Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Travel To Buffalo This Weekend For Last MAC Road Series
May 06, 2009 | Baseball
May 6, 2009
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO -
BGSU Baseball Notes/Stats (vs. Buffalo) 
This Weekend
Fri. - Sun., May 8-10
Bowling Green (23-18, 13-7 MAC) at Buffalo (20-28, 6-14 MAC)
Amherst Audubon Field (500) - Friday (3 p.m.) - Saturday/Sunday (1 p.m.)
FALCONS PLAY LAST MAC SERIES ON THE ROAD AGAINST BUFFALO
The Bowling Green State University baseball team will hit the road in Mid-American Conference play for the first time in three weeks when they make the trip to Buffalo for a three-game series this weekend. The series will be played at Amherst Audubon Field with games on Friday (3 p.m.), Saturday (1 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.). BG begins the weekend second in the MAC East Division, one game behind front-runner Kent State (14-6). BG is one-half game in front of Ohio (13-8) and Miami (13-8), both of whom the Falcons hold the tie-breaker over. Buffalo, last in the East, is still alive for a spot in the league tournament in two weeks and is coming off a series win (2-1) over Kent State at home last weekend.
SERIES INFORMATION
BG owns a 19-6 series edge over Buffalo with all of those games since 2000...BG swept the Bulls last season at home winning two one-run games (9-8 in the series finale and 6-5 in the series opener) and a 6-2 contest...Buffalo took two-of-three from the Falcons in the 2007 series, also at Bowling Green, the only time Buffalo has taken a series from the Falcons...the last time the two programs played in Buffalo, in 2006, BG took two of the three games winning the first two games (12-3 and 6-4) before losing the finale by an 11-8 score...BG is 4-3 in the series on the road...Buffalo has won at least one game in four of the last five series against BG.
NO MID-WEEK GAME
With this week being finals week at BGSU, the baseball team did not play a mid-week game.
WHAT'S AHEAD
The baseball team plays its next-to-last MAC series with the games against Buffalo this weekend. The Falcons close out the regular season next week with a home game Tuesday against Oakland University (May 12) and their final MAC weekend series against Akron at home. The Akron games will be played Thursday (May 14, 3 p.m.), Friday (1 p.m.) and Saturday (1 p.m.)
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 a strong performance in the opening game of the series with Ohio last Friday that earned him MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week honors. Smith went seven innings allowing only five hits and three earned runs while equalling his career high with 10 strikeouts. He retired 14 of the last 20 batters he faced, two of those reaching on errors. Smith, who has won seven of his last nine starts, has not given up more than eight hits in any start and has given up four runs or fewer in 10 of his 11 starts. The Sandusky, Ohio native is 7-1 with two no-decisions in his last nine starts with a 2.88 ERA allowing just 43 hits (6.53 per nine innings) in 59.1 innings of work. Over those same nine starts, Smith has 60 strike outs (9.10 per nine innings) and the opposition is batting only .196 against him. Smith has been dominant in the games he has won compiling a miniscule 1.41 ERA in his seven wins this season. He has allowed only 29 hits, 22 of those singles, in 51.0 innings of work while striking out 50, an average of 8.82 strike outs per nine innings. In his seven wins, he is allowing only 5.11 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 7-3 on the season with a 3.36 ERA, second in the MAC, with opposition hitters batting only .213 against him, the best figure in the league. He is averaging 8.60 strike outs per nine innings. In league play, he is 5-1 with a 3.57 ERA, second 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 Buffalo, has limited opposition hitters to a .218 average in league play, the top figure in the conference. Smith is 33rd in the country in wins (7) and 42nd in hits allowed per nine innings (7.12). He is third in the MAC in innings pitched (67.0) and his seven wins leads 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 hit safely in all three games of the series with Ohio to extend his hitting steak to 14 games, equalling the best by a BG player this season. During his current streak, he is hitting .459 (28-of-61) with 15 RBI and 15 runs scored to go along with eight doubles. Elkins, who hit safely in 13 consecutive games earlier this season, has now hit safely in 33 of his last 36 games. Elkins leads the team with a .413 average, second in the MAC, for the season and 16 doubles, tied for fourth in the league. He has multiple hits in 21 of the 34 games he has hit safely in this season. He is hitting .404 in MAC play. He is fourth on the team with 31 RBI while his 22 RBI in league play is second on the team. Elkins is 68th in the country in the toughest to strike out category averaging one every 13.3 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 18 extra-base hits. Elkins has two or more hits in eight of his last 11 contests. He has hit .480 (24-of-50) in his last 11 games. Elkins' 16 doubles this season is tied for eighth on the BG season list while his 66 hits is three shy of moving into the top 10 in that category. Elkins also comes into this weekend with a 14-game hitting streak in MAC play and he has hit safely in 19 of the 20 league games this season.
