Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Head To Buffalo To Conclude Regular Season
May 14, 2014 | Baseball
Bowling Green State University Falcons (23-24; 13-11 MAC)
at
University at Buffalo Bulls (23-22; 12-11 MAC)
Thursday | May 15 | 3:00 pm | LIVE STATS
Friday | May 16 | 1:00 pm | LIVE STATS
Saturday | May 17 | 1:00 pm | LIVE STATS
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
at
University at Buffalo Bulls (23-22; 12-11 MAC)
Thursday | May 15 | 3:00 pm | LIVE STATS
Friday | May 16 | 1:00 pm | LIVE STATS
Saturday | May 17 | 1:00 pm | LIVE STATS
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
The Pitching Matchups
Thursday
Bowling Green: RHP Mike Frank • 4-5, 4.52 ERA, 79.2 IP, 76 H, 51 K
Buffalo: RHP Kevin Hughes • 3-5, 2.98 ERA, 66.1 IP, 64 H, 39 K
Friday
Bowling Green: LHP Brett Fitzwater • 1-2, 5.72 ERA, 28.1 IP, 21 H, 18 K
Buffalo: RHP Anthony Magovney • 6-2, 3.58 ERA, 73.0 IP, 60 H, 42 K
Saturday
Bowling Green: LHP Andrew Lacinak • 5-3, 3.56 ERA, 68.1 IP, 64 H, 26 K
Buffalo: RHP Mike Burke • 5-5, 3.74 ERA, 84.1 IP, 82 H, 71 K
The Starting Lineup
• Bowling Green enters the final weekend of Mid-American Conference play with an overall record of 23-24. The Falcons are 13-14 in MAC play.
• The Falcons are coached by Danny Schmitz, who is in his 24th season at Bowling Green. Schmitz is assisted by Rick Blanc (7th), Mike Huling (2nd), Garrett Gray (1st), and Drew Kuns (2nd).
• BGSU is coming off a weekend series win at home against Ohio. The Falcons have now won five of their eight series in MAC play.
• As a team, the Orange and Brown is hitting .282 with an earned run average of 4.69.
• Bowling Green currently sits in fifth place in the MAC standings heading into the final weekend of play. The Falcons are just one-half game ahead of Buffalo.
• Brian Bien leads the Falcons with a batting average of .361. He also leads the team with 35 runs scored.
• T.J. Losby has been on a tear over the last 25 games. He has been on base in 23 of the 25 games, inlcuding 22 straight during that stretch.
• Jeremy Shay enters the weekend with an on-base streak of 16 straight games. The senior first baseman has reached base 61 times in the last 25 games.
• Jason Link continues to deliver out of the Falcons' bullpen. The junior has an ERA of 1.74 in 31.0 innings pitched.
A Look At The Bulls
• Buffalo comes into this weekend's matchup with an overall record of 23-22. The Bulls are coached by Ron Torgalski.
• UB is currently 12-11 in Mid-American Conference play, just one-half game behind the Falcons. The Bulls are currently sixth.
• Tyler Mautner is one of the most dangerous hitters in the MAC, batting .357. He has scored 30 runs and leads the Bulls with 49 RBI. He has 15 doubles, two triples, and four home runs.
• Buffalo has three players who have attempted at least 15 stolen bases. Nick Sinay leads the way, as he has been successful in 28 of 31 tries.
• Buffalo has a .269 batting average with a slugging percentage of .380 and on-base percentage of .377.
• Buffalo's pitching staff features an ERA of 4.46. Their three weekend starters all sport earned run averages of less than 3.75.
• The Bulls' lineup features a lot of power, as they have 76 doubles, 15 triples, and 20 home runs as a team in 2014.
A Look Around The MAC
• Bowling Green enters this weekend in fifth place, with a MAC record of 13-11. The Falcons are just one win from clinching a spot in the MAC Tournament next week.
• Buffalo currently sits in sixth place, just one-half game behind the Falcons.
• Ball State is just one win away from clinching the MAC regular season championship. The Cardinals are currently 19-4 in the MAC, ahead of 17-7 Central Michigan.
• Miami leads the East Division with a record of 15-9.
• Just two teams - Ohio and Eastern Michigan - have officially been eliminated from next week's MAC Tournament.
The Snow Out That Changed The Season
• Following a 9-0 loss on March 28 to Northern Illinois, Bowling Green was 6-16 overall and 0-4 in MAC play.
• The next day, snow and freezing rain in Indianapolis forced a cancellation and day off.
