Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Georgia Tech
Falcons Continue Road Trip With Series At Georgia Tech
February 27, 2014 | Baseball
BGSU heads to Atlanta for showdown with Ramblin' Wreck at Russ Chandler Stadium
at
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (4-4, 0-0 ACC)
Friday, Feb. 28, 4:00 pm Live Stats | Video ($)
Saturday, Mar. 1, 2:00 pm Live Stats | Video ($)
Sunday, Mar. 3, 1:00 pm Live Stats | Video ($)
Game Notes (.pdf)
The Pitching Matchups
Friday
Bowling Green: RHP Cody Apthorpe • 1-1, 2.89, 9.1 IP, 8 H, 5 K
Georgia Tech: LHP Jonathan King • 1-0, 3.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 6 H, 6 K
Saturday
Bowling Green: RHP Mike Frank • 0-0, 3.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 9 H, 8 K
Georgia Tech: RHP Cole Pitts • 0-0, 0.90 ERA, 10.0 IP, 9 H, 9 K
Sunday
Bowling Green: LHP Andrew Lacinak • 0-0, 0.90 ERA, 10.0 IP, 9 H, 4 K
Georgia Tech: RHP Josh Heddinger • 1-1, 2.61 ERA, 10.1 IP, 11 H, 8 K
Around The Bases
• Bowling Green State University is in its 95th season of baseball. The Falcons have an all-time record of 1,565-1,349-27.
• The Falcons are coming off the program's fourth ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2013.
• BGSU returns a starter at every position from the 2013 season, and will have 12 seniors on the 2014 roster.
• T.J. Losby, Jeremy Shay, and Cody Apthorpe will serve as captains in 2014.
• Head coach Danny Schmitz is in his 24th season at the helm of the Orange and Brown. He boasts a career record of 614-585-5.
• This weekend's series at Georgia Tech will continue a season-long 18 game road trip for the Falcons to begin the 2014 season.
A Look At Georgia Tech
• Georgia Tech enters this weekend with an overall record of 4-4. The Yellow Jackets swept UNC-Greensboro in a three-game set last weekend at Russ Chandler Stadium, outscoring them 26-6.
• Danny Hall is in his 21st season as the head coach at Georgia Tech. He is a 1977 graduate of Miami (Ohio). Hall and Bowling Green head coach Danny Schmitz played against each other during their collegiate days, and also coached against each other while Hall was at Kent State.
• Georgia Tech is hitting .283 as a team with an ERA of 2.55.
• Matt Gonzalez leads the Yellow Jackets with a batting average of .424. He has 14 hits in 33 at bats, with five runs scored and three RBI. Five of his 14 hits have gone for extra bases.
• A pair of GT relievers have not allowed an earned run in 17.1 combined innings. Alex Cruz (3 app.) and Dusty Isaacs (4 app.) have allowed just nine hits while striking out a combined 14 in their 17.1 innings pitched. Isaacs has already amassed three decisions.
• Jonathan King will get the start opposite of Cody Apthorpe on Friday. King is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA.
• Mike Frank will face off with Cole Pitts on Saturday afternoon. Pitts has no decisions in 2014, but has pitched 10.0 innings allowing just one earned run.
• Josh Heddinger will start on Sunday, opposed by Andrew Lacinak for the Falcons. Heddinger is 1-1 with a 2.61 ERA.
• Bowling Green and Georgia Tech have met four times prior to this weekend's series. BGSU holds an all-time record of 3-1 against GT.
Falcons Have Senior-Laden Squad
• Head coach Danny Schmitz welcomes back 12 seniors in 2014, which includes five pitchers and seven position players.
• The five senior pitchers bring 254 games of experience and 761.0 innings pitched to the table.
• The seven position players, who have all played in at least 100 career games, have played in 922 total games and compiled 2,884 at-bats.
ERAsing The Opposition
• Bowling Green enters the weekend with an ERA of just 3.38, having allowed just 18 earned runs in six games.
• BGSU's starting rotation did not allow an earned run over the first 18.0 innings pitched of the season.
• Falcon pitching has allowed just 22 total runs during the first six games of the season, fewest since the 2006 team allowed 22 in their first six games, as well.
• The 2013 pitching staff put together arguably the greatest season in school history last year, with an ERA of 3.83.
• That ERA marked the program's best since 1979, and also the first sub-4.00 ERA in the Schmitz era.
• Reliever Ethan McKenney, who posted a 1.99 ERA in 2013, was a big part of that success. McKenney's ERA was the best since 1997, and the 12th-best all-time.
A Look At The Murray State Series
• Bowling Green lost 2-of-3 last weekend at Murray State. The Falcons won the first game of the series, before dropping the final two.
