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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcon Baseball Team Opens Season At Western Carolina
February 17, 2009 | Baseball
Feb. 17, 2009
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO -
Baseball Notes/Stats (vs. Western Carolina) 
Games #1-3
Bowling Green (0-0, 0-0 MAC) at Western Carolina (0-0, 0-0 SoCon)
Feb. 20-22, 2009 • Cullowhee, N.C. (Hennon Stadium - 1,500) • 4:00 - Friday; 2:00 - Saturday; 1:00 - Sunday
FALCONS GET 2009 CAMPAIGN GOING
The Bowling Green State University baseball team begins its 91st season of intercollegiate play this weekend with a road series at Western Carolina. Bowling Green is coming off a 2008 season in which they posted a 32-20 overall record and a mark of 16-8 in Mid-American Conference play. Bowling Green shared the MAC East Division title with Kent State and the two programs shared the MAC championship as the team with the best regular-season record.
ONE LAST LOOK BACK
The Falcons earned their fourth MAC regular-season title and fifth East Division championship with a late-season run. BG was 20-19 overall and 7-8 in conference play after an April 27 loss at Miami. The turnaround started with a weekend sweep on the road at Ohio in which they won big (18-4 in the series opener), and then after a rain out, swept a Sunday doubleheader by scores of 3-2 and 7-5. After a non-league win over Eastern Michigan, BG swept a three-game set from Buffalo, two of those games one-run victories. After another one-run victory over Xavier in a nonconference encounter, the Falcons swept the final series of the regular season at Akron, winning on the final day of the season by a 4-3 count to earn the division and regular-season MAC titles. The Falcons qualified for their eighth conference tournament after their successful regular season. The Falcons won their final 11 regular-season games and then captured their first tournament game to push the winning streak to 12 games. As is the case most of the time in baseball, pitching was the difference in the late-season run as the BG staff compiled a 4.40 ERA in its last 14 games (12-2 record in those 14 games) after having a 6.17 ERA to that point in the season. The Falcons captured a one-run victory (5-4) over Ohio in their first tournament game before losing an 11-4 decision to Eastern Michigan and a 7-3 decision to Ohio, in 13 innings, to end their magical season. The Falcons led the MAC in hitting (.321, 32nd nationally), sacrifice bunts (44) and double plays (59). They were third in slugging percentage (.494) and on-base percentage (.392) and were fourth in runs (415, 30th nationally), hits (610), RBI (375), doubles (121, 24th nationally) and stolen bases (51). BG was 14th in the country turning 1.13 double plays per game.
WHAT THEY LOST
Bowling Green had only three seniors last season, but they all played big roles in the MAC title season. The only position player the Falcons lost was outfielder Andrew Foster who was second on the team hitting .361 with 38 RBI and 48 runs scored while he tied for the team lead with 25 extra-base hits. Foster led the team with a .389 average in MAC play. Pitchers Nick Cantrell and Brett Browning played important roles, mostly as relievers, and were at their best late in the season when BG was making its late-season rush. Cantrell led the staff with a 4.60 ERA and had an 8-4 record in a team-high 22 appearances that covered 58.2 innings. Browning made 19 appearances covering 37.1 innings and tied for the team lead with three saves. The Falcons also lost starting pitcher Kevin Light when he signed a free agent contract with the Washington Nationals last summer. Light made 12 starts and posted a 4-4 record with a 5.48 ERA. The Falcons will also be without pitcher Kevin Leady who had surgery and will red-shirt this season. Leady started 11 games and made 19 total appearances posting a 3-4 record with a 5.03 ERA and three saves in 62.2 innings last season. Between the four pitchers the Falcons lost, they threw a total of 222.1 innings last season, almost half the innings thrown for the season.
WHAT RETURNS
While there are some question marks heading into the season on the pitching side of the ledger, there are not many question marks in the field or at the plate. BG returns all but one position player, outfielder Andrew Foster, from a year ago when they were one of the top hitting teams in the conference. Bowling Green hit eight home runs in two games, both MAC contest, last season to set the school record. And, while the lineup should not have any problems scoring runs, the infield returns intact from a season in which they tied for the MAC lead with 59 double plays and their average of 1.13 double plays per game was 14th in the country.
