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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Baseball Signs Seventh Student-Athlete
June 07, 2000 | Baseball
June 7, 2000
Bowling Green, OH -
Bowling Green State University Head Baseball Coach Danny Schmitz announced today the signing of Neil Schmitz (St. Henry, OH) to a national letter of intent bringing the total members of the class of 2004 to seven. David Barkholz (Waterford, MI/Detroit Country Day), Nate Henschen (Bowling Green, OH) and Keith Laughlin (New Riegel, OH) joined early signees Andrew Hudak (Toledo, OH/Start), Zach King (Bloomdale, OH/Elmwood) and Kyle Knoblauch (Blissfield, MI/Blissfield). All seven will be begin their studies at BGSU in the fall of 2000.
Schmitz, a 6-2, 180-pound outfielder/pitcher, was a member of the back-to-back state champion baseball squads for coach John Dorner,a BGSU graduate, at St. Henry High School. Schmitz was named to the All-Ohio First Team for the third consecutive year. He batted .340 this past season after hitting .376 as a junior and .402 as a sophomore. On the mound, Schmitz compiled a 5-2 record as a sophomore with a 1.76 earned-run average and improved to an 11-0 mark as a junior with a 1.21 ERA. This past season, Schmitz had a 10-2 mark with a 1.63 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 73 innings. He completed his high school career with 214 strikeouts in 180 innings.
The BGSU baseball team captured the 1998 and 1999 Mid-American Conference East Division titles and MAC tournament titles, while also participating in the NCAA tournament both years. The Falcons lost eight seniors from the 2000 squad to graduation. They include catchers Matt Marcum and Brad Simon, along with pitchers Joe Cheney, Mike Muzi and Ryan Streb. Also completing their eligibility were infielder/outfielder Matt Best, designated hitter Alan Gilhousen and infielder Kenny Burdine.
The Falcons finished the year with an overall record of 29-24-1 and a Mid-American Conference mark of 14-12. It was BG's sixth winning campaign in the last seven seasons.
