Falcons Host Eastern Michigan Tuesday

Tuesday, April 14

Bowling Green, Ohio

3:05 pm ET

Bowling Green State University

Eastern Michigan

April 13, 2015 | Baseball

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

Bowling Green Falcons (11-19)
vs.
Eastern Michigan Eagles (13-22)
Tuesday | April 14 | 3:05 p.m.
Warren E. Steller Field (Bowling Green, Ohio)
LIVE STATS | LIVE AUDIO | BCSN
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

The Week In Falcon Baseball
Bowling Green enters a crucial week of the 2015 season when they host Eastern Michigan to begin a four-game home stand on Tuesday afternoon. Following the midweek game against the Eagles, the Falcons are set to host Western Michigan in a three-game series this coming weekend. The Falcons and Broncos enter the fifth weekend of MAC play with identical 5-7 conference records, tied for seventh-place in the standings.

BGSU Coaching Staff
Bowling Green is coached by Danny Schmitz, who is in his 25th season at the helm of the Orange and Brown. Schmitz owns 648 career wins and 337 Mid-American Conference wins in his career, both of which are the third-most in MAC history. He is assisted by Rick Blanc, who is in his eighth season in charge of BGSU's pitchers and recruiting. Ryan Shay coaches the hitters and infielders, while Garrett Gray coaches the catchers under Schmitz.

About Falcon Baseball
The BGSU baseball program is in the midst of its 95th season playing varsity baseball, with an all-time record of 1,599-1,391-27. The Falcons have won seven MAC East championships, five MAC regular season titles, and have won the MAC Tournament on three occasions. Bowling Green has qualified for the MAC Tournament 11 times since 1994, including six times in the last seven seasons.

About The Eagles
Eastern Michigan enters Tuesday's game with an overall record of 13-22, coming off a tough weekend at Central Michigan where they were swept in three games by the Chippewas. As a team, EMU is hitting .261 with an earned run average of 5.23. The Eagles are coached by first-year head coach Mark Van Ameyde, who came back to Ypsilanti after six seasons in the Michigan State dugout. Eric Roof, Spencer Schmitz, and Jordan Keur assist Van Ameyde. Individually, Adam Dennison is the only Eastern Michigan player with a batting average over .300. Projected starting pitcher Adam Hornstra enters the game with an 0-2 record and 15.00 earned run average.

They Said It
"We are excited to be back at home after a big weekend series win at Ohio this past weekend," head coach Danny Schmitz said. "We hope our fans will come out to enjoy the great spring weather and support Falcon baseball all week long. This weekend's series against Western Michigan is very important for our program as we enter the weekend tied with WMU in the MAC standings.

The EMU Series
Bowling Green trails the all-time series with Eastern Michigan, owning a record of 68-95. The two schools first met in 1939, with Michigan Normal winning 7-6. Last season, however, the Falcons defeated Eastern Michigan 11-8 in Ypsilanti in the only game the two teams played. The Eagles also got the best of the Falcons last Wednesday in Ypsilanti, beating the Orange and Brown 4-1.

BGSU-EMU Connection
The Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan baseball programs are intertwined, especially this season. BGSU head coach Danny Schmitz was a four-year letterwinner for the Eagles from 1974-77, taking them to back-to-back College World Series' in 1975-76. In 1976, Schmitz led the Eagles to the CWS finals and earned All-College World Series at second base. This season, Danny's son (and former Falcon) Spencer is an assistant coach at EMU.

MAC Statistical Outlook
Many Falcons are among the Mid-American Conference leaders this season in several statistical categories, both overall and in MAC games only:
• Brandon Howard is second in stolen bases with 21
• Howard is also fifth in walks with 21, while teammate Trey Keegan is seventh with 19
• Howard (29) and Keegan (28) are sixth and seventh respectively in runs scored
• Keegan is seventh with 26 runs batted in
• Keegan is seventh with his .446 on-base percentage
• Matt Smith is fifth with his .386 batting average in MAC play
• Smith's 17 hits are tied for sixth in MAC play only
• Greg Basalyga is tied for fourth in MAC play with 12 RBIs
• Howard's .490 on-base percentage in MAC play is third
• Howard's .543 slugging percentage is 10th in MAC play
• Tony Landi is sixth in MAC play with a .190 opponent batting average

Howard Sets Record In Sunday Win
Redshirt senior Brandon Howard ran into the record book on Sunday (April 12) afternoon, stealing four bases in an 11-1 win over Ohio. For Howard, who has five multi-steal games this season, it was the first time in his career that he had stolen four bases in a single game. It marked just the third time in school history that the feat had been accomplished, and the first time it had been done against a Division I opponent. The previous two occurrences (in 1985 & 1921) came against non-Division I opponents.

Rait Finding A Groove
Senior Jesse Rait has found a groove during MAC play, as he is currently second on the team with a .317 batting average in 12 conference games. Rait is tied for the team lead with five extra base hits, all of which have come in the last two weeks. After not recording an extra-base hit in the first 24 games of the season, Rait has recorded five in the last six games, including his first two career home runs. Rait homered on Sunday, April 5 against Miami and also did so on Sunday, April 12 at Ohio. His .537 MAC slugging percentage is second on the team and his 11 runs scored is tied for the team lead.

Boyd Back On The Mound
Junior college transfer Jevon Boyd is expected to make his second start of the season on Tuesday afternoon against Eastern Michigan. Six days ago, Boyd pitched 4.0 innings against the Eagles, taking home a no-decision. He allowed just one hit and one earned run in his start, striking out two Eagles. On the season, Boyd has a 1.67 ERA in 5.1 innings.

RR Crossing – Proceed With Caution
True freshman Randy Righter has put up impressive power numbers in 2015 for the Falcons. The West Bloomfield, Mich. native recorded his team-leading fourth home run of the spring in Sunday's win at Ohio. After hitting three home runs in the first four games of his career, Righter had not hit one since Feb. 27 vs. Eastern Kentucky. Righter, overall, is hitting .276 with nine extra-base hits which is third on the team. His 20 runs batted in are also third on the Falcons. Righter hit .417 this past weekend, recording five hits in the three-game series at Ohio.

Sundays Are For The Falcon Offense
Bowling Green improved their season record to 2-1 with Sunday's win over Ohio, and has now scored 31 runs in those three games. Last weekend against Miami, the Falcons offense exploded for 18 runs on 18 hits and then followed it up with an encore performance over the weekend against Ohio, scoring 11 runs on 12 hits.

Carey Impresses In Win At Ohio
Zac Carey (London, Ohio) pitched a career-high 8.0 innings in Sunday's series-clinching victory for Bowling Green over Ohio on the road, 11-1. Carey took a shutout into the ninth inning, before surrendering two hits to begin the inning and giving way to the bullpen. Carey struck out three batters and allowed just two hits through the first eight innings, while also inducing three, inning-ending double plays in the game. For Carey, it was his second win of the season and the third straight game that the Falcons have won in which he has started. He is now 2-0 with a 3.28 ERA in conference action.

Fast-Start Falcons
Bowling Green has started games quickly this season, scoring first in 18-of-30 contests to date. The Falcons have scored in the first inning in 14 games this season and are 9-5 when doing so. BGSU is outscoring opponents 34-14 in 2015 during the first inning of play.

Seventh Inning Stretch
BGSU has made a habit of stretching the lead this year in the seventh inning of games, outscoring opponents 28-3 this season. The Falcons are 11-1 this season when leading after seven innings.