GALVIN ON A ROLL
Junior outfielder Mark Galvin is seventh on the team with a .331 average. Galvin hit .500 (4-of-8) in the Ohio series last week with five RBI, five runs scored and three walks. The Pickerington, Ohio native has hit safely in seven of the last eight games and has a .405 (13-of-32) batting average with 11 RBI and 10 runs scored in those eight contests. 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 11 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 26 of his last 31 contests with a batting average of .376 (44-of-117) over the period. He has hit safely in 28 games this season and is tied for the team lead with three game-winning RBI. Galvin is batting .325 in MAC play and has hit safely in the last six league games hitting .435 (10-of-23) with 8 RBI and 10 runs scored.
BLANTON A SLUGGING LEADER
Junior outfielder T.J. Blanton, who normally hits ninth in the BG order, is fifth on the team with a .355 average and is second on the team with 19 extra-base hits, including nine doubles, three triples 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 April 25 with two home runs against Miami. His .610 slugging percentage is second on the team. The Sandusky, Ohio native has a hit in each of the last seven games, matching his career best, batting .414 (12-for-29) over the period. He has 36 runs scored, third on the team, and has hit safely in 28 games this season. He has already established career highs in every offensive category. Blanton is hitting .382 in MAC games, sixth on the team, with 23 runs scored, second on the squad. Blanton is second on the team with 10 stolen bases this season. Blanton has hit safely in the each of the last six MAC games, and 12 of the last 13.
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 .401, fifth in the MAC, with 45 RBI, tied for seventh in the MAC, and 57 runs scored, second in the league. He is also among the league leaders in doubles (15, t-7th), home runs (11, t-6th), slugging percentage (.703, 3rd), on-base percentage (.500, 3rd) and walks (31, t-5th). He leads the team with 28 extra-base hits and 12 stolen bases, tied for 10th in the MAC. The Garden City, Mich. native was a single shy of hitting for the cycle April 22 against Toledo and was a triple shy of the feat last Saturday against Ohio. He has hit safely in 20 of the last 23 games hitting .446 (45-of-101) with 32 RBI and 37 runs scored over the period. In addition, in those last 23 games, he has 11 doubles, two triples and eight home runs for an .832 slugging percentage to go along with a .537 on-base percentage. In the last 23 games, Shay has an RBI in 17 contests, 10 multi-RBI games, and has scored at least one run in 20 games, 13 of those multi-run games, including each of the last eight. For the season, he has hit safely in 33 of the 41 games, and 79 of his last 93 contests dating back to the beginning of last season. He has two or more hits in 57 of the 79 games he has hits in over the last two seasons. Shay has hit .407 (156-of-383) since the beginning of the 2008 season with 34 doubles, 16 home runs, 81 RBI and 110 runs scored. He has a .632 slugging percentage since the beginning of last season and a .491 on-base percentage. He is among the BG career leaders in at-bats (709, 2nd), runs scored (164, 4th), hits (239, 4th), doubles (51, 3rd), assists (552, 2nd), total bases (349, 3rd) and games played (196, 8th). He has hit from the lead off spot in all 41 games this season reaching safely leading off the game for BG 19 times (10 hits (five singles, three doubles, two home run), six walks, two hit by pitch and one error). 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. BG has scored at least one run in the first inning of 13 of the 19 games, this season, in which Shay has reached safely in his first at-bat. Shay hit a home run on the first pitch of the first game this season against Western Carolina. Shay is hitting .416 in MAC play, seventh in the league, with 30 RBI, tied for third in the MAC, 31 runs scored, tied for 1st in the MAC, 18 extra-base hits (9 doubles, 8 home runs), an .809 slugging percentage, fourth in the MAC, and a .509 on-base percentage, seventh in the league. Shay is hitting ,464 (13-of-28) during a current six-game hitting streak in league play with 14 RBI and 14 runs scored. Shay has scored at least one run in 11 consecutive MAC contests, and in 18 of 20 games this season.
SPENCER CLEANING UP IN #4 SPOT
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) two weeks ago with six home runs, 10 RBI and 12 runs scored. He hit .750 (9-for-12) in the Miami series that week with five home runs, eight RBI and nine runs scored. Spencer had an eight-game hitting streak come to an end in the last game of the series with Ohio. During his eight-game streak, Spencer hit .571 (20-of-35) with 14 RBI and 16 runs scored. Spencer had an RBI in all eight of those games. The Oregon, Ohio native is second on the team with 44 RBI, ninth in the MAC, and is fourth on the team hitting .372. He has hit safely in 31 of the 40 games he has played in this season and he has an RBI in 25 contests. Spencer, who leads all BG players with a .373 career batting average, has 20 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 .393 in MAC play with 20 RBI and 19 runs scored. For the 16 MAC games he has played in, Spencer has a .690 slugging percentage, 10th in the MAC, with seven home runs, tied for sixth in the conference. Spencer has hits safely in six of his last seven league games hitting .533 (16-of-30) with 11 RBI and 12 runs scored over the period.
