After transferring from Minnesota State Mankato, BGSU baseball redshirt senior left-handed pitcher Ethan Stade has emerged as the ace for the Falcons during their late-season push for a berth in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament.
Stade authored one of the best performances of his collegiate career in his final home game Friday against Western Michigan, striking out 15 while allowing just two runs on four hits over 7.2 innings in Bowling Green’s series-opening win.
“It means a lot to me,” Stade said. “I came into this game thinking to myself, ‘This team needs a win. We need to get the vibes high.’ So, no matter what was going on out there, if it was raining, whatever, I was going to go out there and perform for them.”
Stade also rewrote history on the mound, breaking the program’s single-season record for team strikeouts in a season for the third straight year, which now stands at 437.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound southpaw fired 118 pitches, the most recorded pitches thrown by a Falcon since Mike Frank tossed 129 against Ball State on March 22, 2024.
“I was kind of shocked that [head coach Kyle Hallock] threw me back out there (in the eighth inning),” Stade said. “But he told me, ‘Hey, lefty up, get your guy.’ That was the only thing I was focused on, got him, and he kept me going. So, I was like, ‘Alright, let’s see how far this train will take me.’”
Stade did not allow a hit until the first batter of the fourth inning. He struck out six of the first 10 batters he faced, and five of the final seven batters that stepped up to the plate.
Stade especially dominated the bottom of Western Michigan’s order. The last four Broncos in the lineup struck out in 11 of their 12 at-bats against Stade, with the only non-strikeout being a popout to freshman catcher Andrew DiLodovico behind the plate.
“He doesn’t take spots off,” Hallock said. “He takes everything that he is instructed and coached to do very seriously. He takes it to heart, and he has a unique ability of doing exactly what he’s told…He makes complex situations sometimes very simple.”
The performance was extra special for Stade as his family made the 14-hour drive from Minnesota to be in attendance for his third win of the season.
“It’s awesome. They’re my biggest supporters; I love them so much,” Stade said. “I wouldn’t be here without them. I wouldn’t be playing baseball without them. For them to make the drive to see me do that, it means a lot.”
Stade has been rock solid in conference play for Bowling Green across 10 appearances and eight starts. He holds a 3.70 ERA with 90 strikeouts to only 13 walks in 56 innings pitched, with opposing hitters batting just .195.
“It’s been great because his buy-in from the beginning of the season was at 100%,” Hallock said. “He made a seamless transition and allowed himself to get to this level of success all in one calendar year because it’s a great fit for him and he’s a great fit for us.”
The lefty leads the MAC with 96 strikeouts, 22 more than the next closest pitcher. He also ranks third in the conference with a .214 opposing batting average.
The strikeout machine is averaging 14.5 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranks sixth in the country and is higher than his mark as a senior in high school.
“I faced him one time in the fall; it was the first time I ever faced him,” senior second baseman Sam Seidel said. “I struck out on three fastballs, and I went back to the dugout, and I was like, ‘Alright, that’s Ethan Stade.’”
Stade already sits in third place in BGSU history for single-season strikeouts and has at least one more chance to chase the record. He is 20 strikeouts behind Carl Morraw (1985) for second place and 24 behind Doug Blair (1971) for the program record.
