Bowling Green State University Athletics
Baseball Heads To Sunshine State For Eight-Game Spring Break Trip
February 28, 2008 | Baseball
Feb. 28, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University baseball team will head down to the Sunshine State this week for their annual Spring Break trip to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. BGSU's trip will feature eight games in a seven-day period as all the action will kick-off with a 1 p.m. first pitch on Saturday (Mar. 1) against Western Michigan. That will be followed with back-to-back late morning games against Northeastern on Sunday and Monday, before the Falcons square-off with Villanova at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. After a day off on Wednesday, the Falcons will then return to action on Thurs., Mar. 6 with a morning 10 a.m. game with Fairfield and a 6 p.m. tilt with Florida Gulf Coast. The Falcons and Huskies will play their third and final game against each other on the trip on Mar. 7, before BG concludes their trip with a 10 a.m. game with Vermont on Mar. 8.
Complete Release in PDF Format (12 Pages)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Any game covered by gametracker will available at www.bgsufalcons.com on the baseball schedule page, but any radio broadcast of the games in any way will be dependent on the opponent. For more information on possible radio broadcasts or coverage of the games please see the official websites of the Falcons' opponents. Some games will not have a sports information representative from each school at it.
FALCON QUICK HITS
• In last season's Spring Break trip to Florida the Falcons went 5-3, collecting wins over Georgetown, IPFW and Valparaiso. Overall, the Falcons are 19-12 in their trips to Bradenton since they started going down there in 2004.
• With last Saturday's 12-run output, the Falcons have now recorded a game with double-digit runs in their season-opening series the last five seasons.
• BGSU as a team is hitting .300 or better in each of the last three innings this season thru its' first three games. The Falcons are hitting .364 in the seventh inning, .308 in the eighth inning and .571 in the ninth. They've scored seven ninth inning runs as they're out-scoring their opponent 10-6 in the final two innings.
• Falcon first baseman Frank Berry collected four hits in his first series as a Falcon after transfering from Longwood University. The Virginia Beach, Va. native went 4-for-14 at the plate, hitting .286, finishing with a team-best three doubles and four RBI. Berry also picked up his first collegiate win in game two against Western Kentucky after pitching a scoreless 3.1 innings of relief where he gave up just three hits.
• BGSU collected nine multiple-hit games and four multiple-RBI games in their series at Western Kentucky as junior third baseman Ryan Shay accounted for three of those nine multiple-hit efforts and one of the four multiple-RBI performances.
• Sophomore David Borcherdt was a perfect 2-for-2 on opening weekend in pinch hitting situations and was 2-for-2 with runners in scoring position.
• David Borcherdt, Clay Duncan, Ryan Shay and Dennis Vaughn all hit over .500 on the weekend with runners in scoring position with each having two or more at bats with runners in position to be platted.
• Sophomore outfielder Dennis Vaughn had a career-best five-hit game in the Falcons' 14-9 loss on Sunday at Western Kentucky. The Kirtland, Ohio native was a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate with one double, two runs scored and an RBI. Last season Vaughn had six hits in 30 at bats as already this year he is 6-for-7 at the plate with a .857 average.
• The Falcons are 3-for-5 thus far in pinch hitting opportunities and have been hitting .342 with runners on base, collecting seven two-out RBI.
• Since 2001, the Falcons are 132-4 when leading a game after the eighth inning, including a 1-0 mark this season.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE FALCONS' OPPONENTS
Western Michigan - Currently 2-1 on the season, the Broncos of 22nd-year head coach Randy Ford earned a season-opening series victory over the Salukis of Southern Illinois ... WMU was an 11-5 winner in game one, before dropping a 7-6 decision in extra innings in game two, they then finished the series with a 5-4 victory in the series' rubber match ... catcher Derek Mosher leads the squad with a .600 average at the plate, while infielder Matthew abro and outfielder Neal Miller both lead the team with four RBI ... on the hill, right-handers Ethan Hollingsworth (0-0, 5.06 ERA, 4K), Billy Morrison (0-0, 11.25 ERA, 1K) and Brian Stroud (0-0, 2.08, 4K) got the start last week against SIU ... as a team the Broncos are hitting .287, while on the mound they have a team ERA of 4.67.
