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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Baseball Team Hosts Ohio University This Weekend
April 30, 2009 | Baseball
April 30, 2009
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO -
BGSU Baseball Notes/Stats (vs. Ohio) 
This Weekend
Fri. - Sun., May 1-3
Ohio at Bowling Green
Steller Field (1,100) - Friday (3 p.m.) - Saturday/Sunday (1 p.m.)
FALCONS HOST OHIO IN KEY EAST DIVISION BATTLE
The Bowling Green State University baseball team will host Ohio University this weekend in a key Mid-American Conference East Division series. The three-game series will be played at Steller Field with games on Friday (3 p.m.), Saturday (1 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.). Ohio begins the weekend in second place in the East with a 13-5 record while the Falcons are 2.5 games behind the Bobcats at 10-7. First-place Kent State (13-4) and third-place Miami (11-7) are both on the road this weekend with KSU at Buffalo and Miami playing at Akron.
SERIES INFORMATION
Ohio owns an 80-57-1 series edge over Bowling Green...the teams played five times last season, three times in the regular season and twice in the MAC Tournament, with BG taking four of the meetings, including a sweep of the regular season series at Ohio...there were two one-run games and a two-run contest among the five games last season...BG has won six of the last eight series games and has won the series from the Bobcats the last two times they have played in Bowling Green - 2007 (BG, 3-0) and 2002 (BG, 3-1).
FALCONS LOSE AT NOTRE DAME IN ONLY MID-WEEK GAME
After having their Tuesday game against Toledo rained out, Bowling Green took to the road for a game against Notre Dame on Wednesday. The Fighting Irish scored seven runs in the fourth inning and that was the difference in an 11-6 Falcon loss. BG had taken the early lead with three runs in the first inning as junior Derek Spencer had a two-run single and freshman Jon Berti drove in a run on a fielder's choice. Notre Dame took the lead for good at 9-3 after their big inning. BG closed to 9-6 with three runs in the sixth, but BG would get only two hits over the last three innings. Elkins had three hits and a pair of RBI while Spencer also had two RBI. BG was held to eight hits in the game, the first time in the last 10 games they have been held under double digits. Sophomore Kyle Atkinson started and suffered his first loss of the season.
WHAT'S AHEAD
The baseball team has three weeks left in the regular season and will play seven of their final 10 games at home beginning this weekend with Ohio. BG will be on the road at Buffalo (May 8-10) for their next-to-last MAC weekend next week and then they finish their league schedule at home against Akron (May 14-16).
SMITH IN MAC/NCAA LEADERS
Sophomore right-hander Brennan Smith has emerged as one of the top starters in the MAC. He is coming off his worst performance of the season last week against Miami, but no pitcher was successful in the 20-30 mile-per-hour winds that were blowing out. Smith went only 2.1 innings allowing eight hits and 11 runs, six earned. It was his shortest stint of the season in getting a no-decision. Smith, who has won six of his last eight starts, has not given up more than eight hits in any start, and before last weekend, had not given up more than four runs. The Sandusky, Ohio native is 6-1 with two no-decisions in his last nine starts with a 3.10 ERA allowing just 38 hits (6.54 per nine innings) in 52.1 innings of work. Over those same nine starts, Smith has 50 strike outs (8.61 per nine innings) and the opposition is batting only .199 against him. Smith has been dominant in the games he has won compiling a miniscule 1.02 ERA in his six wins this season. He has allowed only 24 hits, 19 of those singles, in 44.0 innings of work while striking out 40, an average of 8.18 strike outs per nine innings. In his six wins, he is allowing only 4.91 hits per nine innings. Smith has a 9.56 ERA in his three losses, two of those coming the first two weekends of the season, and two no-decisions. Smith is 6-3 on the season with a 3.30 ERA, first in the MAC, with opposition hitters batting only .217 against him, the best figure in the league. He is averaging 8.1 strike outs per nine innings. In league play, he is 4-1 with a 3.52 ERA, fourth in the MAC. He pitched the first complete game of his career in a 9-2 decision April 17 at Kent State. Smith, who is the probable starter Friday against Ohio, has limited opposition hitters to a .226 average in league play, the top figure in the conference. Smith is 69th in the country in wins (6) and 51st in hits allowed per nine innings (7.20). He is tied for third in the MAC in innings pitched (60.0) and his six wins ties him with Rex Ingham from Ohio for the most in the league.
