Bowling Green State University Athletics
Above is Taylor Rhoades, one of the Falcons' eight new freshmen on the 2010 baseball team
Falcons Welcome Eight Freshman to 2010 Squad
November 25, 2009 | Baseball
Toward the latter end of the 2009 season, five high school seniors signed their letters of intent with the Bowling Green Falcon baseball team planning to play this season. Since that time, four new Falcons have been added to the baseball family. Now introducing…
Michael Frank, RHP, 6-3, 184, Maumee, Ohio/Anthony Wayne High School - A three-year letterwinning product of AWHS head coach and former Falcon assistant coach, Mark Nell, Frank turned in fantastic junior and senior years for the Generals of Anthony Wayne. After a junior year which he spotlighted a 0.88 earned-run average, Frank was named to the Division I All-State Honorable Mention team. Frank was named team captain and won team co-MVP honors after his senior year following a season where he had a 1.82 ERA over 82.2 innings pitched. He was near an 11:1 strikeout to walk ratio after sitting down 102 batters via strike out as opposed to walking only nine batters that year. He was named to the Division I Second Team All-State after his senior year. Frank was also named to the Division I First Team All-District his junior and senior seasons. While playing for Anthony Wayne High School, his teams won NLL championships in 2006 and 2007 in addition to being 2008 and 2009 district champions. He also was a three year member of the Whitehouse Legion summer baseball team.
Schmitz on Frank: “He has been taught very well. He had an outstanding fall for us. We feel he will help us out on the mound right from the get go. It could be in one of any three types of situations. He could be a middle relief guy; he could be a closer; he could even be a starting pitcher. He will probably get looks at all three at some point in time. He is a pretty polished guy.”
Taylor Rhoades, Middle Infield, 6-1, 170, Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrensville South - Rhoades batted .400 after going 44-for-110 including 24 extra base hits during his senior year. He hit six homeruns and four triples en route to a .695 slugging-percentage and an on-base percentage of .440 that season. Rhoades pulled home four different awards both on and off the diamond after the 2009 season, including the Silver Slugger Award, First Team All-Area, Academic All-Conference and First Team All-Conference. In 2009, he led his team onto a regional championship. His junior year featured a batting average of .350 after hitting 28-for-80 including nine extra-base hits. Over his last two years at Wheaton Warrensville South High School, he struck out a combined 14 times over 190 at-bats, once every 13.5 trips to the plate. Rhoades also stole 14 bases and walked 14 times over that span.
Schmitz on Rhoades: “Taylor attended our winter camp last January and caught our attention as a middle infielder. With the absence of Logan Meisler recovering from surgery this offseason, Taylor got a lot of reps at second base. We kind of shifted him from shortstop to second base and he performed very well. As the fall program went on, he started developing more each and every day so we're excited to see him here.”
Andrew Kuns, 6-2, 185, Oregon, Ohio / Oregon Clay High School - As a three-sport award-winning athlete, Kuns was a two-year letterman for the Eagles baseball team under head coach Karl Knierim. Contributing on the mound and in the field as a junior, he batted a team-high .434 on the year while driving home 28 runs. From the mound, Kuns had a record of 5-1 with a 0.99 ERA. Those statistics earned him First Team All-Toledo City League and First Team All-Press honors. Kuns was also named to the All-Academic team. During his senior year, he again hit for the team's best batting average (.450) and drove in 15 RBI to earn team MVP honors. On the mound, he played a key role in winning the City League Championship when he was brought in for a seven inning relief effort to solidify a 6-5 win to advance the Eagles to the finals, where he threw a perfect inning to close out an 8-6 win to hoist the city championship. He was named to Team Ohio, a state all-star team chosen to play teams from all 50 states in America in Norman, Okla. Named the 2009 City League Player of the Year, Kuns also was named to the First Team All-Ohio, First Team All-District and First Team All-City League teams after his senior season. He was also recognized by the Toledo Blade newspaper as the first male athlete to earn All-City first team awards for three different sports (baseball, football and basketball) in over 22 years. Kuns was a two-year starter for the Oregon Clay football team where he set 11 different school records at quarterback and a four-year started for the Eagles' basketball team playing both guard and forward.
Schmitz on Kuns: “Andrew Kuns is from an outstanding baseball program in Oregon Clay High School. You know you are getting a quality young man because it is such a great program run by coach [Karl] Knierim. He was brought in to swing the bat. We're hoping he can be a middle-of-the-lineup type hitter before he leaves Bowling Green. After a typical freshman fall, we see Andrew making great strides over at first base.”