Northeastern - The Huskies of 23-year head coach Neil McPhee have not opened play yet as their first regular-season contests will take place this week in Bradenton ... NU finished 24-22 last season with 12-17 record in the Colonial Athletic Association, which put them in eighth-place in the final league standings ... the Huskies return eight positional players and 12 pitchers, while they added 13 newcomers, including three redshirts ... last season the Huskies hit .290 as a group with 91 doubles, 13 triples and 51 homers as they scored 280 runs ... on the hill, NU had a team ERA of 5.19 wih 288 total strikeouts.
Villanova - The Wildcats of seven-year head coach Joe Godri are currently 0-3 on the year after dropping three games to #18 Michigan ... the Wolverines swept the series from the Wildcats winning 13-4, 16-6 and 18-9 ... Villanova hit .178 as a team in the series and had a team ERA of 16.12 ... they return 25 letterwinners, along with 13 positional players and 12 pitchers ... last season the Wildcats finished 29-25 as they finished sixth in the Big East with a 12-15 conference record.
Fairfield - The Stags of 24-year coach John Solsar currently sit at 0-3 on the season after season-opening losses to Kentucky, South Alabama and Xavier in Mobile, Alabama ... Fairfield fell 13-3 to Kentucky, 11-1 to South Alabama and 12-7 to Xavier ... the Stags return 20 letterwinners from last season, including three starting pitchers and eight starting positional players ... as a squad they hit .330 in their opening weekend and had a team ERA of 7.83 ... last season the Stags finished 18-28 and were 12-14 in conference play as they finished sixth in the MAAC.
Florida Gulf Coast- The Eagles of sixth-year head coach Dave Tollet are currently 4-0 on the year after a season-opening home sweep of Southeastern and a Wednesday 13-1 victory at Florida International ... FGCU is hitting .389 as a team thru the first four games as they have 12 doubles and 10 homers ... their pitching staff then has a team ERA of 0.75 with 44 strikeouts as opponents are batting just .159 against them at the plate ... FGCU returns 15 letterwinners from last season and welcome in 19 total newcomers.
Vermont- The Catamounts of 21-year coach Bill Currier have yet to see any action this season as they open their 2008 campaign with a Friday game and Saturday doubleheader at the University of New Orleans ... UV returns 13 letterwinners, including five starting positional players and four starting pitchers, while they'll welcome in 13 newcomers ... last season the Catamounts finished the season 21-29 as they were 10-13 in conference play, finishing fifth in the final America East standings ... as a squad, UV hit .273 last season, while on the hill they had a team ERA of 4.71.
SERIES HISTORIES
Western Michigan: WMU leads the series 68-53-0
Northeastern: the Huskies lead the all-time series 3-2-0
Villanova: BG leads the all-time series 1-0-0
Fairfield: first-ever meeting
Florida Gulf Coast: first-ever meeting
Vermont: BG leads the all-time series 4-0-0
THE 2008 BGSU BASEBALL TEAM
The Falcons of 18-year head coach Danny Schmitz return 18 letterwinners in 2008, along with six positional starters and three starting pitchers ... in 2007, the Falcons finished the season 22-32 overall and had a 7-20 record in the MAC as they placed sixth in the MAC East Division ... the Falcons were 9-14 at home last season, 7-14 on the road and 6-4 in neutral site tilts ... returning as the big bats in the lineup for 2008 are sophomore shortstop Derek Spencer who hit .405 with nine doubles, four homers and 24 RBI, along with junior Brandon McFarland who was second on the team in batting average last season with a .348 avearage, five doubles, two homers and 18 RBI ... earning MVP honors in the team's fall ball was junior third baseman Ryan Shay, who last season hit .277 with one homer and 26 RBI, which is the second most among returnees to senior outfielder Andrew Foster who had 35 ... as a team last season, BG hit .282, had 97 doubles, 13 triples, 33 homers and 284 total RBI ... in the field, the Falcons had a final fielding percentage of .961 as they as they turned 47 double plays ... on the mound, the Falcons will be throwing senior right-hander and team captain Nick Cantrell (4-8, 5.01 ERA, 70.0 IP, 30 SO) ... they will follow with left-handed senior Brett Browning (0-2, 4.54 ERA, 35.2 IP, 20 SO), before going with junior right-hander Marty Baird (5-5, 6.80 ERA, 45.0 IP, 26 SO) or freshman right-hander Brennan Smith ... as a staff last season, BG finished with a team ERA of 5.13, earning 278 total strikeouts.
