Bowling Green State University Athletics
Baseball Hosts Buffalo In Final Home Series Of 2008
May 08, 2008 | Baseball
May 8, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University baseball team will return to Mid-American Conference play this weekend when it hosts the University at Buffalo in a three-game weekend series at Warren E. Steller Field. Game one of the East Division series will kick-off at 3 p.m. on Friday with the series concluding on Saturday and Sunday with both games throwing out the first pitch at 1 p.m. Sunday will also be "Senior Day" at Steller Field as the Falcons will pay tribute to their three graduating seniors. BG can also wrap-up a birth in the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2002 this weekend if they can keep Miami from making up a game and a half on them and the Bulls from making up two games as currently hold a four and a half-game lead on the RedHawks and a five-game lead on the Bulls.
Complete Release in PDF Format
COVERAGE
Live Statistics: Gametracker (www.bgsufalcons.com)
Television; BCSN (Saturday only)
THE OPPONENT
Buffalo enters this weekend's East Division series as losers of six-straight as they're 2-8 in their last 10 games ... the Bulls currently sit in last place in the East with a 13-32 overall record and a 6-14 league mark ... despite their league record, the Bulls have earned some quality weekend series wins over Central Michigan, Miami and Akron, while out of conference their biggest win of the season came against the now 26-20 Salukis of Southern Illinois back in March in San Antonio, Texas ... the Bulls came into the week 12th in the MAC in team batting average with a .257 average, while their team ERA ranked 10th at 6.15 ... in the field, UB ranks ninth with a .952 fielding pecentage ... leading the way at the plate for the Bulls is junior second baseman Brian Randazzo who has a .308 average on the year with three homers and 19 RBI ... designated hitter Chris Ciesla then has a team-best 29 RBI, while first baseman Nick Walczak has a team-best six homers ... on the mound, Friday starter Mike Stangroom has a MAC-leading 2.85 ERA as opponents have hit just .235 against him ... overall the UB pitching staff has 265 total strikeouts and has a batting average against of .301 ... the Bulls are coached by second-year head coach Ron Torgalski.
SERIES HISTORY
This weekend will mark just the 23rd, 24th and 25th all-time meetings between the Falcons and Bulls in a series that started back in 2000 ... BGSU leads the all-time series 16-6-0, including a 12-3-0 mark at Warren E. Steller Field ... last season, the Bulls took 2-of-3 from the Falcons in a May series at Steller Field as UB won game one 2-1, before BG came back with a 9-7 in game two, but fell 14-3 in the rubber contest on Sunday ... Derek Spencer hit .364 in last season's series as he went 4-for-11 at the plate and had three RBI, while Ryan Shay was 3-for-11 with an RBI.
FALCON QUICK HITS
• The Falcons' win over Eastern Michigan on Tuesday was the first victory for the Falcons in the series with the Eagles in six contests.
• In their 18-4 game one victory at Ohio, BG hit eight homers, which tied the school record they set just three weeks earlier in their game one win at Ball State. The Falcons now have three games this season where they've hit five or more homers in a game as they've hit 43 of their 53 homers in the last 18 games. That includes four homers against Eastern Michigan on Tuesday.
• With their sweep of Ohio University this past weekend, the Falcons moved ahead of both last season's MAC win total and their overall win total. BG, who now stands 24-18 overall 10-8 in the MAC went 22-32 overall last season and 7-20 in the MAC.
• Ryan Shay has now recorded a hit in 38 of the Falcons' 42 games this season and in 38 of the 41 games he has played in.
• Bowling Green has hit .336 this season on the road and out-scored their opponents, 187-164. Ryan Shay has hit .438 on the road, while Derek Spencer has hit .405 with eight homers and 29 RBI.
• The Falcons have hit .338 this season in non-conference play. Ryan Shay has a team-best .464 clip in non-conference tilts, while Derek Spencer leads the Falcons in non-conference RBI with 25.
• In 11 mid-week games (doesn't include Florida trip), the Falcons own an 8-3 record as they've hit .374 as a unit and out-scored their opponents 135-80 in those games.
• In those 11 mid-week games, opposing starting pitchers have a 1-5 record and 12.27 ERA, while BG's starters had a 4-1 record and 4.09 ERA.
• The Falcons are 14-10 this season in non-conference action as they are 5-2 at home, 7-4 on the road and 2-4 at neutral sites.
• BG is 12-6 this season when hitting a home run and 11-12 when they don't hit a long ball. On the flip side, they are 14-8 when holding the opposition without a homer and 9-10 when they allow their opponent to go yard.