SHAY AMONG TOP RETURNEES
Senior Ryan Shay had a breakout season a year ago and more of the same is expected this season from one of the top players in the MAC. Shay, the Falcon shortstop, came into last season with a .255 career average. All he did as a junior was set the school record and lead the MAC in hitting at .412 (22nd in the nation) and his 87 hits set a school standard and led the league. Shay was also among the MAC leaders in on-base percentage (.481, 2nd), doubles (19, .37 doubles per game, 5th, tied the school record), stolen bases (15, .29 steals per game, 6th), total bases (121, 2.33 per game, 10th, eighth in school history) and runs scored (53, 1.02 per game, 10th, 6th in school history). Shay earned first-team All-Mideast and All-MAC honors a year ago. The Garden City, Mich. native hit safely in 46 of the 52 games that included a 16-game hitting streak and a 17-game streak, both among the top five in school history. He had 31 multi-hit games a year ago and nine multi-RBI contests. He was recently tabbed as one of the top seven shortstops in the country by a web site that covers college baseball. Shay is one of the team captains this season.
OTHER SENIORS HAVE BIG ROLE
Three other seniors will have a lot to say about how the Falcons do this season. First baseman/pitcher Brian Hangbers is also one of the captains this season coming off a 2008 campaign in which he hit .331 and knocked in 47 runs (2nd on the team, 5th in the MAC) and scored 49 times (2nd on the team, 4th in the MAC). He led the team with a .622 slugging percentage (7th in the MAC) and was fifth in the MAC in home runs with 13. He was second in the MAC, among players with at least 200 chances, with a .991 fielding percentage. On the mound, he has made 35 appearances in his career, 12 of those starts, and has a 5-6 record in 89 innings of work. He has raised his batting average more than 30 points in each of his first three seasons in the program. Pitcher/outfielder Marty Baird has thrown over 100 innings in his career making 37 appearances and 15 starts. He is a career .261 hitter with almost 300 at-bats in his first three seasons. Dusty Hawk will probably begin the season as the #1 starter and is the most experienced returning pitcher on the staff. Likely to be the closer for the Falcons when the staff is completely healthy, Hawk has started 16 of his 46 career appearances and has thrown 117 innings. One of the team captains, Hawk had a 2.94 ERA over his last 10 appearances (15.2 innings of work) in 2008.
BERRY TO MISS A COUPLE WEEKS
Junior Frank Berry II, who was expected to be the #1 starter this season, had bone spurs removed from his pitching elbow and is expected to miss the first couple weeks this year. Berry made 11 starts in his first year in the program last season after transferring from Longwood University. He led the staff with 70.0 innings of work and compiled a 7-1 record to go along with a 4.76 ERA. He was the opening game starter in all eight MAC series last season and he started the first game of the MAC Tournament for the Falcons. He went five or more innings in seven of his nine starts against MAC teams. His seven wins was the second-best total in the conference. He also is a career .264 hitter.
THE REST OF THE INFIELD
Besides seniors Ryan Shay and Brian Hangbers, the other two players on the infield also excel in the field and at the plate. Logan Meisler returns at second base after hitting .327 with 24 RBI and 27 runs scored. Meisler hit safely in 32 of the 46 games he played in and was second on the team to Shay (146 assists) with 131 assists. Derek Spencer returns at third base after enjoying a 2008 that earned him first-team All-MAC honors. Spencer hit .360, eighth in the MAC, with a team-high 54 RBI (third in the MAC, tied for eighth in school history). He tied for the team lead with 25 extra-base hits and was 10th in the MAC in slugging percentage (.613). He has a career batting average of .374 and has hit .380 in league play over his first two seasons. He led the team with 21 two-out RBI in 2008. Also expected to see time this season on the infield is sophomore Clay Duncan (.327 last season in 49 AB), at third base, senior Ryan Price (.250 last season in 16 AB), at either of the middle infield spots, and freshman Jon Berti. Duncan and Berti could also see playing time in the outfield.
SCHLATER WILL BE BEHIND PLATE
Sophomore Ryan Schlater started 35 games behind the plate last season and returns as the starter. He hit .266 last season with 13 RBI while he made only two errors in 190 chances. Junior Tyler Elkins, who did not play last season after undergoing surgery, will also see time behind the plate. He came to BG after playing two seasons at John Logan Junior College. Freshman Matt Vannett could also earn some playing time behind the plate this season.
