Baseball Welcomes WMU To Town For Weekend Series

Friday, April 17

Bowling Green, Ohio

3:05 pm ET

Bowling Green State University

Western Michigan

April 16, 2015 | Baseball

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

The Week In Falcon Baseball
Bowling Green welcomes the Western Michigan Broncos to town for a three-game series this weekend at Warren E. Steller Field. 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 defeated Eastern Michigan 4-2 on Tuesday afternoon in a nonconference matchup against the Eagles.

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 649 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 1,600-1,391-27. 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 WMU
Western Michigan currently sits at 13-19 overall, following a Wednesday loss at Oakland University. The Broncos are 5-7 in Mid-American Conference play, tied with the Falcons for seventh place in the conference standings. As a team, WMU is hitting .253 with an earned run average of 4.99. Billy Gernon is the head coach of Western Michigan, in the midst of his fifth season at WMU. He is assisted by Blaine McFerrin, Adam Piotrowicz, and Ryan Cypret. So far, the Broncos have played Miami, Ohio, Eastern Michigan and Toledo in MAC play, taking the series from Ohio while winning just 1-of-3 in the other three series. Kurt Hoekstra is the only Bronco hitting over .300, but has an impressive .392 batting average. He has started all 31 games to date with eight doubles, four triples and two home runs. He leads the team with 28 RBI and 27 runs scored.

The WMU Series
Bowling Green trails the all-time series with Western Michigan, holding an all-time record of 58-81. Last season, the two teams split four games, which included WMU knocking the Falcons out of the 2014 MAC Tournament. The Falcons took 2-of-3 from the Broncos during the regular season, in a road series played at Mercy Field in Toledo, Ohio. The series dates back to 1947.

They Said It
"We are excited to get back on the field this weekend," head coach Danny Schmitz said. "This weekend provides another chance to play Falcon baseball against a strong WMU squad. We have to execute in all three phases to give ourselves a chance to win the series."

Weekend Promotions
Friday (Frosty Friday) – Each fan that returns a foul ball to the marketing table will receive a coupon for a free frosty
Saturday (Kids Take The Field For The National Anthem) – Every child in attendance at least 10 minutes prior to first pitch will have the opportunity to take the field with the Falcons for the National Anthem
Sunday (Kids Run The Bases) – Every child in attendance will be able to run the bases at Warren E. Steller Field after each Sunday home game this season

What Can Brown Do For You?
True freshman Kody Brown has been impressive out of the bullpen this season, picking up his first career save on Sunday (April 5) against the Miami RedHawks. In Tuesday's win over Eastern Michigan, Brown picked up his second save of the season. He has pitched 12 innings in 12 appearances this season, striking out eight batters. In MAC play, Brown has a 2.08 ERA with five strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched.

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 seven games, including his first two career home runs.

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 fifth home run of the spring in Tuesday's win over EMU. 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 has homered in two straight games and has 10 extra-base hits which is second on the team. His 22 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.

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.

Keegan's Cannon
Redshirt sophomore catcher Trey Keegan enters the weekend as one of the nation's top catchers, having thrown out 15-of-28 would-be base stealers this season. His 54-percent success rate ranks third among sophomore-class catchers in the entire country. He has also picked off three base runners this season.

A Thrilling Tuesday Win
Bowling Green improved their record to 12-1 on the season when leading after seven innings in Tuesday's 4-2 home victory over Eastern Michigan. But, it wasn't without drama, as EMU took a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth inning. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, the Falcons tied Tuesday's game with a single off the bat of Greg Basalyga. On the very next pitch, Randy Righter smacked a game-winning, two-run home run over the wall in left field to clinch the win for the Orange and Brown.

Cincinnati Natives Chasing Records
The double-play duo of Brandon Howard and Brian Bien has seen two Cincinnati natives put together very strong careers for the Falcons, and both are in line to firmly plant their names in the record books at BGSU.
• Howard is currently tied for fourth all-time with 54 career stolen bases. He is just two shy of moving into a third-place tie with Falcon legend Jon Berti, who stole 56 in his career.
• Howard has 22 stolen bases this season, just 10 shy of the all-time record. He is one shy of tying his career-high for a single season.
• Bien is currently third all-time with 514 career fielding assists.
• Bien is also inside the top 10 for career at-bats with 636, which currently puts him ninth. He has 199 career hits, just outside the top 10 all-time.
• Both Howard and Bien should end their careers inside the top 10 all-time for career games played. Howard has played in 183 games, while Bien has played in 176. Currently 190 career games played is 10th all-time.

Bombs Away
Bowling Green has had a power surge this season, hitting 15 home runs so far through 31 games. The Falcons, who hit just eight home runs last season, have gotten at least one home run from six different players this year. Randy Righter leads the team with five home runs. The 15 home runs is already tied for the most in a season since the Falcons hit 20 in 2011, the first year of the "dead bat" era in college baseball.

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 12-1 this season when leading after seven innings.