Bowling Green State University Athletics
Baseball Opens Up MAC Play This Weekend At Western Michigan
March 20, 2008 | Baseball
March 20, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The red-hot Bowling Green State University baseball team will open their Mid-American Conference schedule this weekend when they head to Kalamazoo, Mich. for a three-game weekend set at Western Michigan. The Falcons, winners of six of their last seven games are currently 7-7 after starting 1-6. Over the course of the last seven games though, BG has hit .306 as a team and has had a team ERA of 2.90 as they just recently won five-straight games for the first time since April of 2006. They will look to continue that hot play when they kick-off their series with the 12-4-1 Broncos with a 3 p.m. first pitch Friday from WMU's Hyames Field. Game two on Saturday will start at 1 p.m. with the rubber match on Sunday also getting started at 1 p.m. Live stats of the series will be available at www.bgsufalcons.com, via gametracker. A link to the game can be found by visiting the team's schedule page.
Complete Release in PDF Format (13 Pages)
FALCON QUICK HITS
• Over the course of the last seven games, the Falcons have out-scored their opponents 38-13 in the game's first four innings. That includes a 17-2 edge in the third inning.
• In the last seven games, BG has had a player tally a multiple-hit effort 20 times and a multiple-RBI effort nine. Leading the way during that span is infielder Ryan Shay who has six multiple-hit games in the last seven contests, while Frank Berry and Derek Spencer both have two multiple-RBI games.
• In the last seven games, opposing starting pitchers own a 1-5 record and a 8.37 ERA against Bowling Green as the Falcons are hitting .341 against them.
• In the last seven games, the opposition's starters are hitting just .218 against the Falcons' starters on the mound.
• BG is 21-of-51 at the plate this season in the ninth inning as they're hitting .412 as a team in the frame and have scored 18 runs. Sophomore T.J. Blanton leads BG with four ninth-inning hits as he is 4-for-8 at the plate in the ninth inning and has driven in three runs.
• Senior captain Nick Cantrell has yet to allow a run in 8.2 innings of duty past the fourth inning as he has 11 strikeouts and has allowed a single hit in the fifth inning or later this season.
• Senior outfielder Andrew Foster is a perfect 5-for-5 this season when leading-off an inning at the plate.
• BG is 7-2 this season when holding their opponent to less than 10 runs in a game, while they are 0-5 when allowing their opponent to reach double digits.
• The Falcons are a perfect 3-0 in games this season where they've hit a homerun and just 4-7 games without a long ball. On the flip side, BG is 6-2 when keeping their opponent from going yard and 1-5 when giving up a long ball.
• Junior infielder Ryan Shay had 51 hits in 54 games last season as a sophomore as he finished with a .277 average. This season, the Garden City, Mich. native has 26 hits in just 14 games as he is hitting .448 and is averaging a MAC-best 1.86 hits per game.
• Ryan Shay leads the Falcons with eight two-out hits on the season as he has six two-out RBI.
• The Falcons are hitting .636 this season (7-for-11) with the bases loaded, which includes a grand slam from junior Marty Baird.
• BGSU is 5-3 this season in true road games as they are hitting .321 in true road contests. Leading the way is Ryan Shay, who is 18-for-31 (.581) at the plate in road games. Sophomore Derek Spencer leads the Falcons with 11 RBI in true road games.
