Falcon Baseball Set To Get 2015 Season Underway This Weekend

Friday, February 13

Cape Girardeau, MO

2:00 p.m. ET

Bowling Green State University

Southeast Missouri State

February 11, 2015 | Baseball

BGSU will travel to SEMO to begin 2015 season

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

BGSU Falcons (0-0; 0-0 MAC)
at
SEMO Redhawks (0-0; 0-0 OVC)
Friday, 2:00 pm ET (DH) || Saturday, 1:00 pm ET
Cape Girardeau, Mo. (Capaha Field)
Live Stats (Game 1) | Live Stats (Game 2) | Live Stats (Game 3) | Live Audio
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

The Starting Lineup
• The Bowling Green State University baseball program begins its 96th season of varsity baseball in 2015 when the Falcons travel to Southeast Missouri for three games to open the season. Bowling Green has an all-time record of 1,588-1,372-27 this season. The Falcons have won seven MAC East Division titles and five MAC regular season championships in program history.
• Head coach Danny Schmitz enters his 25th season at the helm of the Orange and Brown. Schmitz has a career record of 637-612-5 as head coach of the Falcons.
• Two of Schmitz's three assistant coaches return from last year. Rick Blanc enters his eighth season as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, while Garrett Gray returns for his second season as volunteer coach. Ryan Shay, a former Falcon great under Schmitz, enters his first season as an assistant coach—working primarily with hitters and infielders.
• BGSU's 2015 roster features just five seniors and 12 upperclassmen. Brian Bien, Brandon Howard, Jesse Rait, Trevor Blaylock, and Jason Link are the Falcons' five seniors.
• The Orange and Brown will have tri-captains for the 2015 season. Seniors Jason Link and Brian Bien will lead the Falcons along with junior, and newcomer, Kory Brown.
• The 2015 roster features 14 newcomers—eight pitchers and six position players. The Falcons are tasked with replacing starters at a minimum of six spots around the diamond.
• Fast starts keyed much of the Falcons success in 2014. The Orange and Brown were 22-3 a season ago when leading after seven innings of play. Additionally, the Falcons were 18-8 when scoring first last season.
• Defense will be a big key to success in 2015. The Falcons were 13-3 in 2014 when not committing an error, while they had a record of just 9-17 when committing two-or-more.
• Bowling Green's offense was unstoppable when scoring seven-or-more runs in 2014, as the Falcons went 12-0 when doing so. When the BGSU pitching staff allowed five-or-less runs, the Falcons went 19-9.

A Look At Southeast Missouri
• Southeast Missouri enters the 2015 season with high expectations under head coach Steve Bieser. The Redhawks were picked to finish first in the Ohio Valley Conference following a 37-win season in 2014.
• The Redhawks return their top pitcher in preseason first team All-OVC performer Travis Hayes. Last season, Hayes finished with an 8-2 record and a 3.23 ERA. He struck out 61 batters in 86.1 innings pitched and was named OVC Co-Pitcher of the Year.
• Despite losing their top two offensive performers, SEMO returns a plethora of talent in the lineup. Infielder Andy Lennington returns after batting .312 with a team-high 18 doubles last season in 56 games. Second baseman Jason Blum also returns after starting all 57 games last season. Blum scored 60 runs and stole a team-high 23 bases in 2014 while hitting .272.
• As mentioned, the Redhawks will have to replace their top two offensive performers from 2014 in outfielder Derek Gibson and first baseman Matt Tellor. Both players were named All-America last season and both signed professional contracts.
• SEMO finished the 2014 season with a batting average of .306 and a team earned run average of 4.85.

Falcons Start Season With OVC Stretch
• All three games against Southeast Missouri to open the season this weekend begin a stretch of three straight weekends against competition from the Ohio Valley Conference. Nine of the season's first 10 games are scheduled against OVC opponents.
• The Falcons will open the season this weekend in Cape Girardeau, Mo. against Southeast Missouri. The Redhawks were picked to finish first in the OVC. The next two weekends will also see the Orange and Brown play on the road at OVC schools, both three games series.
• BGSU will travel to Morehead State—picked fifth in the OVC preseason poll—for three games from Feb. 20-22. The following weekend, the Falcons will play at Eastern Kentucky for a three-game series. The Colonels were picked to finish ninth in the Ohio Valley by the coaches and Sports Information Directors.

Bien Around The Block
• Brian Bien, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, will be relied on in 2015 to lead the Falcons. Bien, a two-time All-MAC performer led the Falcons in hitting with a .351 average a season ago.
• In 202 at-bats, Bien tallied 71 hits and scored 37 runs. He was fourth on the team with 22 runs batted in and stole 17 bases. His on-base percentage of .400 was second on the team.
• In MAC play, Bien batted .371 while making just four errors for a fielding percentage of .973. He was named first team All-MAC at the position. Bien enters his senior season with 445 career assists, good for fourth-most in school history.
• A captain in 2015, Bien started all 52 games for the Falcons at shortstop a season ago. Bien reached base safely in 46 of the Falcons' 52 games and finished the season with 16 sacrifices – second-most in school history.

Lacinak Named Opening Day Starter
• Down the stretch in 2014, left-handed pitcher Andrew Lacinak turned into the ace of the pitching staff for head coach Danny Schmitz and the Falcons. Overall, Lacinak was 6-3 with a 3.24 earned run average. He pitched 77.2 innings on the year while holding opponents to a .246 average against.
• After missing nearly 22 months due to two separate elbow surgeries, Lacinak was named the Falcons' Comeback Player of the Year in 2014. In MAC play, he went 5-2 with a 3.47 ERA. Lacinak won his final four decisions of the year.
• The redshirt sophomore will get the ball on Friday afternoon to start the season. He is the first Falcon other than Cody Apthorpe to get the opening day start since the 2011 season.

