YPSILANTI, Mich. (Interstat) – Bowling Green visits Eastern Michigan on Friday in a Mid-American Conference series opener at Oestrike Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for late afternoon under cloudy skies with a temperature of 53 degrees.

The Falcons (14-24) and Eagles (13-29) are both seeking traction in the MAC standings. Bowling Green enters on a four-game losing streak, most recently shut out 3-0 at Butler on Tuesday. Eastern Michigan has dropped five of its last six, including a 6-4 home loss to Washington on Tuesday.

A player to watch for Bowling Green is right-hander Luke Krouse. Over his last five appearances, Krouse has shown sharp inconsistency. On Tuesday against Butler, he tossed four scoreless innings with five strikeouts, yielding no hits. That followed a rough outing at Michigan on April 22, when he allowed six earned runs over three innings. In his last three starts, Krouse has struck out 11 over 13 innings while opponents have managed no hits – though he was tagged for three hits in two-thirds of an inning against Central Michigan on April 12. Back-to-back scoreless innings in relief last weekend against Toledo likely put him in line for a starting role Friday.

For Eastern Michigan, catcher Nathan Borchardt has provided the bulk of the offense. He was 2-for-3 with two home runs and four RBIs in the loss to Washington on Tuesday. In his last six games overall, Borchardt is batting .417 (10-for-24) with two homers, 10 RBIs and a 1.333 OPS. He has reached base in eight of his last nine contests and leads the Eagles in most offensive categories.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 3-2 Eastern Michigan win, though its ELO system gives Bowling Green a 59.2 percent probability of victory.

The three-game series continues Saturday and Sunday at Oestrike Stadium.