VETS IN THE OUTFIELD, TOO
The Falcon outfield will also be a strong point of the team, returning two starters from a year ago and another player who started 30 games. Mark Galvin started 25 games in left field and 18 in right field last season. The junior hit .339 with 36 RBI and 30 runs scored ending the season with an eight-game hitting streak. Junior T.J. Blanton hit .341 before his 2008 season was cut short by a broken tibia suffered when he fouled a ball off his left leg about halfway through the season. He has fully recovered and should be a key player for the Falcons, probably as the regular center fielder. Junior Dennis Vaughn started 30 games last season, 20 in left field, hitting .286 with 27 RBI. Junior David Borcherdt (.294 last season with 34 AB, 3 HR) and red-shirt freshman Patrick Martin could also see some playing time in the outfield this season.
THE REST OF THE STAFF
Besides Dusty Hawk, the other starters early in the season are expected to be sophomores Matt Malewitz and Brennan Smith. Malewitz is in his first season in the program after transferring from Grand Rapids C.C. where the left-hander was 5-3 with a 3.30 ERA. Smith appeared in 18 games last season making four starts and compiling a 3-2 record. He had a 7.49 ERA in 39.2 innings of work. Sophomore Charles Wooten is expected to be the "closer" in the early going. The right-hander made 19 relief appearances last season working 34.0 innings with a 5.56 ERA.
WESTERN CAROLINA NOTES
The Catamounts have 20 letterwinners returning, four of those starters in the field and they also return two starting pitchers. WCU returns both its middle infielders, juniors Brent Greer and Nick Liles. Greer, the shortstop, was third on the team hitting .352 with 38 RBI and 55 runs scored while Liles hit .346 with 19 doubles and 58 runs scored. Both Liles and Greer were picked on the preseason all-conference team. Other returning starters are junior third baseman Tyler Kirkpatrick (.258, 8 HR, 35 RBI) and senior outfielder J.C Lyons (.273, 13 HR, 53 RBI). The top returning pitcher is senior Mike Tavernier, a right-hander, who was 4-5 last season with a 4.65 ERA in 71.2 innings. Senior Corey Martin also returns after posting a 2-2 record while making nine starts. Junior left-hander Chris Masters was a preseason all-conference pick after posting an 8-4 record with a 4.24 ERA in 68.0 innings or work. Masters made 28 appearances, but only one start. Western Carolina has made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1985 with the last in 2007. They have captured 11 Southern Conference titles and nine conference tournament titles in their history. Head coach Bobby Moranda is in his second season heading the Catamounts program. WCU hit .310 as a team a year ago and had a 6.33 team ERA. They averaged 8.1 runs per game. They scored in double digits 21 times. WCU was picked sixth in the Southern Conference preseason poll.
FALCON BLOOP SINGLES
BG and Western Carolina will be meeting for the first time on the diamond...BG was a good road team last season posting a 16-8 record in all games and a 9-3 mark in conference contests...BG's 16 road wins last season was one off the school record set by the 1999 team...BG begins the season with a six-game road winning streak...the Falcons are 3-7 in their last 10 season openers...under head coach Danny Schmitz, BG is 8-10 in their first game of the season...this season will be the eighth-straight year the Falcons will head south to play a three-game series against the same opponent to open the season...BG has an 11-9 record in those seven three-game series (one game was rained out)...the Falcons were 20-1 last season when holding the opposition to five runs or less...BG had a 25-2 record last season when leading after six innings...BG scored more than half of their runs for the season in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings in 2008...BG scored 214 of their 415 runs in those four innings...BG averaged 7.98 runs per game last season and had a 5.67 team ERA...BG went 31-14 in its last 45 games last season after starting the year winning one of its first seven games...BG hit .335 as a team in nonleague play last season...BG hit .338 as a team on the road last season and outscored their opponents, 218-183...Ryan Shay hit .437 on the road last season while Derek Spencer hit.404 with nine homers and 35 RBI...BG was 15-10 last season in nonconference games, 7-4 on the road...since 2001, BG is 157-4 when leading after eight innings...last season they were a perfect 27-0 in that situation...the 12-game winning streak last season was the second-longest in school history...the 1976 team carved out a 13-game streak to establish the standard.
NEXT WEEK
The Falcons have a weekend series at Big East foe Louisville, the defending conference tournament champion. The two programs will play single games on Friday (2:00, Feb. 27), Saturday (1:00, Feb. 28) and Sunday (1:00, March 1). The Cardinals feature junior third baseman Chris Dominguez, who is one of the top players in the country. Dominguez, who hit .365 with 21 home runs and 75 RBI last season, was tabbed as the preseason national player of the year by The Sporting News and has been a preseason first-team All-America selection by several publications. Louisville was 41-21 last season and made their second successive NCAA Tournament appearance.
