Baseball Welcome Fifteen Freshman, Fall Action

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Bowling Green baseball is ready for fall ball to begin and with the change of seasons comes changeover in the roster. The Falcons are ready to begin intersquad scrimmages next week where the Brown and Orange will unveil one of the largest freshman classes in recent history.

2010 Fall Roster (.pdf) | 2010 Fall Roster (.doc)

The Falcons welcome 15 freshmen to the 2011 squad. Despite youth dominating the roster, Bowling Green will also return much leadership from a season ago. Five seniors and two red-shirt juniors bring experience and guidance to the table that they will use with this young Falcon team going into off-season programming. The senior class is highlighted by LHP Dan Parsons (Strongsville, Ohio), RHP Charles Wooten (Elmore, Ohio), C/OF Ryan Schlater (St. Paris, Ohio), INF Clay Duncan (Norwalk, Ohio) and fifth-year senior infielder, Frank Berry (Virginia Beach, Vir.).

In addition to group returning from last year's team, also returning after missing the 2010 season due to injury is LHP Matt Malewitz. Malewitz was named to the First Team All-MAC in 2009 after he posted a 5-3 record over 80.0 innings of work, holding opponents to a .253 batting average in the process.

The complete roster is available for download by clicking the link above.

Head coach Danny Schmitz said of the freshman class, "We feel like we met our needs at all positions. We added some good hitters, some left-handed bats, some live arms and a couple of players to help in our infield and behind the plate."

Eight sophomore, three juniors and two red-shirt juniors also return to the squad, but what will interest most Falcon fans is the 15-man freshman class that will replace one of the winningest classes of individuals in BGSU baseball history.

"It is a very athletic class," said Schmitz. "All of our new players are from winning programs, and that is important to us. We've been very impressed with what we've seen from this group so far."

Nine players joining the team this year reside within the state of Ohio while five of the remaining six come into Bowling Green from either Michigan or Indiana. One of their more highly anticipated recruits joins Berry as native of Virginia.

As strong as last year's freshman class was, highlighted by closer Patrick O'Brien (Boardman, Ohio) and All-MAC infielder Matthew Pitzulo (Poland, Ohio), head coach Danny Schmitz believes that this class of freshman is just as, if not stronger and will get many opportunities to contribute on a team that lost six of its eight position players and two starting pitchers from a year ago.

"It's a great time to be a freshman here at BGSU," said Schmitz. "This freshman class will definitely see a lot of action and be major contributors to our success this season."

Bowling Green will play intersquad scrimmages at Warren Steller Field (Bowling Green, Ohio) on Saturday Sept. 18 at 11:30 a.m. and Sunday, Sept. 26 at noon as warm ups for the highly anticipated, annual Brown vs. Orange World Series. The Brown-Orange Classic teams will be selected by the team and coaching staff and be a three-game series taking place over the course of the week, beginning on Oct. 3 with a 12 noon first pitch. The series will continue on Oct. 5 and Oct. 7, both 3 p.m. start times with a potential rain date or tie breaker game scheduled for Friday, Oct. 8 (3 p.m.).

Alex Davison
As a part of the restocking process towards the BG outfield, Davison will be a strong candidate for consideration of playing time. The Grand Ledge, Mich. native will bring a power left-handed bat to the lineup. His consistency at the plate was displayed in his last three years at Grand Ledge High School where he hit above .450 his last three years, including a .497 batting average and seven home runs his junior season. Davison was twice named to the all-conference team (2008, 2009) and earned both all-state and Ohio Dream Team honors his senior year in 2010. He and now-teammates Kevin Delepaz, Patrick Lancaster and Benjamin Singer all played in the Michigan State All-Star game held in Comerica Park (Detroit, Mich.).

Kevin Delapaz
This power-throwing, left-handed pitcher brings a career high school record of 25-7 to the Falcons including a perfect 10-0 junior season and an 8-1 sophomore season with the Canton High School (Chiefs). As a junior, he began to blossom as a contributor both on the mound and offensively. He hit .309, scored 27 runs and stole ten bases while holding opponents to 30 hits over his 57.3 innings pitched in 2009. That year he also struck out 74 batters and had an earned-run average of 1.22 on the year while earning All-Conference, All-District and All-Regional honors. As a senior, he repeated his success after being award all three honors again in addition to being named to the All-Michigan team. He led the team with a .436 batting average and was named to the Detroit News Top-10 players in the state of Michigan as a standout two-way player. He and now-teammates Alex Davison, Patrick Lancaster and Benjamin Singer all played in the Michigan State All-Star game held in Comerica Park (Detroit, Mich.) last year where he earned the win in the game as well as MVP honors.

