Falcons Take On First-Place CMU In Weekend Series

Friday, April 24

Mount Pleasant, MI

3:05 p.m. ET

Bowling Green State University

Central Michigan

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April 23, 2015 | Baseball

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

Bowling Green Falcons (14-21, 7-8 MAC)
at
Central Michigan Chippewas (27-13, 12-3 MAC)
April 24-26 | Mount Pleasant, Mich. (Theunissen Stadium)
Friday: Live Stats | Live Video ($)
Saturday: Live Stats | Live Video ($)
Sunday: Live Stats | Live Video ($)
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

The Weekend Ahead
The Bowling Green State University baseball team takes to the road for a three-game series at Central Michigan, beginning on Friday afternoon in Mount Pleasant, Mich. The Falcons and Chippewas will play Friday (3:00 p.m.), Saturday (2:00 p.m.) and Sunday (1:00 p.m.) all at CMU's Theunissen Stadium. Following the weekend, the Falcons will square off with arch-rival Toledo in a midweek, home-and-home series.

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 651 career wins and 339 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 1,602-1,393-27. 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.

Scouting Central Michigan
Central Michigan enters this weekend's series with an overall record of 27-13 on the season. The Chippewas are 12-3 in Mid-American Conference play, leading the conference by three games heading into the weekend. Last weekend, CMU won 2-of-3 at Buffalo, before having their midweek game cancelled on Wednesday. Steve Jaksa is the head coach, in his 13th season at the helm. He is assisted by Jeff Opalewski, Doug Sanders, and William Arnold. CMU has won at least two games in every series this season, winning all but one series overall. The Chippewas hit .278 as a team with an earned run average of 3.38. Five regular starters are hitting over .300 on the season, led by Pat McKenzie's .357 clip. Five Chippewas have 40-or-more hits, while four have scored over 30 runs. Logan Regnier is their big RBI guy, with 40 to date. As a pitching staff, all three starters hold ERAs below 3.00.

The Central Michigan Series
Bowling Green has an all-time record of 42-65-1 against Central Michigan. Last season, CMU won 2-of-3 at Steller Field. In 2013, the Falcons took 2-of-3 from the Chippewas at Theunissen Stadium. The series dates back to 1971.

They Said It
"Starting this weekend at Central Michigan, every game matters the rest of the way," head coach Danny Schmitz started. "CMU is a very well-coached team and they will be tough to beat on their home turf. We must execute in all three phases and play with great energy to give ourselves a chance this weekend."

Last Time Out
The Falcons won 2-of-3 against Western Michigan last weekend, which marked their third straight series victory in MAC play. BGSU was defeated on Tuesday evening by Youngstown State, falling to the Penguins 5-1.

Cincinnati Natives Chasing Records
Two Cincinnati natives – Brandon Howard and Brian Bien – are winding down outstanding careers in the Bowling Green Orange and Brown. The pair of middle infielders will leave their mark on the program, most notably in the all-time record books.
• Brandon Howard enters the weekend fourth all-time with 55 career stolen bases. Although he is 24 shy of the record, he is just one shy of a tie for third all-time. His 23 stolen bases this season are tied for sixth with his 2014, career-best, mark.
• Howard has played in 187 career games, and with three games played this weekend, would move into a 10th-place tie all-time for career games played.
• Brian Bien enters the weekend third all-time with 530 career assists.
• Bien's 650 career at-bats are currently the sixth-most all-time, while his 206 hits are just three shy of the top 10.

Brown Making An Early Impact
Junior Kory Brown (Sparta, Mich.) has had an impact since day one at BGSU, after transferring in from junior college. On top of being named a captain, Brown was named the BGSU Male Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year this past week. His 10 sacrifice hits this season are just two shy of the top 10 for a single season. Brown enters the weekend having reached base in 14 straight games.

Carey Named MAC East Pitcher Of The Week
Zac Carey (London, Ohio) carried Bowling Green to a series win, pitching a complete-game shutout in the Falcons' series-clinching, walk-off win on Saturday in the nightcap of a doubleheader. Carey was efficient in the performance, facing just 33 batters and throwing just 103 pitches in his first career complete-game shutout. Carey induced two double plays and worked out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth, the only real threat against him in the game. Carey, a true freshman, is now 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA in MAC play. The Falcons have won four straight decisions with him on the mound.

Howard Winding Down Career
Brandon Howard has put together an excellent career in the Brown and Orange, with just a few weeks left before his senior campaign comes to a close. Howard is just three games played shy of moving into the top 10 all-time at BGSU. He currently sits fourth all-time with 55 career stolen bases. He is one shy of moving into a third-place tie with Jon Berti. Howard has 23 stolen bases on the season, which is tied for sixth with himself from a season ago. The all-time record is 32 stolen bases in a season.

Entering The Home Stretch
The Falcons travel to CMU this weekend for a crucial MAC series. With just four weekends left in the regular season, every game counts. BGSU currently holds the seven-seed if the MAC Tournament were to start this week, but plays the toughest schedule in the MAC the rest of the way. The Falcons' final four opponents have a combined MAC record of 35-25, while no other school's remaining opponents have more than 33 wins.

Toughest Remaining MAC Schedules
1. Bowling Green 35-25 (combined opp. record)
2. Northern Illinois 33-27
T3. Miami 31-29
T3. Western Michigan 31-29
T3. Buffalo 31-29

The Turnaround
Bowling Green has had a remarkable turnaround the last 14 games, after starting the season 5-16 (0-5 MAC). At that point, the Falcons had lost 10 straight games and had been beaten badly by NIU in the first two games of the series. But, a veteran-led club infused with talent from the freshman/newcomer class has helped the Falcons gel and put themselves in a good position going into the final stretch.

First 21		Last 14
5-16	Record	9-5
0-5	MAC Record	7-3
.263	Batting Avg.	.289
.347	Slugging Pct.	.393
.335	On-base Pct.	.367
23	Stolen Bases	24
5.14	Runs/game	6.64
5.92	ERA	3.55
7.09	Runs/game allowed	4.21
.308	Opp. Average	.232

BGSU, LLC
Bowling Green's starting rotation of Jason Link, Andrew Lacinak, and Zac Carey combined to pitch 22.2 innings in last weekend's series, allowing just two earned runs. The three starters combined for an earned run average of 0.79 in the weekend series. Link pitched a career-high six innings on Friday in a 12-2 win, while Lacinak pitched a season-high 7.2 innings without allowing an earned run in Saturday's first game. In the nightcap of the doubleheader, true freshman Zac Carey pitched a complete-game shutout in a 1-0 win.

Bien Having A Strong April
Brian Bien entered his senior season coming off a junior campaign in which he was named All-MAC first team at shortstop. The two-time All-MAC performer hit .351 in 2014. However, Bien got off to a slow start in 2015, batting just .160 through the first two months of the season. He has turned it around in April, however, batting .410 in 12 games played this month. He is slugging .481, has an on-base percentage of .452 and leads the Falcons in hitting during the month of April.