MISCELLANEOUS BGSU RECORDS AND STATS FROM LAST SEASON
• BGSU was 20-6 last season when scoring five or more runs.
• The Falcons were a perfect 21-0 when leading after six innings in 2007, 20-1 when leading after seven and 18-1 when leading after eight.
• When out-hitting an opponent in 2007, the Falcons were 17-4, while they were 4-26 on the flip side and 1-2 when hits were tied.
• BGSU out-scored their oppenents last season 221 to 208 in the first six innings of a game, but were out-scored 129 to 80 in the final three, including being out-scored 41-16 in the game's final inning.
• BGSU hit .264 as a team on the road last season in 21 games, while at home they hit .298 in 23 games. Derek Spencer and Marty Baird led the Falcons in batting average on the road last season as Spencer hit .429 and Baird hit .352.
• BG was a perfect 6-0 on the road in 2007 when leading after six innings.
• Since the beginning of 2001, the Falcons are 155-19 when leading a game after the sixth innning.
• The Falcons were 15-12 in non-conference action last season and are 107-77 in non-conference action since the beginning of the 2001 campaign.
• During the last seven seasons, BGSU is 60-51 against left-handed starters and 135-115 against right-handed starters.
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons kicked-off their 2008 season this past weekend going 1-2 in a three-game road set at Western Kentucky. BG fell 11-4 in the season opener, before coming back with a 12-9 extra inning victory in game two in a game that went 12 innings. However, in Sunday's rubber match, BG came up just short of earning their first series victory of the season, falling 14-9. Derek Spencer and Ryan Shay both collected two hits in game one for the Falcons, while senior captain Nick Cantrell was saddled with his first loss of the season going 3.2 innings where he allowed two earned runs on six hits. In game two, BG was led in hits again by Shay and Spencer as they each collected three and combined for four RBI. Sophomore Frank Berry then was 2-for-5 on the day with a team-high three RBI, also picking up his first collegiate victory on the mound, throwing 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. Finally on Sunday, the Falcons were led by a perfect 5-for-5 effort by sophomore outfielder Dennis Vaughn with sophomore T.J. Blanton adding three hits of his own, including his first career triple. Blanton finished the game with a team-high two RBI, but it wasn't enough as the Hilltoppers collected three homers on the day. Earning the loss on the mound was junior right-hander Marty Baird who gave up three earned runs on five hits in 3.1 innings of duty.
A LIGHT BERRY MIXTURE
The return of Rick Blanc and Spencer Schmitz won't be the only two additions the Falcons receive from Longwood University this season as coming along for the ride are two highly-talented transfers. Joining Blanc's Falcon pitching staff will be junior left-handed hurler Kevin Light, while Frank Berry II will bring a strong right-handed bat to the BG lineup from first base. Last season at Longwood under Blanc's guidance, Light was 5-3 with 3.30 ERA in 13 starts. He was second on the staff in starts as he threw a total of 62.2 innings, recording 49 strikeouts, which was also second amongst the Lancers on the mound. Berry, who saw most of his time at shortstop when playing for Longwood, will make the jump to first this season for the Falcons. Last season at the plate, Berry hit .278, compiling 13 doubles, one homer and 30 RBI. Berry also has a pitching arm capable of throwing well over 90 miles per hour as he is expected to see plenty of time toeing the rubber this season as well in relief duty. The two helped Longwood to a 34-19 overall record last season as a Division I Independent team.