ELKINS AMONG BEST IN COUNTRY
Junior Tyler Elkins, who has started at first base, as the designated hitter, and as the catcher this season, continues to swing a hot bat. The Hamilton, Ohio native had three hits in the game Wednesday at Notre Dame to extend his hitting steak to 11 games. During his current streak, he is hitting .469 (23-of-49) with 12 RBI and 12 runs scored. Elkins, who hit safely in 13 consecutive games earlier this season, has now hit safely in 30 of his last 33 games. Elkins leads the team with a .412 average, second in the MAC, for the season and 14 doubles, tied for seventh in the league. He has multiple hits in 20 of the 31 games he has hit safely in this season. He is hitting .403 in MAC play. He is third on the team with 28 RBI while his 19 RBI in league play is second on the team. Elkins is 52nd in the country in the toughest to strike out category averaging one every 14.3 at-bats. Elkins, who transferred to BG from John Logan CC (Ill.) before last season and sat out the 2008 campaign after having surgery, is third on the team with 16 extra-base hits. Elkins has three multiple-hit games in a row and he has two or more hits in seven of the last eight contests. He has hit .500 (19-of-38) in his last eight games.
GALVIN ON A ROLL
Junior outfielder Mark Galvin is seventh on the team with a .321 average. Galvin had a four-game hitting streak end on Wednesday when he went hitless against Notre Dame. Galvin hit .450 (9-for-20) in the four games prior to the Notre Dame contest. Galvin, who hit safely in only two of his first eight games this season (.125, 3-of-25), had a team-best 14-game hitting streak earlier this season during which he hit .400 (22-of-55) with 16 RBI and nine runs scored. Galvin is also third on the team with nine multiple-RBI games this season, including a game with four RBI against Michigan State on March 17 to equal his career high. Galvin has hit safely in 23 of his last 28 contests with a batting average of .367 (40-of-109) over the period. He has hit safely in 25 games this season and is tied for the team lead with three game-winning RBI.
BLANTON A SLUGGING LEADER
Junior outfielder T.J. Blanton, who normally hits ninth in the BG order, is fifth on the team with a .359 average and is second on the team with 18 extra-base hits, including nine doubles and seven home runs. He had a pair of home runs March 25 in the Cleveland State game, the first multi-homer game of his career, and then repeated that effort last Saturday with two home runs against Miami. His .618 slugging percentage is third on the team. The Sandusky, Ohio native has a hit in each of the last four games batting .474 (9-for-19) over the period. He has 32 runs scored, tied for third on the team, and has hit safely in 25 games this season. He has already established career highs in every offensive category. Blanton is hitting .394 in MAC games, fifth on the team, with 19 runs scored, second on the squad. Blanton is second on the team with 10 stolen bases this season.
SHAY AMONG CAREER LEADERS
Senior Ryan Shay, who was a first-team All-MAC and All-Mideast selection in 2008, has picked up where he left off last season. He is hitting .392, tied for fifth in the MAC, with 39 RBI and 51 runs scored, fourth in the league. He leads the team with 25 extra-base hits, which includes 13 doubles and 10 home runs, tied for sixth in the MAC, and a .690 slugging percentage, fifth in the MAC, and a .495 on-base percentage, fourth in the MAC. He also leads the team with 12 stolen bases, tied for seventh in the MAC. The Garden City, Mich. native was a single shy of hitting for the cycle April 22 against Toledo collecting a double, triple and home run while scoring four times. He has hit safely in 17 of the last 20 games hitting .437 (38-of-87) with 26 RBI and 31 runs scored over the period. In addition, in those last 20 games, he has nine doubles, two triples and seven home runs for an .828 slugging percentage to go along with a .533 on-base percentage. In the last 20 games, Shay has an RBI in 14 contests, eight multi-RBI games, and has scored at least one run in 17 games, 10 of those multi-run games, including each of the last five. For the season, he has hit safely in 30 of the 38 games, and 76 of his last 90 contests dating back to the beginning of last season. He has two or more hits in 54 of the 76 games he has hits in over the last season and a half. Shay has hit .404 (149-of-369) since the beginning of the 2008 season with 32 doubles, 15 home runs, 75 RBI and 104 runs scored. He has a .623 slugging percentage since the beginning of last season and a .488 on-base percentage. He is among the BG career leaders in at-bats (695, 2nd), runs scored (158, 4th), hits (232, 4th), doubles (49, t-3rd), assists (545, 2nd), total bases (337, 6th) and games played (193, 8th). He has hit from the lead off spot in all 38 games this season reaching safely leading off the game for BG in 18 of those games (10 hits (five singles, three doubles, two home run), six walks and two hit by pitch). He hit from the top spot in the order last season 48 times and reached safely 26 times (21 hits, four walks, one error) in his first at-bat of the game. Shay hit a home run on the first pitch of the first game this season against Western Carolina. BG has scored at least one run in the first inning of 12 of the 18 games, this season, in which Shay has reached safely in his first at-bat. Shay is hitting .400 in MAC play with 24 RBI, fourth in the MAC, 25 runs scored, third in the MAC, 15 extra-base hits (7 doubles, 7 home runs), an .800 slugging percentage, third in the MAC, and a .500 on-base percentage, tied for eighth in the league.
