Falcons Begin Quest To Defend MAC Tournament Championship

Wednesday, May 21

Avon, Ohio

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Bowling Green State University

Kent State University

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May 20, 2014 | Baseball

BGSU opens up play against No. 4 Kent State on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m.

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

The Starting Lineup
• Bowling Green comes into this week's Mid-American Conference Tournament with an overall record of 25-25. The Falcons finished the regular season at 15-12 in the MAC.
• The Falcons started the season just 6-16, but have since gone 19-9 to position themselves as the No. 5 seed at the MAC Tournament.
• BGSU won six of their nine Mid-American Conference series' in 2014. The Falcons won a game on the final day of each of the last eight series.
• The Falcons were just 5-7 against teams from the West Division in MAC play, but went 10-5 against the East Division.
• Bowling Green played each of the seven other teams which qualified for the MAC Tournament, going 11-10 against the field.
• BGSU has a team batting average of .280 on the season. The Falcons hit .298 as a team in MAC play.
• The Falcons pitching staff brings a 4.65 ERA into the MAC Tournament. During MAC play, the Orange and Brown had an ERA of 4.59.
• Through the first 22 games of the season, Bowling Green was just 6-16 (.272) away from home. Over the last 28 games of the season, BGSU was much better, going 11-4 (.733) away from Bowling Green.
• 2014 marks the 13th time that the Falcons have qualified for the MAC Tournament under head coach Danny Schmitz. It is also the sixth time in the last seven seasons.

The Falcons And The MAC Tournament
• This week's MAC Tournament marks the 13th time in the Danny Schmitz era that the Falcons have qualified, and the sixth time in the past seven seasons.
• BGSU is 18-21 all-time at the MAC Tournament, having won it on three different occasions (1998, 1999, 2013).
• The Falcons enter this season's MAC Tournament as the defending champions.
• In four different tournaments, the Falcons have won multiple games. BGSU went 5-1 in 1998, 4-1 in 1999, 3-2 in 2010, and 4-1 in 2013.

Defending MAC Tournament Champions
• BGSU enters this year's MAC Tournament as the defending champions, having gone 4-1 to earn the MAC's automatic berth in last season's NCAA Tournament.
• BGSU defeated NIU 6-4 in the opening game, and then beat Toledo in 2-of-3 to advance to the championship where they beat Ball State, 7-0.

Previewing The MAC Tournament
• Bowling Green enters this week's MAC Tournament as the No. 5 seed. The Falcons will open play on Wednesday (1:00 p.m.) against No. 4 seed Kent State. Also joining the Orange and Brown in their side of the bracket is No. 1 seed Ball State and No. 8 seed Western Michigan.
• On the other side of the bracket will be No. 2 seed Central Michigan, No. 3 seed Miami, No. 6 seed Buffalo, and No. 7 seed Akron.
• Each side of the bracket will feature a double-elimination tournament. The winners of each bracket will meet on Sunday (May 25) in the championship.

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 19-9 since then to position themselves as the fifth-seed in the MAC Tournament.
• Bowling Green hit just .266 through the first 22 games in 2014, but has hit .290 over the last 28.
• The Falcons had just 34 extra-base hits through the first 22 games of the season, but have banged 57 over the last 28.
• The Orange and Brown stole just 20 bases during their 6-16 start this year, but have swiped 54 bases during the last 28 games (19-9).
• The Falcons have produced nearly double the runs over the last 28 games (6.68 runs per game) than they did the first 22 (3.64 rpg).
• During the first 22 games, BGSU had 10+ hits in nine games, but only scored 6+ runs three different times. A large factor was the lack of stolen bases, as the Falcons stole multiple bases in just five of their first 22 games.
• Over the last 28 games, Bowling Green has had 10+ hits in 15 games, while scoring 6+ runs 17 times. The Falcons have produced runs with their speed, stealing multiple bases in 18 of the last 28 games.

Speed Breeds Success
• BGSU has found a way to get runners into scoring position, stealing 74 bases in 2014. The Falcons led the way with 47 steals in MAC play.
• Brandon Howard leads BGSU with 22 stolen bases. He has only been caught once, going a perfect 17-for-17 against MAC competition. Brian Bien (17) and Patrick Lancaster (15) also have double-digit stolen bases.

Losby A Leader In All Aspects
• T.J. Losby finished the regular season with a batting average of .331, second-best on the Falcons. He heated up in MAC play, finishing fifth in the MAC with 38 hits in league play.
• Losby is serving 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 159 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.   159
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
• Mike Frank has pitched more innings during his career (309.1) than any other pitcher in BGSU history. His 218 strikeouts (2nd all-time) make him the only pitcher in Bowling Green history with 300+ innings pitched and 200+ strikeouts.
• T.J. Losby has recorded the most career putouts in school history during his career, with 1,068 to date. Classmate Jeremy Shay is fifth all-time with 970 putouts.
• Jake Thomas has four triples this season, bringing his career total to 12. He is tied for third all-time.
• Brian Bien has compiled 442 assists during his career, good for a fourth-place tie all-time with BGSU Hall of Famer Gary Haas.
• Ben Singer is fifth all-time with 82 career appearances. The all-time record is 91.
• Jeremy Shay is sixth all-time with 45 career doubles.
• For the third consecutive season, Jake Thomas is inside the top 10 with four triples on the year. He is currently tied for 10th all-time for a single season.
• Brandon Howard is tied for eighth all-time with 22 stolen bases this season.
• Brian Bien is tied for third all-time with 14 sacrifices this season. He has recorded 10 sac bunts and four sac flies.

Bien Sets The Tone
• Brian Bien has led the Falcons in hitting from start-to-finish in 2014. The junior shortstop has started all 50 games, hitting .354. He hit .371 in MAC play.
• Bien led the MAC with 43 hits in 27 league games. His .371 average was fifth-best in MAC play.
• Overall, Bien had the fourth-best average at .354, and was sixth in hits with 69.

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 .315 with a team-high 38 RBI. He slugged .455 during the regular season with an on-base percentage of .457.
• Shay's on-base percentage was second in the MAC, while he finished third in walks (34) and ninth in RBI (39).
• T.J. Losby hit .331 during the regular season, including an impressive .362 in MAC play. Losby had 36 RBI, and was tied for the team lead with 22 during MAC play.
• Losby led the Falcons over the final 28 games of the season, batting .388 with a team-high slugging percentage of .524.

B-How Do You Stop Him?
• Brandon Howard was a perfect 17-for-17 in stolen base attempts during MAC play. His 17 steals were three more than anybody else in the conference.
• Overall, Howard was 22-for-23 during the regular season, although he only stole two bases during the first 22 games of the season.
• Howard has six games this season with multiple stolen bases, and has stolen three bases in two different games.

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.