Falcons Head To Kent State As MAC Race Heats Up

Friday, May 8

Kent, OH

6:00 p.m. ET

Bowling Green State University

Kent State

May 07, 2015 | Baseball

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

The Weekend Ahead
After taking the week off for final exams, the Bowling Green State University baseball team is back on the field this weekend at Kent State. The Falcons and Golden Flashes will square off in a three-game set beginning on Friday afternoon. Bowling Green (19-24, 11-10 MAC) currently holds the No. 7 seed, but sits in a three-way tie for fifth heading into the second-to-last weekend of the regular season.

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 655 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 1,607-1,396-27. 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 Kent State
Kent State enters this weekend of play at 26-19 overall and 13-8 in Mid-American Conference action. The Golden Flashes currently hold the No. 2 seed. As a team, KSU is hitting .277 with an earned run average of 3.41. Like the Falcons, Kent State has won five MAC series this season, but with one sweep. The Golden Flashes have lost two series—both on the road—to Ohio and Toledo. Jeff Duncan is in his second season at the helm of the KSU baseball program. He is assisted by Mike Birkbeck, Alex Marconi, and Barrett Serrato.

They Said It
"We are excited to get back on the diamond this weekend for our final road series of the regular season," head coach Danny Schmitz said. "Kent State is a very tough opponent each year, and we know this weekend will be no different. We must execute in all three phases this weekend to give ourselves a chance."

BGSU, LLC
Bowling Green's starting rotation of Jason Link, Andrew Lacinak, and Zac Carey has been dominant over the last three weekends, leading the Falcons to three MAC series wins. Over the last five weekends, the rotation has a combined record of 9-3. But, over the last three weekends the trio has combined to pitch 66.0 innings with an ERA of just 1.77. The Falcons are averaging 7.1 IP per start out of their pitching over the last three weekends.

Careying His Weight
True freshman Zac Carey has positioned himself as one of the best pitchers in the Mid-American Conference during league play. The London, Ohio native has a 5-0 record in seven MAC starts with a 1.84 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .193 off the right-hander in 49.0 MAC innings. Over the last four starts, Carey is 4-0 with a 0.56 ERA. He has pitched 32.1 innings (8+ IP per start) and allowed just two earned runs.

Five Straight Series Wins
BGSU has won five consecutive series in Mid-American Conference play, after losing the first two series. The Falcons started MAC play at 0-5, but have since gone 11-5 marking the best record during that 16-game stretch. As a team the Falcons are batting .327 with an earned run average of 3.20 during the 16-game stretch in MAC play. The Falcons have won 6-of-9 three-game series they have played this season.

Sundays Are For The Offense
Bowling Green's offense has shined on Sundays this season, as the Falcons have compiled a 4-1 record. BGSU is averaging 9.0 runs and 14.2 hits per game in five games on Sunday this season. After losing their first Sunday game of the year on March 8 at Campbell, the Falcons have run off four consecutive wins. Over that four-game winning streak on Sundays, the Falcons have averaged nearly 11 runs and 16 hits per game.

MAC Smith
Matt Smith has started all 21 games during MAC play this season for the Falcons, leading the team with a .390 batting average. The junior from Johnstown, Ohio has 14 runs scored to go along with his 13 RBI. He is slugging .429 with an on-base percentage of .443. Overall, Smith is hitting .307 and has started 42-of-43 games this season.

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 656-632-5 (.509), but his career record in April and beyond is 442-389-1 (.532). This season has been no different. After starting the season 5-16 (0-5 MAC), BGSU has gone 14-8 overall and 11-5 in the MAC during the second-half of the season.

First 21		Last 22
5-16	Record	14-8
0-5	MAC Record	11-5
.263	Batting Avg.	.306
.347	Slugging Pct.	.400
.335	On-base Pct.	.374
23	Stolen Bases	34
5.14	Runs/game	6.23
5.92	ERA	3.43
7.09	Runs/game allowed	4.14
.308	Opp. Average	.235

The Missing Link
Jason Link (Hamilton, Ohio) has made seven starts in MAC play, after transitioning from the bullpen to a starting role at the beginning of league play. Over the last four weekends, Link has a 4-0 record with a 2.00 ERA. He has struck out 17 batters in 27.0 IP and allowed opponents to bat just .206. Link has pitched a career-high in innings pitched each of the last four weekends, culminating with 8.1 IP last weekend in a win over Akron.

The MAC Race
BGSU enters the weekend in a three-way tie for the fifth-seed with Ball State and Western Michigan. The Falcons play at Kent State this weekend before hosting Buffalo May 14-16 during the last weekend of play.

EAST DIVISION	MAC	OVERALL	Remaining Games
Kent State	13-8	26-19	BGSU \| AKRON
Ohio	12-9	27-18	at EMU \| at Miami
Bowling Green	11-10	19-24	at KSU \| BUFFALO
Akron	10-11	22-24	BUFFALO \| at KSU
Miami	9-12	11-35	at Toledo \| OHIO
Buffalo	6-15	14-29	at Akron \| at BGSU

WEST DIVISION	MAC	OVERALL	Remaining Games
Central Michigan	15-6	30-17	at Ball State \| at WMU
Toledo	12-9	20-28	MIAMI \| at EMU
Ball State	11-10	26-19	CMU \| NIU
Western Michigan	11-10	19-24	at NIU \| CMU
Northern Illinois	8-13	20-28	WMU \| at Ball State
Eastern Michigan	8-13	18-29	OHIO \| TOLEDO

Bien There, Done That
Brian Bien (Cincinnati, Ohio) is a career .321 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 .391 batting average. He is slugging .435 with an on-base percentage of .425 during that stretch, having recorded 27 hits in 21 games played.

Keegan's Cannon
Trey Keegan has led the Falcons all season long, not only from behind the dish but at bat. Keegan leads the Falcons with a .327 average. His 37 runs scored and 30 RBI also lead the Falcons offensive attack. Keegan has 11 doubles, a triple, and four home runs this season. Behind the plate, Keegan has gunned down 19-of-38 would-be base stealers, which ranks fourth in the entire nation at 50%. He has also picked off four runners in 2015.

Righter A Power Source
Randy Righter, a true freshman from West Bloomfield, Mich., has been a constant in the middle of the Falcons' lineup this season. The first baseman is second on the team with a .314 batting average and leads the Falcons with five home runs. He also has nine doubles and 28 RBI. He has struck out just 13 times in 156 at-bats this season and set a new career-high with four hits in Sunday's win over Akron.