Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
MICHIGAN
Falcons Earn 500th Win For Head Coach Danny Schmitz With 8-3 Victory At Michigan
March 31, 2009 | Baseball
March 31, 2009
ANN ARBOR, MICH. - The Bowling Green State University baseball team scored three runs on four hits with two outs in the first inning and never looked back in posting an 8-3 win over Michigan at Fisher Stadium Tuesday afternoon. With the win, BG's second this season over a Big Ten opponent, Bowling Green head coach Danny Schmitz became only the fifth baseabll coach in Mid-American Conference history to reach 500 wins. Schmitz is 500-453-4 in 19 seasons at BGSU.
The Falcons added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings before Michigan made its only dent in the scoreboard with three runs in the seventh. But, BG added an insurance run in the eighth and tacked on two more runs in the ninth.
In the first inning, freshman Patrick Martin doubled between a ground out and a pop up. Senior Brian Hangbers, also the starting and winning pitcher, then singled through the right side to drive in Martin. Junior Logan Meisler then singled to right field and when freshman Jon Berti was hit by a pitch, BG had the bases loaded against Wolverine starter Brandon Sinnery. Junior Mark Galvin then extended his hitting streak to 13 games driving in Hangbers and Meisler with a single to right field.
In the fifth, Martin greeted UM relief pitcher Matt Miller by hitting his first home run of the season to right center and the Falcons made it 5-0 in the sixth inning when Galvin walked with one out and scored when Michigan botched BG's sacrifice attempt and then Wolverine third baseman John Lorenz did not catch a pick off attempt at third allowing Galvin to score.
Michigan's Mike Dufek led off the seventh inning against Falcon reliever Ross Gerdeman with a home run to center field and the Wolverines added two more runs minutes later when Alan Oaks homered to left field after Jake McLouth had walked.
But, that would be all Michigan would get on this day.
The Falcons put one on the board in the eighth when Meisler walked and Berti was safe on a bunt single. Galvin moved both runners up one base with a sacrifice against Dufek, who had just entered the game in relief of Miller. Sophomore Ryan Schlater then flew out to right field to drive in Meisler.
In the final frame, after the first two batters were retired, junior Tyler Elkins doubled to left center and came home on pinch hitter Derek Spencer's single up the middle that the UM center fielder misplayed and Spencer ended up on third base. Senior Ryan Price ran for Spencer and scored when Meisler reached on an infield single up the middle.
Hangbers went the first three innings retiring the first eight batters he faced before giving up his only hit, a single. He had two strike outs in his three innings of work while throwing only 32 pitches to get his nine outs.
Gerdeman worked 3.2 innings and had allowed just one hit in his first three innings before running into trouble in the seventh. Senior Dusty Hawk entered with two outs in the seventh and the last UM out in the frame came when Schlater threw out Anthony Toth attempting to steal second. Hawk retired six of the seven hitters he faced in the last two innings without allowing a hit to earn his second save of the season.
Offensively, Meisler led the way going 3-for-4 with an RBI while Martin, Elkins and Galvin all collected a pair of hits. Galvin was the only BG player with more than one RBI with two on his first-inning single. Martin and Meisler scored a pair of runs apiece.
The Falcons improve to 11-12 on the season with the victory while Michigan, the three-time defending Big Ten champions, is now 16-8.
With the victory, Schmitz joins Western Michigan's Fred Decker (1976-04, 791 wins), Ohio's Joe Carbone (1989-present, 596), Toledo Stan Sanders (1970-81/1983-92, 534) and Central Michigan's Dean Kreiner (1986-98, 516) as the only baseball coaches in the 62-year history of the Mid-American Conference to reach the 500-win milestone.
"The 500th win is shared by all the current and former players and assistant coaches," Schmitz said after the game. "This milestone was made possible by all of their hard work in building the Falcon baseball tradition."
BG is now idle until this weekend when they head back out on the road for a three-game weekend series against Central Michigan beginning with a 3:05 p.m. contest on Friday afternoon in Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