• Since 2001, the Falcons are 152-4 when leading a game after the eighth inning, including a 22-0 mark this season.
• BG has hit .342 as team this season with runners in scoring position as they have nine batters with 10 or more hits in those situations. Leading the way is Derek Spencer, who has 21 hits with runners on second and third.
• Derek Spencer has collected 16 two-out RBI this season. That total alone would place him ninth on the team in RBI.
• In pinch hitting situations this season, BG is 20-for-52 (.385). Pacing the pinch hitters is Marty Baird, who is a perfect 4-for-4 on the year when pinch hitting. David Borcherdt then is 3-for-8 (.375).
IS THIS THE BEST YOU GOT?
Normally when a team puts their Friday ace pitcher on the mound, they're expecting to be able to hold the opposition's offense in check to allow their offense the chance to win the game. However, for BG's MAC opponents, this hasn't been the case, as the Falcons haven't been the least bit intimidated by the other team's "Friday guy". Thus far in weekend conference series, opposing Friday starters are just 1-4 against BG as they own an 8.83 ERA. BG has hit a collective .372 against their opponent's Friday starter as they've pounded 11 homers and 21 extra-base hits against them. When comparing that to Saturday, opposing Saturday starters have a 2-3 record and 5.14 ERA, while Sunday starters have a 4-2 record and 4.00 ERA.
SIXTEEN AGAIN
With his hit in Tuesday's win over Eastern Michigan, Ryan Shay moved his current hitting-streak to 16 games for the second time this season. That ties the right-handed batter with his career-long hit streak, which he had set earlier in the year with a 16-game stretch from Mar. 3rd to Apr. 9th. Shay's current streak began back on Apr. 12th when he tallied a hit in game two at Ball State. That streak puts the junior within reach of BG's all-time career hitting-streak leaders. Below is a look at the Falcons' all-time longest hitting-streaks
Player Hitting Streak Season 1. Mike Comba 25 1995 2. Lee Morrison 20 2001 3. Chuck Black 19 1978
SHAY'S RECORD WATCH
Few players in BG history have had the kind of season that Falcon junior Ryan Shay has had at the plate, as the Garden City, Mich. native is closing in on numerous single-season school offensive lists. Here is a look at where he stands on the different lists.
Hits
Shay - 7th - 72
Leader: Aric Christman - 86 (2001)
Doubles
Shay - T-7th - 15
Leader: Len Elias (1999), Tim Newell (2002), Eric Lawson (2005) - 19
Total Bases
Shay - 102
Leader: Kelly Hunt - 168 (2002)
Batting Average
Shay - .414
Leader: Corey Loomis - .404 (2002)
MULTIPLE-HITS AGAIN AND AGAIN
Multiple-hit games have become a common occurence for junior shortstop Ryan Shay this season. Through the Falcons 41 games this season, the Garden City, Mich. native has recorded multiple-hits in 26 of those 42 games, as teams have held him below two hits just 16 times. In the 26 games that Shay has collected multiple-hits, BG is 17-9. Those 26 multiple-hit efforts are the most by a Falcon player since Kelly Hunt recorded 26 multiple-hit games in 2003. Below is a look at the top multiple-hit contributers for BG since 2001.
Player Multiple-Hit Games Season
Corey Loomis 29 2001
Aric Christman 27 2002
Len Elias 26 2002
Kelly Hunt 26 2002
Kelly Hunt 26 2003
Lee Morrison 26 2002
Ryan Shay 26 2008
CANTRELL CONTINUES TO PICK UP THE "W"
Senior captain Nick Cantrell allowed just three runs (one earned) on five hits Tuesday to help the Falcons to a 15-5 win over Eastern Michigan in mid-week non-conference action. The effort earned the Waldo, Ohio native his seventh victory of the season and the 18th victory of his career. Cantrell now stands a single win shy of entering the Falcons' top-10 single-season wins list and is five shy of tying Jason Kelley for the all-time single-season win mark of 12, which he set back in 1999. The right-hander's 18th career win then places him fourth on the career wins list and a win short of tying Jason Tippie (1993-96) for third on the list with 19 career wins. Kip Young (1973-76) is the all-time BG career wins leader with 37, while Jason Kelley (1996-99) is second with 22.
HANGBERS AND SHAY ON THE PUTOUT
Two of the Falcons' everyday players have slowly and silently been moving their way up some career BGSU defensive categorie lists. Junior shortstop Ryan Shay, who has 109 assists on the season, currently has 375 assists in his career, which places him just 12 assists shy of tying Shawn Gillenwater (1987-90) for seventh on the all-time career BGSU assists list and 17 assists shy of Brian Cannon (1995-98) for sixth. On the opposite end of an assist is a putout and junior Brian Hangbers has 318 of those on the year, which has him now at 602 for his career. That total places the left-handed first baseman just 63 putouts shy of tying Garry Kohorst (1974-77) for eighth on the all-time career putout list.
