Falcons Conclude Regular Season With Crucial Home Series

Thursday, May 14

Bowling Green, Ohio

3:05 pm ET

Bowling Green State University

Buffalo

May 13, 2015 | Baseball

BGSU will host Buffalo for a three-game series beginning on Thursday

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

The Weekend Ahead
Bowling Green State University baseball hosts the University at Buffalo in a three-game series this weekend to wrap up the regular season. The Falcons, who currently hold the No. 8 seed in next week's MAC Tournament, head into the weekend with a magic number of "2" to clinch a spot. The series begins on Thursday (May 14) at 3:05 p.m., while both Friday and Saturday are slated to begin at 1:05 p.m.

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 657 career wins and 343 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 1,608-1,399-27. 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 Buffalo
Buffalo enters the weekend with an overall record of 16-32, 7-17 in MAC play. The Bulls have already been eliminated from MAC Tournament contention. As a team, the Bulls are batting .253 on the season with a team earned run average of 5.38. Buffalo is coached by Ron Torgalski, who is assisted by Steve Ziroli, Brad Cochrane, and Nick Flemister. Nick Sinay leads the Bulls offensively with his .325 batting average. The speedster has scored 39 runs and stolen a MAC-leading 37 bases to date.

The Series
Bowling Green holds an all-time record of 30-12 against Buffalo, having won 2-of-3 last season on the road to overtake UB for the No. 5 seed in the MAC Tournament. The series started in 2000, a three-game sweep by the Orange and Brown.

They Said It
"The final weekend of the regular season always brings a lot of excitement," head coach Danny Schmitz said. "The MAC Tournament race is very tight right now, and it always seems to come down to the final weekend of play. We are looking to take care of business this weekend by playing Falcon baseball to secure a berth in next week's MAC Tournament."

Problem On The Paths
Senior Brandon Howard became Bowling Green's single-season record holder in stolen bases during Tuesday's win against Dayton, stealing his 33rd base of the season in the first inning. Howard currently has 34 stolen bases this season, just three behind MAC-leader Nick Sinay. Howard's 66 career stolen bases are 11 shy of the all-time record at BGSU.

Bien There, Done That
Brian Bien (Cincinnati, Ohio) is a career .325 hitter, but found himself in a funk at the beginning of the 2015 season. Through the season's first 21 games, Bien was batting just .171 with 12 hits in 20 games played. Since then, however, Bien is leading the Falcons with a .407 batting average. He is slugging .469 with an on-base percentage of .435 during that stretch, having recorded 33 hits in 25 games played.

Falcons To Honor Five Seniors
Bowling Green will honor five seniors prior to Saturday's game. The senior class of Brian Bien, Trevor Blaylock, Brandon Howard, Jason Link, and Jesse Rait has certainly left its mark on BGSU Baseball. The senior class has combined to play in 578 games and make 509 starts between the three position players, recording a combined 1,879 at-bats, score 318 runs, register 553 hits and 69 extra-base hits. On the mound, Link and Blaylock have appeared in 126 games and made 36 starts during their careers. The duo has pitched 319.2 innings, picking up 15 wins, seven saves, and striking out 199.

Seventh Inning Stretch
Bowling Green has made a habit of stretching the lead this season during the seventh inning, outscoring opponents to date 39-4 in the inning. It has proven to be a large part of the Falcons success, as it has led the Orange and Brown to a 19-3 record this season when leading after seven innings.

Second-Half Schmitz
Danny Schmitz has proven over the course of his 25-year head coaching career that he knows how to have his teams playing their best baseball in the second half of the year. Schmitz's all-time record is 657-635-5 (.509), but his career record in April and beyond is 443-392-1 (.532). This season has been no different. After starting the season 5-16 (0-5 MAC), BGSU has gone 15-11 overall and 11-8 in the MAC during the second-half of the season.

First 21		Last 26
5-16	Record	15-11
0-5	MAC Record	11-8
.263	Batting Avg.	.301
.347	Slugging Pct.	.394
.335	On-base Pct.	.369
23	Stolen Bases	46
5.14	Runs/game	6.04
5.92	ERA	3.52
7.09	Runs/game allowed	4.27
.308	Opp. Average	.241

Sundays Are For The Offense
Bowling Green's offense has shined on Sundays this season, as the Falcons have compiled a 4-2 record. BGSU is averaging 8.5 runs and 14.33 hits per game in six games on Sunday this season. After losing their first Sunday game of the year on March 8 at Campbell, the Falcons ran off four consecutive wins prior to Sunday's loss to KSU. Over the last five games on Sunday, BGSU has averaged nearly 10 runs and 16 hits per game.

Bombs Away
Bowling Green's 18 home runs this season are the most for the Falcons since hitting 20 during the 2011 season – the first year of the "dead bat" era in college baseball.

MAC Smith
Junior Matt Smith (Johnstown, Ohio) is leading the Falcons with a .404 batting average during MAC play this season. He has started all 24 games in left field, registering 36 hits with four doubles and a home run. He is slugging .483 with an on-base percentage of .450 in league competition. Against Kent State last Friday, Smith recorded his first career home run. He had six hits in the weekend series, including his sixth, three-hit game of the season on Sunday.

The MAC Race
BGSU enters the weekend as the current No. 8 seed in next week's MAC Tournament. The Falcons (11-13) are just one game behind the No. 6/7 seeds. The Falcons would clinch a spot in the MAC Tournament with one of the following scenarios:
• At least two wins vs. Buffalo
• One win vs. Buffalo and one loss by both Miami and Northern Illinois
• Two losses by both Miami and NIU

EAST DIVISION	MAC	Remaining Games
Kent State	16-8	at Akron
Ohio	14-10	at Miami
Akron	12-12	KENT STATE
Bowling Green	11-13	BUFFALO
Miami	10-14	OHIO
Buffalo	7-17	at Bowling Green

WEST DIVISION	MAC	Remaining Games
Central Michigan	17-7	at Western Michigan
Toledo	14-10	at Eastern Michigan
Western Michigan	13-11	CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Ball State	12-12	NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Northern Illinois	9-15	at Ball State
Eastern Michigan	8-16	TOLEDO

This Weekend's MAC Schedule
Buffalo (7-17) at Bowling Green (11-13)
Kent State (16-8) at Akron (12-12)
C. Michigan (17-7) at W. Michigan (13-11)
N. Illinois (9-15) at Ball State (12-12)
Ohio (15-9) at Miami (10-14)
Toledo (14-10) at E. Michigan (8-16)

Protecting Steller Field
After getting off to an 0-4 start, Bowling Green is 10-7 this season at Warren E. Steller Field having won 10-of-13. The Falcons have won four straight non-conference games at home and have also gone 6-3 in their last three MAC series at home.

Falcons Chasing Records
Several Falcons are chasing career records as their careers come to a close.
• Brian Bien currently sits THIRD all-time with 687 at-bats, SIXTH all-time with 223 hits, and THIRD all-time with 561 assists. He is just one assist shy of moving into second all-time.
• Brandon Howard is one game played away from becoming the eighth player all-time to play in 200 career games and THIRD all-time with 66 career stolen bases. He is just 11 shy of tying the all-time record.
• With his start on Thursday, Jason Link will move into the top 10 all-time with his 69th career appearance. Link has started each weekend during MAC play this season.