The Bowling Green State University baseball team closed out its regular season with a 4-2 win over Northern Illinois at Steller Field on Saturday. The victory gives the Falcons a final regular season record of 33-20 overall and 19-11 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The team now prepares for the MAC Tournament, where they will enter as the No. 4 seed and face No. 5 Toledo in the opening round on Wednesday.
Throughout the game, both teams were tied at the end of each inning until the eighth. In that frame, Brady Birchmeier hit a double to left center, and Alex Laird came in as a pinch runner. Sam Seidel followed with a two-run home run to right field, giving Bowling Green the lead and ultimately securing the win.
Gunner Antillon and Garrett Wright were key contributors on offense for BGSU. In both the fourth and fifth innings, Antillon singled or doubled before being driven in by Wright’s doubles. With his two doubles in this game, Wright has reached 19 for the season, tying him for Bowling Green’s single-season program record for doubles. He has also reached base in 50 of his 52 games played this year while covering five different positions.
On the pitching side, Landon Willeman started for Bowling Green and threw three scoreless innings with five strikeouts. Kade Arn took over next, allowing one earned run and one unearned run across nearly four innings while striking out four batters. Titus Lotz entered late in relief to earn his third win of the year after pitching just over an inning without allowing a run. Ty Roder finished off the ninth inning to collect his first save of the season.
Garrett Wright’s performance this year places him inside Bowling Green’s top ten for hits in a single season, currently ranking ninth with 79 hits. He has maintained a hitting streak in 16 of his last 17 games.
Gunner Antillon continued his strong play as well, collecting his third consecutive multi-hit game—his nineteenth such effort this season—and extending his streak to having hits in 14 of his last 15 games.
Sam Seidel returned to action Friday and contributed significantly on Saturday with his fifth home run of the season; he now has fifteen career home runs.
Landon Willeman’s start marked eight consecutive shutout innings across his last two outings.
Titus Lotz notched his twelfth scoreless appearance of the year during Saturday’s win.
Ty Roder became Bowling Green’s fourth pitcher this year to record a save; collectively, BGSU pitchers have set a program record with seventeen saves this season.
Brady Birchmeier extended his personal hitting streak to five games since returning from absence.
The Falcons will begin postseason play at Sprenger Stadium in Avon, Ohio when they face Toledo at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
