Falcons Travel To Eastern Michigan To Open Up Conference Play

SCOUTING THE EAGLES

The Eastern Michigan Eagles enter this weekend's series with a record of 6-13. The Eagles' record could be a little bit misleading, as they have played No. 1 Florida twice, and played three-game sets at Arizona State and South Florida. Most recently, EMU took one of three games at Lipscomb last weekend. As a team, the Eagles are putting up respectable numbers on the offensive side of the plate, and their pitching has been solid, as well. EMU owns a .261 team batting average. They are led by Brennan Williams (.351), Mitchell McGeein (.327) and John Rensel Jr. (.316). Jackson Martin and Michael Mioduszewski lead the team in RBI with 19 and 13, respectively. Davis Feldman has been the ace, and is the Eagles' Friday starter. Feldman has thrown 21.1 innings, posting a 2.53 ERA with 14 strikeouts. He is the only pitcher with an ERA below 4.00. Tyler Butzin, another weekend starter, leads the team in innings pitching (24.1) and strikeouts. The Eagles' pitching staff holds a team ERA of 5.96.

SCHMITZ SAYS…
"This is a huge weekend for us – there's no doubt about it," said head coach Danny Schmitz. "You always want to get off to a good start in the MAC. It puts you in a good position from the start. We played good baseball on Tuesday at Central Michigan, and hopefully we can bring that momentum into the weekend."

SCHMITZ RETURNS TO ALMA MATER TO FACE SON
Putting in simply, Danny Schmitz had a legendary playing career at Eastern Michigan. While playing second base and serving as a team captain, he led EMU to a pair of College World Series appearances in 1975 and 1976. He will return once again to Ypsilanti, where his son, Spencer Schmitz, is currently in his second season as an assistant coach. Spencer played for his father at BGSU from 2001-04, before serving as an assistant coach from 2008-13. Spencer's final season as a coach at Bowling Green saw the Falcons capture the MAC Tournament title in 2013. Last season, the Falcons split a pair of games with the Eagles during Spencer's first year at EMU.

MIKE FRANK FACES THE FALCONS
Former BGSU pitcher and 2013 MAC Champion, Mike Frank, is now in his first season as the Eagles' volunteer assistant coach. He is set to take on his former school for the first time in his career. After graduating from BGSU in 2014, Frank spent the 2015 season as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for Rochester College. Frank will be coaching against many of his teammates during his playing career, including Andrew Lacinak, who was a part of the Falcons' weekend rotation with Frank during the 2014 season. Frank is the only pitcher in Bowling Green history to surpass 300 innings pitched, as he logged 313 innings over his career. Frank's 221 strikeouts are just 11 shy of the all-time record.

BOWLING GREEN IN MAC-OPENING WEEKENDS
The Falcons have been swept to open up Mid-American Conference play over each of the past four seasons. Ball State swept BGSU to open up conference play in 2014 and 2015, while Western Michigan swept Bowling Green to open up MAC play in 2012 and 2013. The last time the Falcons won the first season of conference play was back in 2011, when Bowling Green took two games at Northern Illinois. The Falcons last sweep to open up conference play took place in 2008, also against Northern Illinois, at Steller Field. Over the last 10 seasons, Bowling Green has claimed just two series victories on the opening weekend of conference play.

FALCONS SPOIL CHIPPEWAS' HOME OPENER
The Orange and Brown snapped a seven-game losing streak and ruined Central Michigan's home opener by defeating the Chippewas, 4-0, Tuesday (March 22) afternoon. Greg Basalyga's two-run home run highlighted BGSU's three-run third inning. The home run was BGSU's third on the season. All three Falcon homers this year have come against CMU, as Cody Callaway and Riley Minorik dropped bombs in the March 15 loss to CMU at Steller Field. Brad Croy, who was making his first-career start, picked up his first-career win. He pitched four shutout innings, but was awarded the victory due to the fact that he was on a pitch count. Tyler Anderson pitched well in the win, as well, logging 3.1 shutout innings. Anderson allowed just one hit. Kody Brown finished off the game with 1.2 innings of hitless baseball.

BGSU'S BIG THREE IN THE MIDDLE INFIELD
The Falcons' middle infield has been fantastic 21 games into the 2016 season, especially at the plate. Second basemen Derek Drewes and Riley Minorik, and shortstop Cody Callaway have not only provided a strong middle infield combo, but they've led the club's offensive attack. Drewes leads the team with a .407 batting average. He has 11 hits in 11 games, including eight starts. Callaway and Minorik are both batting .283, and lead the team in slugging percentage. Callaway has a team-best .472 slugging percentage, aided by his a team-high seven doubles, and one home run. Callaway also has 10 RBI, second only to Matt Smith's 11. Minorik has three doubles and one home run – good enough for a .413 slugging percentage.