MR. APRIL - Derek Spencer
It was a big month of April for Falcon sophomore Derek Spencer. The Oregon, Ohio native hit .471 for the month, going 32-for-68 at the plate in 20 games played and 17 started. He produced seven doubles, one triple, seven homers and 26 RBI for the month as he slugged .912 and racked up 62 total bases. On the season, Spencer has hit .397 as he has 50 hits in 126 plate appearances.
Spencer's Month of April
11-for-21 (.524) against left-handers
21-for-47 (.447) against right-handers
17-for-40 (.425) with runners on base
12-for-17 (.706) when leading an inning off at the plate
13-for-29 (.448) with runners in scoring position
9-for-24 (.375) with two outs and nine two-out RBI
SCHMITZ IN SELECT COACHING COMPANY
Bowling Green head coach Danny Schmitz is already known around the MAC and the region for his accomplishments over the last 18 years in the Falcon dugout, however, this past week he joined an exclusive coaching list. In a list compiled by college baseball sports information directors around the country, with the help of Tom Riordan at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, it was found that Schmitz is just one of 21 active Division I head coaches to have played in the College World Series during their playing days. Below is the complete listing.
Coach Coaches At Played For
Danny Schmitz Bowling Green Eastern Michigan
Mike Fox North Carolina North Carolina
Rob Cooper Wright State Miami (Fla.)
Ed Blankmeyer St. John's Seton Hall
Bob Hirschfield NY Tech St. John's
Mike Bianco Mississippi LSU
Mike Gillespie UC Irvine Southern Cal
Ed Sprague Pacific Stanford
Rex Peters UC Davis Cal State Fullerton
Steve Rousey Cal State Northridge Cal State Fullerton
George Horton Oregon Cal State Fullerton
Willie Gawlick UT Pan American UT Pan American
Tony Skole East Tennessee The Citadel
Jack Leggett Clemson Maine
Dan McDonnell Louisville The Citadel
Steve Rodriguez Pepperdine Pepperdine
Mark Machtolf Gonzaga Stanford
Mark Marquess Stanford Stanford
David Esquer California Stanford
John Cohen Kentucky Mississippi State
Joe Carbone Ohio Ohio
IN TWENTY-FOUR FALCON WINS ....
• BGSU out-scored its' opponents 251-123.
• BGSU hit .356 as a team and had a team ERA 4.05.
• BGSU had a fielding percentage of .962 and committed 37 errors to 47 for the opposition.
• BGSU had 31 stolen bases in 43 attempts with Ryan Shay going 8-for-10 and Andrew Foster going 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts.
• Ryan Shay hit .423, while Derek Spencer hit .417.
• Derek Spencer had six homers and 30 RBI, while Brian Hangbers had eight homers and 30 RBI.
• BGSU's opponents hit just .251 and scored just 98 total earned runs.
• BGSU as a team hit 44 home runs.
• BGSU had 11 sacrifice flys and 23 sacrifice hits.
• BGSU had 80 two-out RBI.
• BGSU hit .367 with runners in scoring position.
• BGSU hit .360 in pinch hitting situations.
• Nick Cantrell had an 0.86 ERA, 7-0 record and 32 strikeouts as opponents hit .143 against him.
IN EIGTHTEEN FALCON LOSSES ....
• BGSU hit .273 as a team and had a team ERA of 8.49.
• BGSU had a fielding percentage of .952 and committed 34 errors to just 20 for their opponents.
• BGSU had 11 stolen bases in 14 attempts with Ryan Shay going 4-for-5 in stolen base attempts.
• BGSU had five sacrifice flys and 14 sacrifice hits.
• Ryan Shay hit .400, while Clay Duncan hit .389 in 18 at bats.
• Charles Wooten led the Falcon pitching staff with a 4.40 ERA.
• Opposing teams had a .358 average and a team ERA of 3.83.
• Opposing pitchers allowed just 69 earned runs.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS AGAIN
In their May 3rd 18-4 victory over Ohio University, the Falcons for the second time this season recorded eight homers in a game, which broke the all-time single-game record of seven homers that they had set three seperate times with the last coming in 2002. A total of 15 of BG `s 18 runs in the contest came from the long ball, as both Andrew Foster and Dennis Vaughn went deep in the game twice, accounting for half of the eight homers.