• Since 2001, the Falcons are 137-4 when leading a game after the eighth inning, including a 6-0 mark this season.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE BRONCOS
The Broncos of fourth-year head coach Randy Ford come into the weekend with BG 12-4-1 overall and on a six-game unbeaten streak, which includes five-straight victories ... WMU is coming off a four-game sweep at Morehead State in Kentucky, which saw them record three shutouts as they out-scored the Eagles 38-2 on the weekend ... as a team, the Broncos are hitting .321 as they've recorded 54 total extra-base hits and have scored a total of 144 runs ... their 195 hits lead the MAC, along with their 38 doubles ... their 15 sacrifice hits also rank at the top of the MAC list and are just six shy of the national top-10 ... leading the way at the dish is sophomore catcher Chris Lewis, who is hitting .404 on the year with three homers, dour doubles and 16 RBI as he has a slugging percentage of .632 ... a total of seven Broncos already have 10 or more RBI ... on the mound, WMU has a combined team ERA of 3.45, which ranks tops among all MAC pitching staffs ... right-handers Ethan Hollingsworth, Billy Morrison and Brian Stroud have each made four starts this season ... Hollingsworth (2-1), who will face the Falcons on Friday has an ERA of 3.13 in 23 innings of work and a team-best 23 strikeouts ... Morrison (2-0), who fill take the mound Saturday has a 3.33 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 24.1 innings of work, while Stroud (2-0) who will take the hill Sunday has a 4.42 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 18.1 innings of duty ... sophomore Derek Mosher leads the Broncon bullpen with two saves as he has 0.77 ERA in six appearances to go along with 12 strikeouts in 11.2 total innings ... in the field, the Broncos have a MAC-best .971 fielding percentage.
THE WESTERN MICHIGAN SERIES
This weekend's meetings between the Falcons and Broncos will mark the 125th, 126th and 127th times that the two squads have met ... the Falcons trail the all-time series 54-70-0 as they are 5-5 against the Broncos in their last 10 contests ... last season the two schools met at Hyames Field in late March with the Broncos taking 2-of-3 from BG with a 3-1 win on Friday and 5-1 win on Saturday, before the Falcons rebounded with a 9-5 victory in Sunday's series finale ... this weekend's series will mark just the fourth time that the Falcons have opened conference play with the Broncos with the last time coming in 1985 ... BG is 6-4 in their last 10 games at Hyames Field and 11-4 in their last 15.
FALCONS AND CONFERENCE OPENING SERIES
The 2008 season marks the 56th season for the Falcons in the MAC ... the Falcons own three MAC Regular Season Championships and two MAC Tournament Championships ... over the course of the last 10 seasons, the Falcons are 13-15 overall in their conference opening weekends as they've won five series and lost five in that time ... over the course of the last three seasons however, the Falcons are just 1-8 in their opening MAC series as they've lost five-straight games on opening weeeknd of conference play ... all-time under head coach Danny Schmitz, the Falcons are 27-24 in their conference opening series.
LAST TIME OUT
Junior infielder Ryan Shay was 9-for-11 this past weekend, hitting .818, while his team hit a combined .343 as the Falcons earned a series victory at Murray State, taking 2-of-3 games from the Thoroughbreds at MSU's Reagan Field. In BG's game one 14-7 win last Saturday, Shay went 4-for-5 on the afternoon, scoring three runs and driving in one. Third baseman Derek Spencer then collected a game-high five RBI, while second baseman Logan Meisler had two as the Falcons brought their winning-streak to five games. Senior captain Nick Cantrell (2-2) earned the victory in relief as he allowed just two runs (none earned) on three hits and fanned six. The win was keyed by a nine-run third inning that saw the Falcons break open a tight game, taking a 12-4 lead to the bottom half of the inning.
In game two, MSU bounced back to earn a 6-2 victory in game one of last Sunday's doubleheader as a six-run fifth would be all the Thoroughbreds needed in the seven-inning contest. Shay was 2-for-2 to lead all Falcon batters, while Mark Galvin went 2-for-3. Taking the loss, his first of the season, was junior right-hander Kevin Leady (1-1) who allowed five runs (three earned) on eight hits and struck out five.