The Missing Link
• Senior right-hander Jason Link will be relied on to lead the bullpen, and pitching staff, as a captain in 2015. Last season, Link appeared in 17 games for the Orange and Brown, compiling a 1-1 record.
• Despite making just one start, the Hamilton, Ohio native pitched 37.0 innings, most among non-starters for the Falcons. Link allowed just seven earned runs for a 1.70 earned run average. His ERA was fourth-best in school history for a single season.

Howard A Prolific Base Stealer
• Brandon Howard (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished the 2014 season fifth on the Falcons with a .299 batting average. He was especially impressive and lethal on the bases during MAC play.
• Despite batting just .292 in 26 games during conference play, Howard was a perfect 17-for-17 in stolen base attempts against league foes. Overall, he stole 23-of-24 bases in 2014, the sixth-most in school history.
• Howard stole three bases in a game twice during the 2014 season and was a perfect 21-for-21 over the final 30 games of the year. Playing primarily at third base in 2014, Howard had 11 multi-hit games.

The New Look Falcons
• Bowling Green baseball will have a new look in 2015, as 14 of the 32 players (44%) on the roster are newcomers. After losing five of their top seven offensive performers from the 2014 roster, head coach Danny Schmitz will look to his veteran leadership to carry the youthful roster.
• Bien and Howard are the only two players from the 2014 roster who finished in the top seven in batting average. The redshirt senior from Cincinnati finished 2014 with a .299 batting average, 28 runs scored, and a team-high 23 stolen bases.
• The Falcons also lose four of their top eight pitchers from a season ago in terms of innings pitched.

#FalconFast
• One of the Falcons' keys to success during the 2014 season was their team speed, as the Orange and Brown stole 76 bases last season. On the flip side, the BGSU pitching staff and defense held opponents to just 34 steals on 60 attempts.
• In 27 MAC games, the Falcons recorded 47 stolen bases on 59 attempts, while allowing just 17 steals against them. Both Howard (17-for-17) and Bien (12-for-16) led Bowling Green during MAC play in stolen bases.

Looking To Get Off To A Quick Start
• Bowling Green will be looking to get off to a strong start this weekend when they travel to Missouri for a matchup against preseason OVC-favorite Southeast Missouri.
• Bowling Green last won a season-opening game in 2013, when the Falcons defeated Western Kentucky in extra innings to begin the season. The 2013 version of the Falcons won each of their first two games.
• The Falcons have gotten off to slow starts in each of the last six seasons overall. Since 2009, BGSU has not had a better start than 2-7 through their first nine games. The last time that the Falcons had a .500-or-better record through the first nine games of the season came in 2007, when the Orange and Brown started 6-3.

Falcons In The Pros
• Four current Falcons will be playing professional baseball in 2015, including two players in the Major Leagues. Both Burke Badenhop and Nolan Reimold are expected to start the season in the big leagues, while Jon Berti and Brennan Smith will compete for spots in the minor leagues.
• Badenhop signed a contract with the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend. He has a mutual option for the 2016 season. Last season, Badenhop had a career-best 2.29 ERA in 70 appearances for the Boston Red Sox.
• Reimold signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles this offseason, with an invite to big league spring training. Reimold spent the first six seasons of his major league career with the Orioles prior to playing in three different organizations last season.
• Berti continues to impress at the minor league level, competing last season for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats—the Double-A affiliate for the Toronto Blue Jays. Berti has been successful at every stop he has gone in his brief professional career, and competed this past fall in the prestigious Arizona Fall League.
• Smith spent time in both A and AA last year in the Detroit Tigers organization. Over the course of his career, Smith has compiled a 3.36 ERA in 123 career games with 14 wins and nine saves.

Roll Along You BG (Road) Warriors
• Bowling Green will play their first 18 games of the 2015 season on the road, traveling nearly 5,000 miles round trip to do so in the first month of the season. According to Google Maps, the Falcons will travel 4,758 miles to play their first 18 games.
• The Falcons will travel 517 miles to Cape Girardeau, Mo. (1,034 miles round trip) for a weekend series with the Redhawks of Southeast Missouri. The following two weekends will see the Orange and Brown head to Morehead State (285 miles one way) and Eastern Kentucky (286 miles one) with a midweek game at Dayton sandwiched between them (264 miles round trip).
• The spring trip will start with the Falcons traveling to Buies Creek, N.C. (608 mile trip) for three games at Campbell University. From there, BGSU will travel 613 miles by bus to Winter Haven, Fla. before making the 1,097-mile trip back to Bowling Green for the home opener against Youngstown State on March 18.

Falcons Picked Fourth In MAC East
• BGSU was picked to finish fourth in the MAC East in the preseason, as voted upon by the league's 12 head coaches. The Falcons did receive one first place vote.
• The Falcons also received one vote to win the Mid-American Conference Tournament, one of seven schools receiving at least one vote.
• Kent State received eight votes to win the East Division, while Ball State led the way in the West Division with eight votes.

They Said It
• Head coach Danny Schmitz on the beginning of the 2015 season and the series at Southeast Missouri State: "We are excited to get the 2015 season underway at Southeast Missouri this weekend. They won 37 games last season and were picked as OVC preseason favorites this season. It is always exciting to get back out on the field again for the first time since fall, and this weekend will be very important for our program to do exactly that. SEMO is a very strong program and will provide a great challenge to us this weekend. We are excited to get the season started with a doubleheader on Friday."