• The first game of the series saw the Falcons jump out to a 4-0 start after two innings, and hold on late with the help of an 8th-inning insurance run for a 5-3 victory.
• On Saturday, the Breds bounced back to post a 5-4 victory over the Falcons.
• Sunday's game was back-and-forth early on, as both teams missed opportunities in the early going. With the game tied at 1-1, MSU would break it open with a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the seventh to pull ahead for the 6-3 victory.
Falcons Looking To Capitalize
• Bowling Green has held early leads in 4-of-6 games this season, with a record of 2-2 in those games. The Falcons have also outhit opponents in 5-of-6 games for a 2-3 mark.
Shay Picks Up Where He Left Off
• Jeremy Shay was named second team All-MAC at first base in 2013, despite winning the triple crown during Mid-American Conference play.
• Shay was also named to the All-Tournament team of the NCAA Louisville Regional in 2013.
• A captain in 2014, Shay has picked right off where he left off in 2013. Shay is batting .333 with two runs, three doubles, a triple, and a team-high five RBI. He is slugging .571 through the first six games.
Losby A Leader In All Aspects
• T.J. Losby will serve as a tri-captain of the Falcons in 2014. He was also a captain during the 2013 campaign.
• Losby, who has become one of the best catchers in the Midwest, was named first team All-MAC and second team All-Midwest Region in 2013.
• The senior from Bryan, Ohio has appeared in 115 consecutive games, dating back to the final game of the 2011 season.
Apthorpe Sets The Tone
• Cody Apthorpe was elected a tri-captain for the third consecutive season. He is the first player under Danny Schmitz to be named a captain three times.
• The fifth-year senior currently has pitched 234.0 innings in his career. He is seventh all-time in school history for most innings pitched.
Lacinak Making Up For Missed Time
• Andrew Lacinak made his return to the mound two weeks ago at Belmont, after missing 22.5 months due to Tommy John surgery. His last appearance had been April 1, 2012.
• Lacinak was sharp in his return to the mound, pitching 5.0 innings while allowing just three hits. He did not allow a run. Last weekend at Murray State, Lacinak went 5.0 innings while allowing just one earned run. He currently has a 0.90 ERA.
Kubuski Returning To Form
• Senior Andrew Kubuski has gotten off to a good start through the first two weeks of the season. He leads the Falcons with a batting average of .417.
• After leading the team with a .367 batting average in 2012, Kubuski struggled for much of 2013, finishing with a batting average of .245.
• The Falcons will rely on Kubuski to provide stability and experience to the lineup in 2014.
Roll Along You BG (Road) Warriors
• It is no secret, that when you are a northern school, you must travel in order to be able to play games early in the season.
• Bowling Green will play their first 18 games of the season on the road, with trips to Nashville, Tenn., Murray, Ky., Atlanta, Ga., High Point, N.C., Dayton, Ohio, and Winter Haven, Fla.
• Over those first 19 games, which spans 31 days, the Falcons will travel 6,244 miles, according to Google Maps.
• The longest trip, round-trip, will come when BGSU ventures to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech in a three-game series.
Chasing Records In 2014
• Jeremy Shay currently sits at 35 career doubles. He is three shy of the all-time top 10.
• Kubuski also is the active leader in games played with 154. He is 36 games from moving into a 10th-place tie all-time.
• Two Falcons are in the top 10 all-time for putouts. T.J. Losby, currently 5th with 793, is just 245 putouts from a first place tie all-time. Jeremy Shay currently sits in 10th all-time with 708 putouts.
• Ben Singer is 10th all-time with 69 career appearances. He is just 22 appearances shy of tying the all-time record.
• Both Mike Frank and Cody Apthorpe enter the weekend inside the top 10 for innings pitched all time. The all-time record is 295.0 innings by Kip Young. Apthorpe, who is 7th with 234.0 innings pitched, is just in front of teammate Mike Frank (233.2).
• Mike Frank is 10th all-time for strikeouts in a career with 168, just seven short of ninth.
Schmitz's 2014 Staff Very Familiar
• Anyone involved with Falcon baseball knows Danny Schmitz, who returns for his 24th season in 2014.
• For the seventh consecutive season, assistant coach Rick Blanc will serve on Schmitz's staff as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.
• Mike Huling returns for his second season under Schmitz. Huling served as the volunteer assistant coach in 2013 before being promoted to assistant coach in 2014.
• Garrett Gray, an All-Horizon League player at Wright State, joins the coaching staff as the volunteer assistant coach in 2014.
• Drew Kuns will assist the program as an undergraduate assistant in 2014. Kuns, who played from 2010-12 under Schmitz, served in a similar capacity in 2013.