SPENCER IS RBI LEADER
Junior Derek Spencer, who was a first-team All-MAC selection a year ago, was the MAC's East Division Player of the Week after hitting .706 (12-of-17) last week with six home runs, 10 RBI and 12 runs scored. He his .750 (9-for-12) in the Miami series with five home runs, eight RBI and nine runs scored. Spencer has hit safely in his last six games going 16-for-27 (.593) with 13 RBI and 12 runs scored. He has an RBI in each of the last six contests. The Oregon, Ohio native leads the team with 42 RBI, tied for fourth in the MAC, and is fourth on the team hitting .378. He has hit safely in 29 of the 37 games this season and he has an RBI in 23 contests. Spencer, who leads all BG players with a .375 career batting average, has 18 two-out RBI this season, the team leader. Spencer did not start for three games between March 27-31 because of a hamstring pull, but he has fully recovered from that. Spencer is hitting .408 in MAC play, ninth in the conference, with 18 RBI and 16 runs scored. For the 16 MAC games he has played in, Spencer has a .746 slugging percentage, sixth in the MAC, with seven home runs, tied for second in the conference.
HANGBERS A TRIPLE THREAT
As he has done throughout his career, senior Brian Hangbers can have an affect on the game at the plate, in the field and on the mound. Hangbers is hitting .306 this season. Hangbers is one of the top fielding first basemen in the MAC and has a .981 fielding percentage with just five errors in 268 chances this season. He has a career .986 fielding percentage in 1051 chances. On the mound, he has pitched in nine games, five of those starts, this season and has one save and a 6.97 ERA in 20.2 innings of work. Hangbers has 44 career appearances covering 109.2 innings with a 5.01 ERA. His 28 career home runs is tied for seventh on the BG career top 10 list. He has hit safely in 25 of the 36 games this season. The Hamilton, Ohio native has eight hits in his last 22 at-bats (.364).
MEISLER IS CLUTCH
Junior Logan Meisler is sixth on the team with a .346 batting average. A career .325 hitter, Meisler is tied for fourth on the squad with 27 RBI, 12 of those with two outs. He has hit safely in 27 of the 38 games this season and he has an RBI in 17 contests. Meisler is looking to break out of a mini-slide this weekend as he is batting only .235 (8-of-34) over his last nine games.
MALEWITZ AMONG MAC LEADERS
Sophomore Matt Malewitz has become one of the starters for the Falcons in MAC play this season, normally drawing the starting assignment in the middle game of the series. He is second on the squad in innings pitched (58.1, 5th in the MAC) and ERA (4.47, 5th in the MAC). Malewitz was the East Division Pitcher of the Week (week of March 9-15) for his complete game one-hitter against Northern Iowa on the spring trip. Malewitz was part of a second shutout, on March 28, as he combined with sophomore Charles Wooten on a three-hitter against Northern Illinois. Malewitz, who is 3-1 this season, is 2-0 in MAC play with a 5.80 ERA. Opposition batters are hitting only .248 against Malewitz this season, third in the MAC. Malewitz has gone at least five innings in eight of his 10 starts.
BERTI AMONG TOP FROSH
Freshman Jon Berti has become an integral member of the team in his first season. The Troy, Mich. native is third on the team with a .385 batting average and he leads the team in MAC play hitting .449, third in the MAC. He has 13 RBI in league play in only 49 at-bats while slugging at a .694 clip and he has a .509 on-base percentage, fifth in the MAC. In his last 19 games, he has hit safely in 15 contests with a .446 (25-of-56) average to go along with 16 RBI and 16 runs scored. He has a .732 slugging percentage over his last 19 games and a .549 on-base percentage. Berti is tied for the team lead with three game-winning RBI, including a walk-off three-run homer in the 10th inning against Ball State (April 12), part of a career-best four-RBI game. Berti, a 36th-round draft choice of Oakland in last summer's amateur draft, has showed his versatility this season making starts in left and right field, at shortstop and as the designated hitter. Berti comes into this weekend with a season-best seven-game hitting streak during which he has hit .524 (11-of-21) with five RBI and eight runs scored.
