Bowling Green State University Athletics
Salsburg and Falcons Announce the 2009 Softball Schedule, Celebrating 30 Years
November 06, 2008 | Softball
Nov. 6, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Bowling Green State University softball head coach Shannon Salsburg and the Falcons announced the complete 2009 schedule for the 30th season in program history on the diamond. The Falcons will compete in four non-conference tournaments to open the season before entering the Mid-American conference portion of the schedule. BG's competition will include nine teams that made it to last season's NCAA Tournament, five teams that were ranked in USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll last season and two reigning conference Champions, including teams from some of the most prominent conferences in the nation the SEC, ACC, Big 10 and Big 12.
"Facing the amount of teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last year can only help us down the road," stated BGSU head coach Shannon Salsburg. "We're excited to be playing some of the better conferences in the nation, including teams from the SEC, ACC, Big 10 and Big 12."
Contrary to Salsburg's road warriors last season, the Falcons will host 18 games at the Meserve Softball Field, which was dedicated to Lee and Marge Meserve earlier this fall, nearly twice as many home games as last season.
"The biggest thing when we sat down to set-up the schedule was that we wanted to play in different tournaments and see a nice mix of teams," said Salsburg. "From teams that go to the tournament year in and year out to teams that are continuing to fight to get to that level. I really believe that this schedule set-up really nicely for us."
Coach Salsburg and the Falcons will open the season with a 20-game road trip starting off in the Sunshine State at the UCF Early Bird Tournament (Feb. 13-15) in Orlando, Florida. The Falcons will throw out the first pitch of the season against North Florida in their first ever meeting on February 13 at 1:00 p.m. The Falcons will then take on Bradley later that night. The Falcons were set to match up against the Braves in last year's season opener at the Chattanooga Classic but due to weather the Braves weren't able to make the tournament. The Orange and Brown will also match up against the SEC's South Carolina (Feb. 14), University of Texas-Arlington (Feb. 14) for the first time and the Big 12's Kansas (Feb. 15) in Orlando, Florida.
After a week off, the Falcons will head to Knoxville, Tennessee to compete in the Tennessee Classic (Feb. 26-Mar. 1) where they will face three teams for the first time in program history (North Dakota, Tennessee and James Madison). The Orange and Brown will open the three day tournament against North Dakota (Feb. 27) followed by host Tennessee of the SEC. The Falcons were scheduled to match-up against the Vols in 2007 but due to poor weather conditions never got to play. Last season Tennessee reached as high as fourth in nation on the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll and also made it to the NCAA Tournament as the 13th ranked team. Day two of the tournament (Feb. 28) will pit the Falcons against James Madison for the first time and the all too familiar, Marshall. The Falcons lead the Thundering Herd 18-4 in their all-time series. BG will wrap-up their stay in Knoxville, Tennessee against the ACC's 2008 regular season Champion, North Carolina (Mar. 1). The Tar Heels were ranked as high as 13th in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll, also making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Salsburg and company will continue their road trip as they head to Atlanta, Georgia for the 2009 Buzz Classic (Mar. 6-8) hosted by Georgia Tech. The Falcons will begin the tournament against Western Kentucky (Mar. 6) bringing together the two teams from Bowling Green for the first time far away from either BG (The Falcons from Bowling Green, Ohio and the Hilltoppers from Bowling Green, Kentucky). The Falcons will also take on the Big 10's Purdue (Mar. 6) for the first of three meetings on the season. The Boilermakers made their first program appearance at the NCAA Tournament last season. BG will finish up their stay in Georgia against Georgia State (Mar. 7), University at Albany (Mar. 7) and Austin Peay (Mar. 8).
Salsburg's squad will finish up their non-conference tournament schedule and 20-game opening road trip at the Judi Garman Classic (Mar. 12-15) in Fullerton, California where they will take on teams from the ACC, Big 12 and Big West with four out of their five opponents making it to the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The Orange and Brown will open the tournament against the Big 12's Texas (Mar. 12). The Longhorns were ranked as high as 24th in last season's USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll also making it to the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons will then take on two teams from the Big West, Pacific (Mar. 12) and host Cal State Fullerton (Mar. 13). The Cal State Fullerton Titans reached a high ranking of 17th in the top 25 of the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll last season, making the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons will then battle the ACC's Florida State (Mar. 14) also an '08 NCAA Tournament team and end the their stay in California against the Big 12's Okalahoma, yet another NCAA Tournament team from last season. The Sooner's were ranked as high as 5th in the nation earning the 10th seed in the NCAA Tournament, making it to the Super-Regional round.
"We're very excited about the schedule and how it's set up. Sometimes when you get into tournaments you really don't have any idea who you are going to play and I think our pre-season tournament schedule will not only get us ready for MAC games but will continue to prepare us for the next step."
After a month and 20 games on the road the Falcons will return home to Bowling Green to host the first game on the newly dedicated Meserve Softball Field. The Orange and Brown will host the Purdue Boilermakers for a double-header in their 2009 season home opener on Thursday, March 26th at 2:00 p.m. The Boilermakers will only be the fourth Big 10 team to take on the Falcons at home and the first Big 10 team to come to Bowling Green since Michigan in 2001.