NO GIVING UP THIS LEAD
This past weekend against Western Kentucky, the Falcons almost had something happen for just the fifth time in the last seven seasons. BG lead 7-5 in game two of the series after the eighth inning and after extending the lead to 9-5 in the top of the ninth, they let the Hilltoppers tie the game up at 9-9. Thanks to a great 3.1 innings of relief by Frank Berry though, the Falcons were able to take over the lead again in the 12th inning to go on for a 12-9 victory. The win moved the Falcons record to 132-4 since the beginning of 2001 when they lead heading into the game's final frame. That record included a streak of 90-straight wins between 2001-2005 when the Falcons led after the eighth as they were 90-0 heading into the 2006 season. The streak finally ended at 93 when Valparaiso scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth on Mar. 10, 2006 to steal a 4-3 win.
A BRIEF LOOK BACK AT THE 2007 SEASON
The Falcons finished their 2007 season with a 22-32 overall mark and a 7-20 mark in the Mid-American Conference. It was just the third losing season for the Falcons since 1997 and that saw many ups and downs. After a quick 4-1 start to the year and an 7-3 record in their first 10 contests, BG went on to loss 11 of their next 15 games, entering the month of April at 11-14. It was an uphill climb from there as a 6-11 April led into a 5-7 month of May as the Falcons failed to reach the MAC Tournament for the second-straight season. A late season series win over Ohio University at home to close out the season however, left the Falcons with one final accomplishment to close out the season.
UP NEXT
Following their eight games in Florida, the Falcons will return home to Ohio where they will head down to Cincinnati on Mar. 12th to take on the Bearcats in a 4 p.m. midweek contest. The following weekend, BG will then head to Murray, Kentucky to play four games Murray State, starting with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 15th at 12 p.m.
CANTRELL AND OWENS TO SERVE AS TEAM CAPTAINS IN `08
Senior Nick Cantrell and redshirt junior Travis Owens will serve as the two team captains this season for the Falcons in their 90th season of baseball. Cantrell, a senior right-handed pitcher has made 61 appearances on the hill in his Falcon career, including 18 last season. He's struck out 68 batters in his three years with the Falcons and posted a career ERA of 4.79 as hes made 10 starts and picked up a save in relief duty on two occasions. Owens, a right-handed catcher, played in 30 games last season for the brown and orange and has appeared in 33 total contests during his two years of playing. The Convoy, Ohio native has a fielding percentage of 1.000 in the field in 67 chances and picked off a runner three times behind the plate.
BLANC RETURNS TO ALMA MATER TO SERVE AS PITCHING COACH
With the departure of assistant coach Tod Brown to take the head coaching position at North Dakota State over the off-season, BG head coach Danny Schmitz announced on October 3rd that he was bringing back former Falcon-player Rick Blanc to serve as his new pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.
Blanc, who played for the Falcons during the 1997 and 1998 seasons, spent the past four seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Longwood University. While in his time at Longwood, he helped the Lancer pitching staff go from a team earned run average of 5.36 in 2004 to a 3.60 team ERA this past season.
Prior to coaching at Longwood, Blanc served as pitching coach for the Chillicothe Paints of the Independent Frontier League where he played from 1998-2002. He was the IFL Pitcher of the Year in 2001 after posting a 13-1 record, and was a two-time IFL All-Star (2001, 2002).
Blanc earned team Most Valuable Player honors in both 2001 and 2002, as he finished his five-year Paints career with a 28-14 record with a 3.80 ERA and 12 saves.
Other coaching experiences for Blanc include coaching stints at Adrian [Mich.] College (2001-02) and Sylvania Southview High School (1998-2003) in Sylvania, Ohio.
During his Falcon career, Blanc helped lead the Falcons to the Mid-American Conference title in 1998 and a trip to the Atlantic I Regionals, hosted by the University of Miami.
A native of Sylvania, Ohio, Blanc earned his bachelor's of science degree in technology from BGSU in 1998.