BERRY TO MISS SOME TIME
Junior Frank Berry II, who was expected to be the #1 starter this season, had bone spurs removed from his pitching elbow and has not played to date this season. 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.
SCHMITZ REACHES 500
Head coach Danny Schmitz reached a milestone on March 31 in BG's 8-3 win over Michigan that not many in Mid-American Conference history have. The win was his 500th victory, all at Bowling Green, joining four other MAC baseball coaches in the small club of people who have won 500 games. Schmitz joins Western Michigan's Fred Decker (1976-04, 791 wins), Ohio's Joe Carbone (1989-present, 604), Toledo's 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.
RETURNING ALL-LEAGUE
Bowling Green has two players returning this season who were All-MAC choices last season. Senior shortstop Ryan Shay and junior third baseman Derek Spencer were both first-team all-conference selections in 2008. Shay led the league and was 22nd nationally with a .412 batting average while Spencer was eighth in the league hitting .360. Shay, whose average last season was 155 points higher than his career average coming into the season, hit safely in 46 of the 52 games setting school records for batting average, hits (87) and doubles (19). He had a 16-game hitting streak and a 17-game hitting streak, fourth-best in school history. Shay was also a first-team All-Mideast selection last season. Spencer led the team with 54 RBI (third in the MAC, tied for eighth on BGSU single-season list) and in extra-base hits (25) and two-out RBI (21). He did not go more than two games at any point in the season without getting a hit.
FALCON CAPTAINS
Seniors Ryan Shay (SS), Dusty Hawk (RHP), Brian Hangbers (1B) and Kevin Leady (RHP) will serve as captains of the 2009 team. Leady will not play this season after having surgery in the fall.
EARLY SEASON HONORS
Senior shortstop Ryan Shay was picked as one of the top seven shortstops in the country by the web site Ping!Baseball. The web site picked the top players in the country for their preseason All-American list and included Shay among the best shortstops in the land. Shay also was named to the preseason All-MAC team by Baseball America. In the same publication, freshman Jon Berti was picked as the second-best newcomer in the MAC.
BGSU BLOOP SINGLES
The Falcons are hitting .336 as a team and averaging 7.9 runs per game while the opposition is hitting .316 and scoring 8.6 runs per outing...the Falcon batting average is the best in the MAC and is 17th in the nation...in MAC play, BG is hitting .355 and averaging 8.7 runs while the opposition is hitting .305 and scoring 7.4 runs...BG's team batting average in MAC play also leads the league...BG has 37 (1.00 per game) double plays this season...they are 56th in the country in double plays per game...last season the Falcons led the MAC in twin-killings (59) and were 14th in the nation with a 1.13 average per game...the BG opposition has scored 10 or more runs in 16 games this season - BG has scored 10 or more 12 times...the Falcons have 10 or more hits in 28 games this season, including 22 of their last 27 games...BG had its string of nine consecutive games with 10 or more hits end in the Notre Dame game Wednesday...BG has won seven of its last 11 games and 13 of its last 20...the Falcon starting pitchers have compiled a 5.30 ERA this season while the relievers have a 9.61 ERA...BG is the MAC leader in sacrifices with 33 and they rank 43rd in the nation with that figure...Bowling Green has three of the 12 shutouts recorded this season by MAC teams...since 2001, BG is 176-6 when leading going into the ninth inning...BG has gone 8-4 in its last 12 league games winning three of the four series...freshman left-hander Kacy Dwornik has appeared in six MAC games, all in relief, and has picked up two wins to go along with a 3.79 ERA in 19.0 innings of work...Dwornik has struck out 16 and allowed 18 hits with the opposition batting only .250 against him...one last look at last weekend - Miami and BG combined to scored 84 runs in the three-game weekend series on 99 hits...the two teams hit 26 home runs with BG hitting 17 of those...the two teams combined to hit 15 home runs in the Friday game, including nine by BG to set a new school record...BG hit .424 as a team for the three games while Miami hit .362...BG had a team ERA of 11.00 while the RedHawks had a 14.76 mark...BG had a team .896 slugging percentage..of course, Mother Nature was the winner providing the 20-30 mile-per-hour winds all weekend blowing straight out to cener field...BG is hitting .359 as a team at home this season...Ryan Shay is hitting .446 at home this season to lead the team followed closely by Mark Galvin (.442), Tyler Elkins (.423), T.J. Blanton (.400) and Logan Meisler (.400).
NEXT WEEK
In the next-to-last week of the regular season, Bowling Green will take the week off for final exams before resuming MAC play with a three-game series at Buffalo on May 8-10.
