BGSU baseball heads to Muncie, Indiana, for the final series of the season against Ball State. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. on Thursday and Friday before a 1 p.m. start on Saturday.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Tyler Kavalecz and Vaughn Ullom will have the radio call of the final game of the regular season from Shebek Stadium on Falcon Radio, streaming on bgfalconmedia.com.
The Falcons, Cardinals and UMass are battling for the sixth and final spot in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament.
A lone win clinches the spot for Ball State. Meanwhile, Bowling needs a sweep over the Cardinals and a single loss for UMass against Central Michigan.
The Minutemen can sneak into the tournament if they sweep CMU and the Falcons sweep Ball State.
“It’s one out at a time. It’s one pitch at a time. It’s one inning at a time,” BGSU head coach Kyle Hallock said. “We have to play to a standard that would allow us to be in the top six in this league. There’s no more time to wait than putting it together for three days.”
Matchup History
The conference foes have played each other 143 times since 1947. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 73-68-2.
Ball State won two of three games against the Falcons last season, outscoring Bowling Green 43-36 at Steller Field.
However, the Falcons swept the Cardinals the last time they played in Muncie in 2024, outscoring Ball State 54-20 over the three-game stretch. The series win featured a 34-8 victory.
Notably, Ball State ended Bowling Green’s historic 2024 season with a 10-5 win at the MAC Tournament.
Scouting Bowling Green
The Falcons have struggled this season, entering the final series with a 19-32 overall record, including a 12-18 mark in conference play. The Falcons are just 9-22 in road games.
Bowling Green has only one stretch this season where they won consecutive games, winning six straight from April 2 to April 10, including the team’s only MAC sweep against Akron.
BGSU is coming off a 15-5 loss in eight innings against Toledo at Fifth Third Field on Tuesday in a non-conference matchup.
Before the loss to their rival, the Falcons won their second conference series of the season, defeating Western Michigan in two of three games at Steller Field.
Bowling Green has been one of the worst offensive teams in the MAC.
The Falcons rank 10th in the conference in home runs (43) and doubles (74), 11th in slugging percentage (.378) and walks (183), and last in batting average (.244), on-base percentage (.344) and runs scored (253).
Additionally, BGSU has struck out 453 times, by far the most in the MAC.
In conference play, the Falcons have a .233 batting average, .340 OBP and .348 slugging percentage, ranking last in the MAC in all three statistics.
One of the few bright spots offensively for Bowling Green is baserunning.
Bowling Green has stolen 94 bases, the fourth-most in the conference and the most by a BGSU team since 1990 (104). The program record is 106 stolen bases during the 1977 season.
Senior second baseman Sam Seidel and redshirt sophomore infielder Alex Laird are tied for the team lead with 18 stolen bases.
The Falcons’ pitching has been more consistent than their hitting.
The Falcons rank sixth in the MAC with a 6.45 ERA. In conference play, the team holds a 5.34 ERA, the fourth-best mark in the MAC.
Bowling Green has also registered 461 strikeouts, the second-most in the MAC and the most in a single season in program history.
The pitching has been led by redshirt senior Ethan Stade, who transferred to BGSU from Minnesota State. Stade is the reigning MAC Co-Pitcher of the Week and has earned the honor a conference-best three times this season.
The left-hander is averaging 14.5 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranks fifth in the nation. Overall, his 96 strikeouts are 25th in the country and third in program history for single-season punchouts.
The Friday starter struck out a career-high 15 batters in his last outing against Western Michigan.
Stade has also held opposing batters to a .214 batting average while posting a 4.22 ERA, ranking second and eighth in the MAC, respectively.
Scouting Ball State
The Cardinals enter the series with a 22-28 overall and 15-15 conference record,
Ball State is coming off a series loss to Northern Illinois, which opened the door for the Falcons to stay alive in the hunt for the MAC Tournament.
The Cardinals were outscored 16-3 by the Huskies in the first two games of the series before defeating NIU 17-5 on Sunday. The series finale marked the third time BSU has scored at least 17 runs in a MAC game this season, a feat that had not been achieved since 2016.
Ball State had its midweek game against Purdue canceled.
The Cardinals have a very solid offense.
Ball State leads the MAC in triples (16). They also rank third in home runs (61), fourth in batting average (.291) and slugging percentage (.466), and fifth in runs scored (360).
Sophomore designated hitter Brayden Huebner has led the charge in the batter’s box.
The leadoff hitter for much of the season ranks fourth in the MAC in slugging percentage (.634), fifth in doubles (15) and seventh in runs scored (54).
However, BSU has struggled to reach base at times. The Cardinals place eighth in the MAC with a .381 OBP, while also ranking 10th in walks drawn (64) and stolen bases (69).
But senior utility player Gavin Balius is a speed threat, leading the conference and ranking sixth in the country with 37 steals. He is just seven stolen bases away from tying the program’s single-season record (Justin Love in 1997).
Ball State has displayed late-game magic throughout the season, winning five games when trailing entering the ninth inning.
Unlike last year, BSU’s pitching has not been a major strength.
The Cardinals place ninth in the MAC in ERA (7.57) and 10th in opponents’ batting average (.305).
But Ball State does rank fourth in the conference with 392 strikeouts.
The Cardinals also feature one of the best defenses in the conference.
After ranking fourth in the nation with a .983 fielding percentage last season, Ball State ranks third in the MAC with a .978 fielding percentage this year. They also lead the MAC with 41 double plays turned.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
TJ Takats (Bowling Green No. 10)
The junior outfielder has struggled for most of the season after returning from a season-ending torn ACL last year, hitting just .220.
However, Takats has found his rhythm at the plate recently. Over the past four games, he is hitting .308 (4-for-13) with three runs scored, two RBIS, a double, a home run and three stolen bases.
Jackson Miller (Bowling Green No. 14)
The freshman Sunday starter is coming off his best career outing last time out against Western Michigan.
Miller picked up his first career win, tossing five scoreless innings. He allowed just one hit and struck out a career-high nine batters.
Over his past four appearances, the left-hander has a .270 ERA with 22 strikeouts across 16.2 innings pitched.
Bowling Green’s season could come down to Miller’s performance in the regular season finale.
Brett Griffiths (Ball State No. 3)
The senior infielder has been one of the best bats in the lineup for the Cardinals this year.
Griffiths leads the MAC with in triples (6). He also ranks fifth in the conference in doubles (15) and ninth in hits (62).
He had a monster performance in the series final against Northern Illinois on Sunday, going 4-for-5 at the plate with four runs scored, five RBIs, two doubles, a home run and a walk.
Brendan Garza (Ball State No. 36)
The sophomore right-hander has served as Ball State’s Friday starter this season.
Garza leads qualified Cardinals pitchers with a 5.05 ERA. He also ranks sixth in the MAC in innings pitched (73) and strikeouts (65).