Levi Fisher
Fisher is one of two Bryan, Ohio natives that have been brought into the BGSU Falcon baseball program. Fisher will serve a dual role as a right-handed pitcher and someone that can play around the infield. As a member of the Golden Bears (Bryan H.S.) he helped his team to three consecutive years of undefeated play against NWOAL competition and earned all-league honors all four years as a player. He combined for a 10-3 record and a 2.79 earned run average his last two seasons. In his last three seasons, he batted .360 or higher and rounded out his playing career at Bryan with a .460 batting average as a senior. In 2010 he also hit four home runs, four triples, a trio of doubles and knocked in 35 runs while stealing all 13 bases he attempted. Fisher helped his teams bring home sectional championships both in 2009 and 2010, both years he was also named to the all-district team.

Brandon Howard
Howard will bring much speed and another good contact batter to the Falcon lineup in 2011. At Walnut Hills High School (Cincinnati, Ohio), he lettered three times with the Eagles baseball team and served as captain for his last three years at CWHS. As a senior in 2010, he scored 23 times, recorded 23 hits, stole 23 bases and knocked in nine runs. He sported a .623 on-base percentage and batted .535 in 14 games. Leading into his senior year, he played for the Playground All-Stars summer league team and hit .337, had a slugging percentage of .461. Howard recorded an on-base percentage of .432 and when he reached base, he lit up the base paths stealing 40 bases that season. The right-hander will bring a solid glove to the Falcons and serve as a utility infielder with the versatility to play multiple positions.

Andrew Kubuski
The Elyria, Ohio native has an extensive resume and will help resupply the Falcons' outfield. Kubuski has twice been named to the ESPN “RISE” Magazine as a player to watch in Northeast Ohio as well as twice being named to both the First Team All-Lorain County and First Team All-North Coast League teams. In 2010 he was named to the All-Ohio Second Team and played in a series of All-Star games including the Mizuno All-Ohio Series, Lorain County All-Star game and NEOBCA All-Star game. Kubuski earned four letters in both baseball and basketball but shined on the diamond, especially during his last two seasons. In his last two years at Elyria Catholic High School he batted above .450 and had at least 20 RBI in each season. Between his junior and senior years he hit nine triples, nine doubles and five home runs and totaled 58 hits in 122 at-bats (.475). In 2009, he displayed his speed with five triples and 11 stolen bases while sporting a .500 on-base percentage.

Patrick Lancaster
Over four years that he spent at Oscar A. Carlson High School, Lancaster's career resume makes many optimistic that his all-around athleticism will help him find a home on the diamond with BGSU. From the plate, he had a career batting average of .405 with 162 hits in 400 career at-bats. Lancaster's speed earned him 29 doubles, 12 triples and an incredible 77 stolen bases in his career with the Marauders. On the hill, Lancaster amounted 24 career wins and struck out 357 batters in only 236.6 innings. He also has a pair of no-hitters to his credit. In 2010, his post-season accolades included All-State Second Team, All-League, All-District and All-Region honors. Lancaster played in the 2010 Division II All-Star game held at Comerica Park (Detroit, Mich.). He was also a Division II All-State First Team honoree.

T.J. Losby
Losby rejoins Levi Fisher from Bryan High School to become teammates again in part of a 15-man freshman class. The 6'0, 190-pounder will be groomed behind the dish for the Falcons and bring pop with the stick as well as a nice on-base percentage at the position. The two-year letterman batted above .400 in both 2009 and 2010, hitting .403 in 2009 and .446 in 2010. In those years, he combined for 48 runs scored, 14 doubles, eight home runs and 43 RBI. He was given the team Gold Glove Award and named to the all-league and all-district teams in both 2009 and 2010. To complement his play on the diamond, Losby is also a tremendous scholar having been named to the National Honor Society his senior year and twice named NWOAL Outstand Student-Athlete.

Ethan McKenney
This freshman shined in his final two years at Tinora High School (Defiance, Ohio), though had a solid career with the Rams. His last two season he helped the Rams to a 14-0 conference record and a 40-13 overall mark while leading them to back-to-back sectional championships and a district championship in 2010. As a senior he demonstrated power from the right-handed batters box and a near untouchable arm from the hill. McKenney posted a 7-1 record as a pitcher and had a 0.68 ERA in 59.1 innings pitched. His K:BB ratio nearly hit 4-to-1 after he struck out 111 batters while only walking 34 in the season. As if his arm wasn't dangerous enough, his bat hurt opponents as well. In 2010 he hit .398 with seven home runs and 31 RBI. His junior season he surpassed those numbers with a .484 batting average with 13 extra-base hits and 25 RBI. From the hill in 2009 he went 6-1 and struck out 62 hitters in 43 innings of work, ending the year with a 2.12 ERA. In four years of pitching, McKenney's ERA never surpassed 2.55 and always maintained at least a 2:1 strikeout-to-walk ration by season's end.

