Bowling Green Set To Host Ohio At Steller Field In Weekend Series

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
The defending MAC Tournament champions enter play this weekend at Steller Field with a 15-17 record. The Bobcats are 4-5 in Mid-American Conference play. After winning just one game in each of their first two conference weekends, Ohio took two games from Buffalo last weekend. On Tuesday (April 12), Ohio knocked off Dayton, 4-3. The next day, Dayton downed Bowling Green, 13-2. The Bobcats have played better baseball on the road this year, as Ohio owns a 5-7 home record compared to an 8-9 away record. Offensively, Rudy Rott (.341), Mitch Longo (.333), Tyler Finkler (.329), Cody Gaertner (.326) and John Adryan (.304) have carried Ohio to a .286 team batting average. Ohio's pitching has been solid, as well. The Bobcats own a 5.04 team ERA, and have five pitchers with ERA's below 5.00. Jake Roehn has been electric from out of the bullpen, holding opponents to a .211 batting average while striking out more than a batter per inning. Sunday's projected starter, Connor Sitz, no-hit the Falcons last year in the MAC Tournament.

SCHMITZ SAYS…
"It goes without saying, but this is a huge weekend for us," said head coach Danny Schmitz. "We have really put ourselves in a hole after being swept across two of the first three conference weekends. Last time we were in this situation at home, we were able to come away with two wins against Toledo. We will need to perform at our best with our backs against the wall."

CRITICAL CONFERENCE WEEKEND FOR THE FALCONS
Following this weekend's series, Bowling Green will be 50 percent through its conference schedule. There are only two teams with equal, or less conference wins than the Falcons – Central Michigan (2-4) and Western Michigan (1-5). However, both of those clubs have played one less series than BGSU. The Orange and Brown sit in 10th place right now in the MAC standings, with the top eight teams making the MAC Tournament. If this series wasn't important enough already, the Falcons will travel to Muncie, Indiana next weekend to take on the conference-leading Ball State Cardinals, making it that much more critical for BGSU to take care of business at home this weekend.

SCHMITZ IN SEARCH OF 675TH WIN, 350TH MAC WIN
One of the Mid-American Conference's most successful baseball coaches, Danny Schmitz is nearing yet another milestone. With two wins this weekend over Ohio, Schmitz would reach 675-career wins. A pair of victories this weekend would also give Schmitz 350-career MAC wins. BGSU's skipper is the conference's active wins leader – both in total wins and MAC wins. Schmitz sits third all-time, as well, in both categories. Only Fred Decker (Western Michigan – 791 total wins; 401 MAC wins) and Joe Carbone (Ohio – 689 total wins; 368 MAC wins) have won more baseball games within the Mid-American Conference than Danny Schmitz.

BGSU LOOKS TO SNAP FIVE-GAME SKID
After sweeping Toledo on April 3 to claim Battle of I-75 bragging rights, the Falcons have dropped five-consecutive ballgames. After the series win over the Rockets, Bowling Green fell to at No. 17 Michigan, 5-0. BGSU was then swept over the weekend at Miami, which included a devastating 4-3 walk-off loss in 12 innings in the series finale. Dayton then knocked off Bowling Green in midweek action on Wednesday (April 13). Bowling Green would forget all about its recent struggles, and get right back into the MAC Tournament race with a series win over Ohio this weekend.

MINORIK'S MASSIVE WEEK
Riley Minorik – a freshman infielder from Akron, Ohio – was sensational at the plate last week for the Falcons. In BGSU's four games, Minorik went 5-for-13 with two home runs, two doubles, four RBI and three runs scored. Minorik hit a home run in both games of Sunday's (April 10) doubleheader at Miami. All but one of the freshman's hits on the week went for extra bases. The talented infielder racked up 13 total bases in 13 at-bats. In Sunday's doubleheader, Minorik went a combined 4-for-10 with two home runs, two doubles, four RBI, a walk and three runs scored. Minorik hit a home run and drove in two runs in both ballgames. The Walsh Jesuit graduate continued his hot hitting in BGSU's loss to Dayton on April 13, as he went 2-for-4 with a walk to bump his batting average up to .282 on the season.

MR. 300
Through Bowling Green's first 33 games of the season, the lone Falcon hitting above .300 is sophomore infielder Derek Drewes. The Napoleon, Ohio native has appeared in 20 games this season, including 15 starts. He's racked up 16 hits across his 46 at-bats. Drewes continues to get on base consistently, as he leads the club with a .388 on-base percentage. Last weekend, Drewes picked up a clutch two-out RBI in the 11th inning at Miami, which gave the Falcons a 3-2 lead. The sophomore ranks tied for fourth on the team in multiple-hit games with four.

"MAC" SMITH
Senior outfielder Matt Smith has been a force in conference play over his career. Through nine MAC games this season, Smith leads the team with a .308 batting average. He's also tops on the team in total bases (17) and tied with Riley Minorik in RBI with four apiece. In 2015, Smith raked in MAC play, finishing with a .398 batting average and 23 RBI en route to earning second team All-MAC honors. When combining the 2015 and 2016 seasons, which takes into account 36 MAC games, the Johnstown, Ohio native is hitting .373. Over that time period, the senior has scored 22 runs, registered 27 RBI, and has hit four home runs.

LACINAK SHINING ON SUNDAYS
Andrew Lacinak has been a part of Bowling Green's weekend rotation for three years now. Last season, the left-handed hurler pitched predominately on Friday and Saturday. This season, he's been the Falcons' Sunday starter – a role in which he thrived in during the 2014 season, when he posted a 3.24 ERA across 14 starts. After a few rocky starts to open the 2016 season, the senior has been extremely effective. On the year, the southpaw has thrown 41.1 innings, which ranks second on the team. Lacinak owns a 3.92 ERA. Lacinak has been at his best since the start of conference play. His 3.48 ERA in MAC play leads all Bowling Green starters, and no Bowling Green pitcher has thrown more innings than Lacinak has in conference play (20.2). On April 3, Lacinak secured the series victory over Toledo by allowing just two earned runs over eight innings. Last Sunday (April 10) at Miami, Lacinak turned in another quality start, as he allowed just one earned run across 6.2 innings of work.

DAUGHERTY AND LANDI LEAD FALCON BULLPEN
When looking at Bowling Green's bullpen statistics, the first two names listed are Devin Daugherty and Tony Landi. Both Daugherty and Landi have appeared in 15 games, which ranks second in the Mid-American Conference. Daugherty – who was registered two wins and two saves – has a team-low 2.37 ERA, and has carved up 33 batters in 30.1 innings. Landi leads the team in saves with five, and has thrown 20 innings, which ranks second only to Daugherty amongst bullpen arms. In conference play, the pair sit first and second across the entire team in ERA. Daugherty owns a 1.08 ERA in MAC play, while Landi has posted a 1.50 ERA.

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.

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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