
Scouting Bowling Green
The Orange and Brown are coming off a Mid-American Conference (MAC) series loss to Eastern Michigan over the weekend. Scoring only six runs in the series, BG’s lone win was game two by a score of 2-1.
Throughout the course of the series, the Falcons couldn’t put together a rally or a game-changing swing. With the six runs that they scored, BGSU never scored more than one run in a single inning. Redshirt senior outfielder Zack Horky was the only Falcon to hit a home run in the series. Overall, there were 22 total runners left on base against EMU.
To combat the offensive struggles, junior pitcher Andrew Heffernan twirled a gem of a start in Saturday’s contest – pitching eight innings and allowing one unearned run. BG’s starter against MSU is uncertain, but great pitching could help them conquer another Big Ten opponent. The Falcons previously defeated Ohio State earlier this year on April 7th in Columbus.
Bowling Green’s offense currently ranks last in the MAC in batting average (.245), OBP (.346), runs (231), RBIs (208), slugging percentage (.382) and walks (170). The Falcons have struck out the most at the plate in the MAC – with 406 strikeouts this season.
Scouting Michigan State
The Spartans were swept at home by #1 ranked UCLA over the weekend in heartbreaking fashion. MSU lost by scores of 4-1, 4-3, and 13-11.
Similar to BG, the Spartans were unable to capitalize with runners on base in the first two games of the series. They left six runners on base in game one, and stranded 10 runners in game two.
When MSU had their offensive explosion in the series finale on Sunday, they gave away a 10-2 lead that they held up until the 7th inning. In that inning, they allowed six runs – before allowing three in the 8th inning and two in the 9th.
The Spartans have been no stranger to inconsistent bullpen pitching, as they are 12th in the Big Ten with a 5.89 team ERA. In Sunday’s loss, senior pitcher Tommy Szczepanski and senior pitcher Nolan Higgins gave up a combined nine runs over 2.2 innings.
Despite the bullpen’s shortcomings, four different Spartans had two or more hits in Sunday’s game. Redshirt senior outfielder Nick Williams and junior outfielder Parker Picot had three hits each. Picot outshined Williams – hitting two home runs and a double.
Sophomore outfielder Khamaree Thomas also tallied two hits and leads the team with a .333 batting average over 135 at-bats this season. Senior infielder Randy Seymour registered a triple on Sunday and currently leads the team with 14 home runs – he is tied for 7th in the Big Ten for homers.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Sam Seidel (Bowling Green, No. 21)
The senior infielder had two hits and zero RBIs in the series against Eastern Michigan. Seidel leads the team with 22 RBIs and will be relied upon to give life to Bowling Green’s struggling offense.
Anthony Mitta (Bowling Green, No. 40)
Mitta went one for 10 during the series against Eastern Michigan. The redshirt senior is tied for second on the team with 21 RBIs and had brought in zero runs last series. Mitta is the only Falcon batting over .300 and leads the team in hits by a wide margin – he has 48 hits while nobody else on the team has more than 37.
Randy Seymour (Michigan State, No. 35)
Seymour’s power is a big enough threat that the Falcons will have to be cautious when pitching to him. If he’s up to bat with runners on base, it will be a tough test for whoever is on the mound.
Khamaree Thomas (Michigan State, No. 21)
Thomas has excellent bat-to-ball skills and while he doesn’t hit for power, he can still be a headache to deal with on the basepaths. Currently, Thomas has cautiously stolen six bags on seven attempts. The Falcons have allowed over two stolen bases per game – meaning Thomas could be an annoyance for any pitcher on the mound.