Mike Fahle, C, 6-0, 200, Woodville, Ohio / Woodmore High School - Fahle was extended an invitation to the team after completing walk-on tryout this offseason and making an immediate impact on the Bowling Green coaching staff. A four-year letterwinner as a catcher for Woodmore High School, Fahle stood out best during his junior year where he batted .365 on the season with five homeruns and driving in 30 runs for the Wildcats. During his senior season, he added four more homeruns to his career resume from the right side of the plate en route to WHS winning the district title. To end his junior and senior campaigns, Fahle hit homeruns in each of his last at-bats for the year. While participating in the Brown versus Orange World Series this fall, Fahle went 2-3 and drove in an run on an RBI double in game two of the series.
Schmitz on Fahle: “Mike was a young man who attended our winter camp last year. He caught our eye there in camp and decided he wanted to walk on here at Bowling Green. We decided to keep Mike all fall and we gave him an opportunity to go head-to-head against our players. We started playing some intersquad games as well as the World Series and he came up with some big hits. Mike performed well enough that the entire coaching staff wanted to keep him around.”
In addition to the four above-mentioned players to be joining the 2010 team, four other freshmen had signed with the Falcons during last season's early signing period.
Cody Apthorpe, RHP, 6-5, 185, Windham, Ohio/Windham High School - Apthorpe is a three-year letterwinner who had a 6-1 record with a 1.40 ERA as a junior. Also hit a school-record .615 with six home runs and 33 RBI. As a junior, he earned first-team all-league honors in basketball, in which he was also an all-state pick, and golf as well as baseball. In the first three years of his high school career, Apthorpe has earned a letter in all three sports. He has a career record of 17-2 with a 1.45 ERA in baseball. Last summer, playing for the Ohio Thunder, Apthorpe appeared in eight games, starting seven, and had a 5-2 record with a 2.65 ERA with 43 strikeouts in the 42.1 innings of work. He has played on several "big stages" including the semifinals of the state basketball and baseball tournaments. Apthorpe has served as his class president as a sophomore, junior and senior while he is also a National Honor Society member.
Schmitz on Apthorpe: "Cody is an outstanding student-athlete with a high ceiling. We feel he will only get better as he grows into his 6-5 frame. Cody is as steady as they come. You know what you are going to get every time you give him the ball."
Nick Bruns, RHP, 6-1, 165, St. Henry, Ohio/St. Henry High School - Bruns had a 4-4 record in 52.2 innings as a junior with a 2.26 ERA. He also had four saves and 83 strikeouts. He earned first-team all-state honors at the utility position (he hit .413 with 29 runs scored and 25 RBI) and was a first-team all-league selection. As a junior, he earned second-team all-conference honors.
Schmitz on Bruns: "Nick has a work ethic that is contagious. He is a bulldog-type pitcher that hates to lose. He has the athletic ability to be a dual player at this level and will have a chance to do so either in the outfield or in the middle infield."
Patrick O'Brien, RHP, 6-2, 195, Boardman, Ohio/Boardman High School - A three-year letterwinner in baseball, O'Brien was 6-2 last season with a 1.80 ERA in 58 innings of work. He had 57 strikeouts while also hitting .350 and playing the middle infield position. He also was an all-league selection. O'Brien was 4-2 last summer in the Youngstown Class B League with a 2.41 ERA in 32.0 innings or work. His brother, Richie, is a red-shirt sophomore pitcher for BGSU.
Schmitz on O'Brien: "We look for Patrick to be able to come in and help us right away on the mound. He has a great cut fastball that he can throw for strikes any time in the count. Patrick is another player that is talented enough to be a dual player and will have the chance to do so at a corner position in the infield."
Matt Pitzulo, SS, 5-11, 175, Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary High School - As a junior, was named the Metro Athletic Conference Player of the Year hitting .590, second-best in school history, with 52 hits and 39 runs scored. He added 29 RBI and nine stolen bases. As a sophomore, he hit .426 earning first-team all-conference honors, and was a second-team all-league selection as a freshman hitting .320 with six triples. The last two summers he has hit over .400 playing in the Youngstown Class B League.
Schmitz on Pitzulo: "Matt is the kind of player that you want to build your team around. He is a hard-working, blue collar type of player. He has a great knowledge for how to play the game. Matt is what you want in a middle infielder. He isn't afraid to take control and be the "coach" on the field. We also feel Matt is one of the best left-handed bats in the state."
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