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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Baseball Goes 7-1 Last Week; Has Seven Games This Week
April 17, 2000 | Baseball
April 17, 2000
The Bowling Green State University baseball team has won nine of its last 10 contests, including seven straight Mid-American Conference games. BG won twice at Western Michigan last Monday, defeated Cleveland State in its first extra inning affair of the season on Tuesday, before falling 2-1 at Notre Dame on Wednesday. The Falcons then swept MAC foe Marshall all four games this past weekend.
BG continues its homestand with contests against Defiance (2 p.m.) on Tuesday and Findlay (3 p.m.) on Wednesday. BG concludes its yearly home-and-home series with Detroit Mercy by visiting the Motor City on Thursday (3 p.m.).
The Falcons will conclude the week with four games against MAC East Division preseason favorite Miami. Saturday's doubleheader is in Oxford, while the teams complete the set Sunday in BG. First pitch on Easter Sunday at Steller Field is slated for 1 p.m.
UPCOMING GAMES ...
Bowling Green will entertain Wright State on Tuesday, April 25 (3 p.m.), and travel to Oakland University on Wednesday (3 p.m.).
The Falcons return to conference action with a four-game series at Kent on April 29-30. Doubleheader action both days begins at 1 p.m.
THE COACH ...
Falcon mentor Danny Schmitz is the 10th skipper in the 81-year history of the sport at BG (fifth since 1928). He is in second place on the school's all-time baseball win list trailing only Don Purvis (1972-82, 305 victories).
Schmitz has led the Falcons to back-to-back NCAA appearances. BG's trip to the NCAA's in 1998 was its first since 1972.
Prior to being named to his current position in August, 1990, he served three seasons (1988-90) as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan following three years as the manager of Visalia (1985-87) in the Class A California League. Schmitz also spent eight years playing in the minor leagues including the last seven in AAA.
FALCON NOTES ...
Bowling Green pitchers did not issue a walk on Sunday and including Saturday, the Falcon hurlers have not allowed a non-intentional walk in the last 17.2 innings. BG's defense did not commit an error in the four-game sweep of Marshall.
BG is hitting .362 as a team in conference play with sophomore first baseman Sean Ryan batting a team-best .565 (13-23) with 8 RBI. Junior pitcher Tony Fontana is 3-0 in the league with a 2.14 ERA. He has completed all three of his MAC starts, striking out 26 and walking seven in 21 innings, and limiting opponents to a .143 batting average.
The Falcons have won the last seven conference games, outscoring their opponents 52-22.
Sophomore outfielder Len Elias has a team-leading 24 walks against only eight strikeouts in 121 plate appearances.
Senior second baseman Kenny Burdine is batting .593 with runners in scoring position and .529 against left-handed pitchers.
Junior centerfielder Aric Christman is tied with Burdine for the team lead in multiple-hit games with 11, while senior designated hitter Alan Gilhousen has a team-best seven multiple-RBI games.