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 with six home runs, 31 runs scored, and he has drawn 24 walks. Hangbers is one of the top fielding first basemen in the MAC and has a .983 fielding percentage with just five errors in 289 chances this season. He has a career .986 fielding percentage in 1072 chances. On the mound, he has pitched in 10 games, five of those starts, this season and has two saves and a 6.86 ERA in 21.0 innings of work. Hangbers has 45 career appearances covering 110.0 innings with a 4.99 ERA. His 29 career home runs is the seventh-highest total in BG history. He has hit safely in 27 of the 38 games he has an at-bat in this season. The Hamilton, Ohio native has four hits in his last eight at-bats and he has hit three home runs in his last six games.
MEISLER IS CLUTCH
Junior Logan Meisler is sixth on the team with a .333 batting average. A career .321 hitter, Meisler is fifth on the squad with 28 RBI, 12 of those with two outs. He has hit safely in 28 of the 41 games this season and he has an RBI in 18 contests. Meisler is looking to break out of a mini-slide this weekend as he is batting only .229 (11-of-48) over his last 12 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 (65.0, 5th in the MAC) and ERA (4.57, 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 4-1 this season, is 3-0 in MAC play with a 5.74 ERA. Opposition batters are hitting only .262 against Malewitz this season, third in the MAC. Malewitz has gone at least five innings in nine of his 11 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 .390 batting average and he leads the team in MAC play hitting .448, third in the MAC. He has 16 RBI in league play while slugging at a .707 clip, ninth in the MAC, and he has a .529 on-base percentage, third in the MAC. In his last 22 games, he has hit safely in 18 contests with a .446 (29-of-65) average to go along with 19 RBI and 20 runs scored. He has a .738 slugging percentage over his last 22 games and a .560 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 10-game hitting streak during which he has hit .500 (15-of-30) with eight RBI and 12 runs scored. Berti has a hit in eight-straight league games hitting .480 (12-of-25) with 6 RBI and 10 runs scored.
DWORNIK EMERGING IN MULTIPLE ROLES
Freshman left-hander Kacy Dwornik earned his first start of the season last Sunday and got the win against Ohio, likely earning another start this weekend against Buffalo. The Toledo St. John's graduate also got the last out of the Friday win against Ohio to earn his first career save. Dwornik has had seven appearances in a row in which he has been effective. Over that period, Dwornik has a 3.41 ERA in 26.1 innings of work allowing 23 hits and 10 earned runs. He has struck out 25, and average of 8.53 per nine innings, while walking only three. Dwornik yielded 15 earned runs in his first six appearances in a BG uniform covering 9.0 innings.
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 in the fall 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, 607), 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 .339 as a team and averaging 8.2 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 18th in the nation while their average runs per game is 37th in the country...in MAC play, BG is hitting .359 and averaging 9.1 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 39 (0.96 per game) double plays this season, fifth in the MAC...they are 71st 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...junior Dennis Vaughn had his best week of the season hitting .583 (7-of-12) last week...Vaughn led the team hitting .636 (7-of-11) with three RBI and four runs scored in the Ohio series...Vaughn is hitting .459 (17-of-39) in MAC play and he is now hitting .321 for the season...Vaughn has hit safely in his last four MAC games and seven of his last eight...Vaughn has hit .650 (13-of-20) in his last eight conference contests...the BG opposition has scored 10 or more runs in 16 games this season - BG has scored 10 or more 14 times...the Falcons have 10 or more hits in 31 games this season, including 12 of their last 13, and 25 of their last 30 games...BG has won 10 of its last 13 MAC games and 10 of its last 14 games overall...BG is 6-11 on the road this season, 4-4 away from home in league play...the Falcon starting pitchers have compiled a 5.26 ERA this season while the relievers have a 9.75 ERA...BG is the MAC leader in sacrifices with 36 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 179-6 when leading going into the ninth inning - two of those losses have come this season...BG is hitting .316 as a team on the road this season averaging 7.0 runs per game, but in league play on the road, BG is hitting .344 and averaging 7.9 runs....BG is fourth in the MAC in slugging percentage at .501 behind Ohio (.532), Ball State (.524) and Kent State (.502)...in MAC play, BG has the top figure in the league at .556...BG leads the MAC in on-base percentage at .413 ahead of Kent State (.410) and Buffalo (.405)..BG's 259 strikeouts (by batters) is the third-fewest in the league behind Ohio (241) and Toledo (255)...BG is third in the MAC in runs scored with 335 behind Kent State (431) and Buffalo (363).
