Seidel off to strong start at BGSU

BOWLING GREEN — Sam Seidel's final baseball season at NCAA Division I Bowling Green State University is off to a strong start. The 2022 South Central graduate has started all 25 games for the Falcons (8-17, 4-8 Mid-American Conference). The second baseman is batting .269 with nine doubles, three home runs, and 15 RBIs. He has also walked 17 times and has 43 total bases. Seidel is also 12 for 15 on stolen base attempts and carries a .462 slugging percentage, a .398 on-base percentage, and an .860 On-base Plus Slugging percentage. Seidel — a 2024 All-MAC first team selection — currently leads the Falcons in at-bats, hits, runs, walks, stolen bases, total bases, and both OBP and OPS. He is second in batting average, home runs, RBIs, and slugging percentage among players who have played in 18 or more games for the Falcons. BGSU will host a three-game home series against Akron this Thursday through Saturday. The Falcons also visit Ohio State next Tuesday. The Falcons have played just five home games at Steller Field and played their first 17 games of the season on the road. That was the result of their home facility receiving a full facelift over the offseason. The 17-game road swing to start the season was also the fourth-hardest schedule in the nation, according to the NCAA's strength of schedule metric. In the season opener against Georgia Tech — currently ranked No. 3 in the country — Seidel homered against the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta on Feb. 13. Steller Field had a new turf playing surface installed, along with new lights, the fence surrounding the field, and the padding along the walls. Seidel was 3 for 4 and drove in four runs in the first game at the redone facility, including a double for the team's first hit of the season at Steller Field in a 7-0 win over Ohio on March 20. He hit a grand slam in the second inning, which was also noteworthy. A graphic design major, Seidel helped design the images on the new outfield wall. The right field designs include the NCAA and MAC logos along with the years the Falcons won the league and reached the NCAA tournament. Center field reads 'Bowling Green Baseball' in gothic-like lettering, and left field shows the number of BGSU's MLB draft picks and the retired number of Hall of Famer Gary Haas. Seidel then hit the first home run, in grand fashion, over the new right field wall imagery he helped design. Last season, Seidel was limited to 35 games because of a hand fracture. He still managed to bat .324 with six doubles, five home runs, and a career-high 35 RBIs. As a freshman in 2023, he batted .260 with five doubles, six home runs, and 19 RBIs over 47 games (42 starts). His All-MAC first team season as a sophomore in 2024 saw him hit .319 with 12 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 31 RBIs, and 44 runs scored while starting 45 of 53 games for the MAC regular season champions. With another 30-plus games remaining in his career, Seidel is already among the top 10 all-time at BGSU in walks and hit by pitches. He is near the top 10 in several other categories. In high school, Seidel was a multi-time All-FC first team selection and earned Player of the Year honors in the league in 2021 for the Trojans.