Chris Miller
Miller displays another live arm from the right side that will help bolster the Falcon bullpen. As a senior, he helped captain his team to a 21-5 overall record and an Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference (EIAC) championship. Miller's 7-0 record, 2.10 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 57.0 innings pitched for the Batesville Bulldogs (Batesville, Ind.) earned him team and conference Most Valuable Player honors in 2010. As a junior he was rated by the Perfect Game Rating organization with an 8.5 out of a 10-point scale.

Alex Schillig
A great gap hitter for Dublin Jerome High School (Dublin, Ohio), Schillig has a knack for driving runners home when called upon. In 2009, he was named First Team All-District and Third Team All-Metro after hitting .403 and driving in a school record 32 RBI. Not only did he move runners around the diamond but he got on base with a high rate of success too. He set a personal high after recording a .528 on-base percentage his junior season. As a senior he was named to the First Team All-District, First Team All-Conference and Second Team All-Metro teams after a season highlighted by a .427 batting average and a superb slugging percentage of .634 constructed by nine doubles, a triple and two home runs. Following the conclusion of his senior year, Schillig played with the Columbus Cannons summer league team where he batted .376 and drove in 36 runs and had 14 extra-base hits.

Jeremy Shay
Following in the footsteps of his brother, Ryan, Jeremy Shay will bring a hot stick and versatility in the field. The Falcons will look to use Shay at either of the two corner infield positions with a long-term hope he will return back to his natural position as a catcher. As a four-year member of the Divine Child High School (Garden City, Mich.) baseball team, Shay has made All-City and All-District team in four straight seasons and included All-League honors in 2009 and All-Region honors in 2010. He was a part of two state championship teams in both 2008 and 2010. Shay wasted no time getting on the map in Michigan high school baseball when he batted .350 (17-for-51) in his first season with the DCHS Falcons and nearly met that mark during his sophomore season in almost twice as many at-bats (31-for-90). His best statistical season from the box was his senior year when he hit .389 (39-for-103) with 13 extra-base hits.

Benjamin Singer
Singer is another tall athlete whose arm will be mixed into the hunt for innings. The right-hander from Midland, Mich. was a three-year letterman for the Midland High Chemics and helped his team to a 29-8 record in 2010, a season they were named Saginaw Valley Conference Champions. During that season Singer posted a 2.85 ERA over 60 innings, striking out 65 batters and going 8-1 from the hill as a senior captain. Following his senior year he was selected to play in the 2010 Michigan All-Star game played at Comerica Park (Detroit, Mich.).

Jake Thomas
The Media, Ohio (Buckeye HIgh School) native will fight for a roster spot with the Falcons this fall as an outfielder. Thomas has a good arm that can be used from the outfield and has the speed to potentially compete for the leadoff spot in the lineup. As a contact hitter, Thomas is used to spraying the ball to all fields and plays for a high batting and on-base percentage.

Logan Walker
Coming from Petersburg, Va. Logan Walker possesses a gift with his glove and bat to which he has made a name for himself as an incoming freshman. After hitting .421 during his sophomore season, he never looked back and kept in an upward trend offensively. In 2008, 13 of his 24 hits were for extra bases including seven doubles and six home runs. As a junior in 2009 he hit .468 and batted .449 as a senior in 2010. He finished his high school career with 15 doubles, three triples and 12 home runs with 58 RBI to add to his resume. He earned a spot on the All-District team all four years of his career, three times as a shortstop. Twice he was named to the All-Region team at that position and was three times named to the All-Tri City Team. Prior to coming to Bowling Green, Walker played with one of the most prestigious summer league teams in the country as a part of the Richmond Braves National Travel Team and starting for the squad.

Mitchell Zofka
The Parma, Ohio native will provide Bowling Green with another solid left-handed bat and extra speed to place in the 2011 Falcon lineup. As a sophomore, Zofkahit .451 and hit the gaps well. With ten extra base hits (five doubles, five triples) and 20 stolen bases that season, he set a standard he met in both of his remaining years at Padua Franciscan High School (Parma, Ohio). He was a part of the 2009 District Champion team and back-to-back conference champion teams in 2009 and 2010.

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