BGSU Hosts Miami As MAC Baseball Heats Up

Saturday, April 4

Bowling Green, Ohio

12:00 pm ET

Bowling Green State University

Miami (OH)

April 02, 2015 | Baseball

Falcons and RedHawks meet in crucial MAC East showdown

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

Bowling Green Falcons (7-16, 1-5 MAC)
vs.
Miami RedHawks (4-21, 2-4 MAC)
April 3 | 3:05 p.m.
April 4-5 | 1:05 p.m.
Warren E. Steller Field (Bowling Green, Ohio)
LIVE STATS | LIVE AUDIO
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

The Weekend Ahead
The Bowling Green State University baseball team continues their four game home with a three-game weekend series against Miami this weekend. The Falcons and RedHawks will play Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Warren E. Steller Field in Bowling Green. Friday is set for a 3:05 p.m. first pitch, while Saturday and Sunday are scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m.

The Falcon 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 644 career wins and 333 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 1,595-1,388-27. 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 Miami
The Miami RedHawks enters the weekend with an overall record of 4-21 on the season. MU currently sits at 2-4 in the Mid-American Conference. Miami played Louisville and Marshall in midweek games this past week. As a team the RedHawks are batting .254 with an earned run average of 5.53. After winning their first two conference games this season against WMU, the RedHawks have lost four straight MAC games. Miami was swept by Central Michigan at home last week. Miami also lost on Tuesday night at nationally-ranked Louisville, and was defeated by Marshall on Wednesday night.

Under second-year head coach Danny Hayden, the RedHawks have struggled to find consistency after winning the MAC East Division in 2014. The RedHawks average just 3.79 runs per game while allowing 6.50. Matt Honchel leads Miami with a batting average of .391. The senior is also leading MU with 36 hits, eight doubles and four stolen bases. On the mound, sophomore Jacob Banks leads the RedHawks in innings pitched (42.2) and strikeouts (33).

The Miami Series
Bowling Green has an all-time record of 63-92 against Miami, but the series has been dead even in each of the past two seasons. In 2013, Bowling Green won 2-of-3 over the RedHawks at Steller Field, before dropping 2-of-3 on the road in 2014.

They Said It
Head Coach Danny Schmitz on the importance of this weekend against Miami: "Now we are getting into our own division and we have to dig out of the hole we created for ourselves. We have Miami coming in. I have a lot of respect for their program and what Coach Hayden has done there. We need to come out and play very well and start making a move. This is huge - we are home and we need to take care of our home field.

A Look Around The MAC
After two weekends of play, Bowling Green enters the weekend just one game behind an eighth-place tie for the final spot in next month's Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Falcons, who have gotten off to a slow 1-5 start in league play, will look to carry momentum from a 10-0 midweek win into this weekend.

Both Ball State and Central Michigan pace the league with identical 5-1 records through the first six games, while Akron and NIU – both 4-2 in MAC play – are the only other two teams with records above .500. Below is this weekend's MAC schedule:

Miami (2-4) at Bowling Green (1-5)
Akron (4-2) at Ball State (5-1)
Central Michigan (5-1) at Toledo (3-3)
Kent State (3-3) at Northern Illinois (4-2)
Ohio (2-4) at Buffalo (2-4)
Western Michigan (3-3) at Eastern Michigan (2-4)

What Can Brown Do For You?
Junior Kory Brown had a career day on Tuesday against Findlay, going 3-for-5 on the day with two runs scored. His three hits were a career-high. He also stole a base in the game and is now 7-for-8 on the season.

Carey Picks Up First Career Win
Bowling Green entered the series finale at Northern Illinois in desperate need of a win, having lost five straight to begin MAC play. True freshman Zac Carey stepped up against the Huskies, delivering a career-high 7.1 innings to get the Falcons back in the win column and pick up his first career victory. Carey surrendered an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning, after allowing a leadoff single. He then proceeded to retire 19 straight Northern Illinois batters before a one-out double in the seventh. Carey struck out just two batters, but was efficient in retiring 22-of-26 batters faced on just 99 pitches.

Drewes Delivers For Falcons
True freshman Derek Drewes entered the weekend 0-for-8 in his career at the plate, but then went 3-for-5 at Northern Illinois. The Tinora High School graduate recorded his first career hit in a pinch-hit opportunity during Saturday's first game. Then, Drewes picked up his first career start in the second game, going 2-for-4 with three RBI. In the top of the fifth Drewes delivered a two-out RBI single to put the Falcons ahead for good. Then, he capped off a five-run sixth inning with a two-RBI single in his very next at-bat.

Keegan An All-Around Threat
Catcher Trey Keegan has been a threat both offensively and defensively for the Falcons all season. He currently leads the team with his .333 batting average. The redshirt sophomore has six doubles, three home runs, and a team high 20 RBI on the year. Defensively, Keegan is 11th nationally, having thrown out 11-of-24 (.458) would-be base stealers to date.

Stealing Victories In 2015
Bowling Green is 7-0 this season when stealing multiple bases in a game. Against Findlay, the Falcons stole a season-high five bases in their 10-0 victory. The Falcons did not steal a base in the first two games of the series against NIU. In the Falcons seven wins this season they have stolen 24 bases as a team, while in their 16 losses they have swiped just seven total bases.

Seventh Inning Stretch
BGSU is outscoring opponents 19-3 this season in the seventh inning of games, by far their largest margin in a single inning throughout the 2015 season. It is no coincidence, that Bowling Green is 7-0 when leading after seven innings this season, but 0-16 when trailing or tied at that same juncture in the game.

Howard Running Into Record Book
Brandon Howard has swiped 13 bases this season, and now has 45 for his career. The redshirt junior is seventh all-time in career stolen bases, surpassing Glenn Honeycutt (1961-63) with his two steals against Findlay. Last season Howard stole 23 bases, which was tied for sixth-most in school history for a single season.

Spring Fever At Steller Field
Tuesday's game was the 23rd of the season for the Falcons, but just the fifth at Warren E. Steller Field. After playing the first 14 games of the season on the road, the Falcons will be looking to find their groove as the weather warms up. The Orange and Brown is scheduled to play 15 of their last 27 games at Steller Field in 2015, providing them with an opportunity to get on a roll and finish the season strong.

Fitzwater Fires Falcons Past Findlay
Junior Brett Fitzwater twirled a gem on the mound in Tuesday's 10-0 victory over Findlay, allowing just one hit in a career-high seven innings of work. Fitzwater did not allow a hit through the first 6.2 innings. He also struck out seven Oilers, tying his career high. After striking out just two through the first five innings, Fitzwater struck out the side in the sixth inning and then two more in the seventh. He picked up his second victory of the season to improve to 2-0 on the campaign.