For the first time this season, the Falcons take on a Mid-American Conference foe at home, playing Central Michigan this weekend.

The three-game series will be the second such MAC contest for BG this season. The first pitch on Friday is scheduled for 3 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday’s contests are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

The Falcons are riding a four-game losing streak into the weekend. They were swept last weekend at Western Michigan, and dropped a mid-week contest to Michigan State.

In that 13-3 loss to Michigan State, Andrew Kubuski went 4-for-4 at the plate to extend his hit streak to a career-high 11 games. It also brought his team-leading batting average up to .398.

Jake Thomas went 1-for-5 in the game to extend his hit streak to 10 games.

The Falcons have not had problems with offense this season. They are second in the MAC with a .313 team batting average. While the Falcons have hit only eight home runs as a team this season, they are averaging 5.5 runs per game.

Ten Falcons are hitting higher than .300 for the season. Only two Falcons — Jon Berti and Clay Duncan — hit .300 last season.

While BG’s pitching has been respectable — it is fifth in the conference with a 5.25 team earned-run average — the team’s defense has been a major issue.

The Falcons have committed 55 errors in 24 games this season. In 2011, the team also committed 55 errors, but in 51 games.

Those miscues have caused the Falcons to give up 39 unearned runs this season. That is only nine unearned runs fewer than the team gave up all of last season.

The two biggest offenders have been Brandon Howard and Brian Bien. The infielders have combined to commit 29 errors this season.

The Chippewas bring a 11-14 record into the game. Like the Falcons, their most recent game was against Michigan State — a 6-5 loss.

Jordan Dean leads the team with a .385 batting average and four home runs. However, Central hits just .277 as a team. It also has a 5.25 earned-run average.