In the series finale, another seven-inning game and the second game of last Sunday's doubleheader, the Falcons battled back from a two-run deficit in the game's final inning to tie the game at 5-5 and send the contest to an extra-frame. BG then pushed across two runs in the top half of the eighth and held MSU to a single run in the bottom half to earn a 7-6 win and steal the series. Shay once again was the big Falcon bat, as he was 3-for-4 in the contest and was 1-of-5 Falcons who collected a single RBI. Marty Baird, Frank Berry and T.J. Blanton all added two hits, while junior Dusty Hawk picked up his first victory in relief. Senior Brett Browning recorded the game's final out with the bases loaded full of Thoroughbreds in the eighth to earn BG's second save of the young season.
SHAY IS HIS NAME AND HITTING IS HIS GAME
Few players in the MAC have been as hot at the plate as Bowling Green's Ryan Shay in the first 14 games of the season. Shay, who is currently hitting .448, has 26 hits on the season in 58 at bats as he is already just 25 hits shy of his hit total from last season. The Garden City, Mich. native has hit safely in 12 of BG's 14 games this season and has 10 multiple-hit efforts, including three games with three or more hits. Shay currently leads the MAC in hits per game as he averages 1.86 base knocks per contest. His .448 averages then ranks second among all MAC hitters, while his .508 on-base percentage is fifth.
BAIRD CLEARS THE BASES
Falcon junior Marty Baird had a moment to remember on Mar. 13 in the Falcons' 9-3 win at Cincinnati. With the bases loaded full of Falcons in the second inning, the Findlay, Ohio native hit his first career grand slam over the wall in left to give BG a commanding 8-1 lead. It marked the first time the Falcons have recorded a four-RBI homer since Kurt Wells did so last season on Feb. 25th in the Falcons' 8-6 win at Middle Tennessee State.
SENIOR CAPTAIN STARTS TO SHINE
One of the biggest reasons for the Falcons success in the past seven games has been their pitching and few on the squad have been more dominate on the mound than senior captain Nick Cantrell. The Waldo, Ohio native is a perfect 2-0 in the last seven games with a 0.00 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 10.2 innings of work, getting a victory in both his appearances. The right-hander struck out a career-best six batters in both appearances, doing so in 4.2 innings at Florida Gulf Coast and in six innings in game one at Murray State. Cantrell leads the Falcon pitching staff with 18 strikeouts in 17.2 innings of work as he is 2-2 overall on the season with a 4.08 ERA.
THE WIN STREAK THAT REACHED FIVE
With their game one victory last Friday at Murray State, the Falcons accomplished something already in 2008 that they hadn't done in 2007 - win five-straight games. BG last won five-straight games during the 2006 season during late March and early April (Mar. 29-Apr. 8) when they won seven-straight contests. Last season, the Falcons longest win streak was four games (Feb. 24 - Mar. 4) as they also won three-straight on two separate occasions. Under head coach Danny Schmitz, BG's longest win streak is 11 games, which they accomplished during the 1999 season when they won 11-straight from May 8th to May 21st.
BGSU AND THE LONG BALL
The long ball has treated the Falcons well this season as they are a perfect 3-0 this season when going yard. On the year, the Falcons have four total long balls. Below is a breakdown of BG's homeruns to date.
No. Player (No.) Opp. (Date) On Base Inn. Outs Pitcher (T)
1. Brian Hangbers (1) Fairfield (3/6) 1 1 1 Gussaroff (R)
2. Brian Hangbers (2) Fairfield (3/6) 0 7 2 Gallagher (R)
3. Derek Spencer (1) FGCU (3/6) 2 3 2 Nathanson (L)
4. Marty Baird (1) UC (3-12) 3 2 2 Garman (L)
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 last season, BG finished with a team ERA of 5.13, earning 278 total strikeouts.
MISCELLANEOUS BGSU RECORDS AND STATS
• 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 161-19 when leading a game after the sixth innning.
• The Falcons were 15-12 in non-conference action last season and are 113-82 in non-conference action since the beginning of the 2001 campaign.
• During the last seven seasons, BGSU is 64-52 against left-handed starters and 137-119 against right-handed starters.
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 starting or 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
Since the beginning of 2001, BG is 137-4 when leading heading into the game's final inning. 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.
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.
