BGSU baseball lost to the Ball State Cardinals 6-3 Thursday, eliminating the Falcons from Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament contention.
The BG loss follows a trend of leaving too many runners on base. The Falcons left 11 total runners on base Thursday, including three from redshirt senior right fielder Zack Horky, who left the bases loaded in the ninth inning.
The Falcons outhit the Cardinals 10-8, hitting nine singles and one double off the bat of senior second baseman Sam Seidel.
The Falcons needed a series sweep over Ball State to have a chance at qualification. They would have also needed the UMass Minutemen to lose a game in their final season series.
However, all qualification scenarios for both the Falcons and the Minutemen were squashed with the Cardinals’ win.
The Cardinals were the sixth and final team to qualify for the MAC tournament. It will be the third season in which the tournament consists of a six-team, double-elimination layout since being changed for the 2024 season.
The Falcons, with two games remaining in the regular season, can finish in seventh place and as the best team out of the tournament. They can also finish second-to-last, eleventh in the twelve-team conference.
Bowling Green currently holds a 12-19 record in MAC play this season, only having won two MAC series: April 2-3 versus Akron and May 8-10 versus Western Michigan.
The Falcons have not had 12 or less MAC wins since 2019, when BG finished 8-18 and finished eighth in the previously ten-team conference.
Bowling Green will still have the opportunity to win the series versus Ball State, though it will not contribute towards any postseason berth.
Ball State will still have something to fight for. If the Cardinals win their last two games and the Western Michigan Broncos lose their last two games, the Cardinals will finish as the fifth seed of the tournament. The Broncos would be bumped down to sixth.
The Falcons and Cardinals will close out their regular season with a doubleheader Saturday. The first game’s first pitch is set to begin at noon. The season finale will take place 30 minutes after the first game.