• BGSU has used that off day to their advantage, going 17-8 since then to position themselves for a spot in the MAC Tournament.
• The Falcons are hitting .295 with an on-base percentage of .391 in that 25-game stretch.
• T.J. Losby is leading the way with a batting average of .416. He has been on base in 23-of-25 games.
• The Falcons have stolen 45 bases in the last 25 games. Brandon Howard is a perfect 15-for-15.
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 has also played in 156 straight games, dating back to 2011. He is one of just six players since 2001 to play in every game over the span of two consecutive seasons, which he did in both 2012 and 2013.
Player Date Consecutive GP
Ryan Shay 2006 - 2009 194
T.J. Losby 2011 - pres. 156
Jeff Warnock 2002 - 2005 144
Kelly Hunt 2001 - 2003 128
Dave Barkholz 2002 - 2004 115
T.J. Blanton 2009 - 2010 110
Rewriting The Record Books
• Redshirt senior Mike Frank recently became the program's all-time leader for career innings pitched, surpassing Kip Young's previous record of 295.0 innings. Frank has now pitched 304.1 innings in his career.
• Frank is also second in school history with 211 career strikeouts. He is 21 punch outs shy of the all-time record.
• T.J. Losby moved into first all-time for career putouts with 1,043.
• Classmate Jeremy Shay currently sits fifth all-time with 966 career putouts.
• Junior Brian Bien is fifth with 435 career assists.
• Ben Singer is sixth all-time with 81 career appearances on the mound. He is 11 shy of the all-time mark.
• Jeremy Shay is tied for sixth all-time with 45 career doubles. His game-winning double on Sunday vaulted him from seventh.
• T.J. Losby is currently 10th with 627 career at-bats.
• Brian Bien is tied for fourth all-time with 13 sacrifices in 2014. He currently has four sacrifice flies and nine sacrifice bunts.
Speed Separating Falcons
• Speed has been a large factor towards Bowling Green's late season success this season. The Falcons have stolen 65 bases through the first 47 games this season, after stealing just 37 in 55 games a season ago.
• Bowling Green has stolen multiple bases in 21 games this year. They are 16-5 when doing so.
• Three Falcons have 14+ stolen bases, while four others have at least three. Brandon Howard leads the way with 17 stolen bases. He is 15-for-15 in the last 25 games.
The March Towards Avon
• Bowling Green started slowly in 2014, going just 6-16 through the first 22 games of the season. But, since March 30, the Falcons have gone 17-8, turning their season around as the MAC Tournament approaches.
• In the first 22 games, BGSU had 10+ hits on 10 different occasions, but scored just 6+ runs three times. The Falcons did not run as much, either, stealing multiple bases in just five different games.
• In the last 25 games, the Falcons have had 10+ hits 13 times, but have been much more efficient with their hits, scoring 6+ runs in 15 games. They have also stolen multiple bases in 16-of-25 games. BGSU is 12-1 in the last 25 games when recording 10+ hits, and 13-2 when scoring six runs.
BG Walks Off In 2013 Season Finale
• Last season, Bowling Green dropped the first two games of the series against Buffalo, but used some heroics to clinch a spot in the MAC Tournament.
• On the final day of the regular season, the Falcons fell behind 4-0 to Buffalo, but closed to within 4-3 after eight innings.
• After stranding the bases loaded in the 8th, the Falcons needed at least a run in the bottom of the ninth to continue their season.
• Matt PItzulo would single home Nick Glanzman, before Patrick Lancaster would triple home Pitzulo for the walk-off win to clinch a spot in the MAC Tournament.
Bien Sets The Tone
• Brian Bien has set the tone in Danny Schmitz's lineup for much of 2014, leading off and starting all 47 games at shortstop.
• Bien leads the Falcons with a .361 batting average. He has scored a team-high 35 runs with eight doubles and a triple.
• His speed has also given opponents fits, as he has 14 stolen bases and nine bunt singles.
Intimidating Middle Of The Order
• The combo of Jeremy Shay and T.J. Losby in the middle of the BGSU batting order is intimidating, to say the least.
• Shay is hitting .321 with a slugging percentage of .463. He has 13 doubles and 38 RBI, and has been on base 61 times in the last 25 games.
• T.J. Losby has been the Falcons' best hitter since MAC play started, batting .416 in the last 25 games. He is second on the team with a .341 average and 35 RBI.
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 is in his second season as undergraduate coach.
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