THREE-HEADED BULLPEN MONSTER
The Tony Landi-Kody Brown-Devin Daugherty three-headed monster has been nothing short of fantastic this year from out of pitching coach Rick Blanc's bullpen. Landi leads the team with three saves. Him and Daugherty have also appeared in a team-high eight games. Brown has been put into a lot of pressure-filled situations and often times throws multiple innings when he's called upon. Brown owns a 3.27 ERA. Daugherty has been one of the best pitchers in the conference to this point. In 20.1 innings of work, Daugherty has racked up 21 strikeouts, while earning two wins and two saves. He's holding opponents to a .219 batting average, and has posted a 2.21 ERA.

TGIF? MORE LIKE "CJIF"
Each Friday so far to open up the 2016 season, Falcon baseball fans have woken up and said, "Thank Goodness C.J. is pitching." Redshirt-junior C.J. Schildt has stepped up in his first season as a Falcon, and has solidified himself as Bowling Green's Friday starter. In all five of his starts this season, Schildt has given the Falcons a chance to win. Schildt, who owns a 2-2 record with a team-low 1.63 ERA, has gone at least five innings and hasn't allowed more than two earned runs across his five starts. In four of those starts, he hasn't allowed more than one earned run. The southpaw leads the club in innings pitched with 27.2 and in strikeouts with 23.

BEST SPRING-BREAK TRIP SINCE 2005
Bowling Green wrapped up its best spring-break trip since 2005 earlier in March, going 6-3 on the trip while competing in the Elon Tournament (Elon, North Carolina) and the Perfect Game Tournament (Emerson, Georgia) over March 4-13. At the Elon Tournament from March 4-6, Bowling Green swept the competition, earning wins over Elon, Appalachian State and Stony Brook. BGSU was the only team at the tournament to go undefeated. The Falcons then traveled south to Emerson, and went 3-3. The 6-3 record marked the program's best spring-break trip since the 2005 team went 6-1.

SCHMITZ ASSEMBLES STAFF FILLED WITH FALCONS
With the addition of 2014 BGSU graduate Jeremy Shay as volunteer assistant coach in the offseason, head coach Danny Schmitz's staff is now entirely made up of former Falcons. In fact, all three of Schmitz's assistants played for him during their careers at BGSU. All three also won a championship under Schmitz's guidance. Rick Blanc – who enters his 9th year on staff – was a part of the 1998 squad that won a MAC Tournament title, and participated in NCAA Regionals in Coral Gables, Florida. Ryan Shay – who completed his first season on staff in 2015 – won back-to-back MAC regular-season titles as a player in 2008 and 2009. Shay's brother, Jeremy, enters his first year on the coaching staff. Shay was a part of the 2014 team's Cinderella run late in the season that was capped by a MAC Tournament title and a birth in the NCAA Regionals in Louisville, Kentucky.

BGRSO TO PROVIDE FLAGSHIP COVERAGE FOR 2016 SEASON
On Feb. 9, the Bowling Green State University baseball program, along with the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO), announced that flagship coverage for the 2016 season would be provided on WFAL Falcon Radio. Links to all broadcasts can be found on BGSUFalcons.com. Fans can locate the links by clicking on the baseball team's schedule, and locating the select game.

FALCONS PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN MAC EAST
The Falcons were picked to finish third in the East Division, according to the conference's coaches poll. With 43 points, BGSU was picked above Miami (37) and Buffalo (22), and below Kent State (63) and Ohio (55). Central Michigan was picked to win the West Division. Kent State was picked to win the MAC Tournament, garnering four votes. Bowling Green received one vote to win the tournament, along with Ball State, Miami, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan, while Central Michigan earned two votes.

FOUR CAPTAINS IN 2016
In early October, head coach Danny Schmitz announced that seniors Kory Brown, Devin Daugherty and Matt Smith, along with junior Greg Basalyga, would serve as the program's captains for the 2016 season. Brown served as a captain for the 2015 campaign, as well.

BASEBALL INKS FIVE DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
The Bowling Green State University baseball program announced the addition of five student-athletes during the early signing period. Alex Brinkman (RHP – Anna, Ohio – Anna), Damon Egnor (RHP – Paulding, Ohio – Paulding), Colton Flaherty (C – Newport, Michigan – Jefferson), Chandler Stillings (LHP – Findlay, Ohio – Findlay) and Jake Wilson (OF – New Lowell, Ontario, Canada – Nottawasaga Pines Secondary) will arrive on campus and join the program in the fall of 2016 as freshmen.

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Tyler Anderson

Greg Basalyga

Kody Brown

Kory Brown

Cody Callaway

Brad Croy

Devin Daugherty

Derek Drewes

Andrew Lacinak

Tony Landi

Riley Minorik

C.J. Schildt

Matt Smith

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