"As you look through the schedule especially once we come home it is fantastic to have a double-header against a Big 10 opponent in Purdue as well as to host Wright State at the end of the season who went also to Regionals last year." Salsburg and the Falcons will then slide right into MAC play as they play host to their arch-rival Toledo in a two game series (Mar. 28-29). The Falcons lead the Rockets 54-33 in their all-time series after sweeping them last season in a two game series (4-3, 1-0).
BG will continue conference play opening the month of April on a four-game road trip against the MAC West. The Falcons will first head to Kalamazoo, Michigan for a double-header against Western Michigan (April 3). The Falcons swept Western Michigan last season in a two game series at home (2-1, 2-1) after two game winning homers from Rachel Delp and Hayley Wiemer.
The Falcons will then head to DeKalb, Illinois to take on Northern Illinois in a two game series (April 4-5). The Falcons lead the Huskies 19-13 in the all-time series after splitting a double-header last season. The Falcons were able to pick-up a victory (5-2) in the first game but the Huskies came back to take the second game in extra innings (3-2). The Huskies gave the Falcons their only loss on their home field last season.
The Orange and Brown will return home for a weekend series with a double-header against Ball State (April 10) followed up by a two game series against Miami (April 11-12) to open MAC East Division play. The Falcons own the all-time series against the Cardinals (46-27) and the RedHawks (50-36). Last season the Falcons swept the Cardinals in a two game series on the road, as Wiemer picked up her first shut of the season in the first game (3-0) and Emily Gouge recorded her first save of the season in game two (8-4). The Falcons, however spilt with a double-header with the RedHawks last season winning game one (8-3) and dropping game two (3-11).
Salsburg and company will take a quick break from MAC play to take on Big 10 opponent Michigan State in a mid-week tilt (April 14). Michigan State is the only non-conference opponent that the Falcons' faced in 2008 and will see during the 2009 season. The Falcons own the all-time series 12-7 over the Spartans after splitting their two meetings last season. The Spartans were able to take the first of the two meetings at the Stetson Spring Classic, 2-6 but the Falcons took the second meeting on the Spartans home field, 2-1 thanks to a seventh inning rally.
Salsburg and the Falcons will then return home for the heart of their home schedule, a 10 game homestand. The Falcons will first welcome Akron in a double-header (April 17). The Orange and Brown lead the Zips 41-20-1 in the all-time series after shutting out Akron last season (8-0, 9-0) in two five inning games as Wiemer pitched a no hitter in game one and Gouge pitched a one hitter in game two.
BG will then host East Division foe, Ohio in a two game series (April 18-19). The Falcons lead the Bobcats 50-36 in the all-time series. The Falcons and the Bobcats saw each other five times in the 2008 season, with the Bobcats defeating the Falcons in a regular season double-header (0-8, 2-3). The Orange and Brown bounced back and defeated the Bobcats (3-1) in the first round of the MAC Tournament, but their rivalry wasn't done yet as Ohio came back to defeat the Falcons twice in MAC tournament semi-finals. The last match-up between the Falcons and the Bobcats went 10 innings as the Bobcats edged out the Falcons, 1-2.
Salsburg's squad will then host Buffalo in a double-header (April 24). The Falcons and the Bulls did not see each other last season as their two game series was canceled due to weather and poor field conditions. However BG leads the all-time series 14-3.
The Falcons will continue their weekend with a two game series against Kent State, the 2008 MAC Champions (April 25-26). The Falcons split with Kent State in a double-header last season winning the first game 8-5 and falling in the second game 2-3. The BGSU softball team will once again take a short break from conference play to host the 2008 Horizon League Champions, Wright State in a non-conference double-header for the Falcons' last home game of the season. The Falcons are undefeated in the all-time series 8-0 over the Raiders. The last meeting between the two teams was in 1993 when the Falcons swept the Raiders (3-1, 4-0) in a double-header at home. Salsburg and company will finish the 2009 regular season on the road against the MAC West Division. The Falcons will take on Central Michigan in a double-header (May 1). The Falcons and the Chippewas only matched-up once last season due to weather as BG defeated CMU, 7-6 at home in extra innings. The Falcons final two games of the season will be a road series against Eastern Michigan (May 2-3). The Falcons lead the Eagles 46-32 in the all-time series. Last season the two teams saw each other three times. The Eagles took the first non-conference meeting at the Buckeye Invitational (4-12), but the Falcons came back to win the double-header at home (3-0, 9-4).
"We're obliviously extremely excited how the MAC schedule lined up for us this year. Last year we were on the road pretty much the entire season, so it is nice to be able to get home and play in front of our fans."
Post-season play will begin May 6 at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio and will continue through May 9.
The Falcons marked their sixth consecutive appearance in the MAC Tournament last season and the 10th overall in the last 11 years.
To view entire schedule CLICK HERE.
