Falcons Drop Series Opener On Saturday To Central Michigan

Saturday, May 4

Bowling Green, Ohio

1:05 PM EST

Bowling Green State University

13-28, 0

Central Michigan

32-12, 0

Central Michigan

Bowling Green

May 04, 2019 | Baseball

Box Score

By: by James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

Box Score
Photo Gallery: BGSU Marketing / Communications (Isaiah Vazquez)

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team opened its weekend series with Central Michigan University on Saturday (May 4) afternoon at Steller Field. The Chippewas defeated the Falcons, 7-3. CMU scored the first five runs of the game in the second inning, and never looked back.

Gary Haas #6 Jersey Retirement
Prior to the game, a ceremony took place to retire Gary Haas' #6 jersey. Haas, a graduate of Eastwood High School in Pemberville, Ohio, played for the Falcons from 1971-74 and was part of the 1972 Mid-American Conference champions, the first BGSU Baseball team to win the MAC. In 2014, Haas announced a $1 million gift to the BGSU baseball program, the largest ever given to the BGSU Athletics Department by a former student-athlete.

Haas was inducted in the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994, serving as a captain in both the 1973 and 1974 seasons. He was twice named most valuable player (1971, 1974) at Bowling Green, and was a first team All-MAC recipient following the 1973 season. An all-around star, Haas was named the Defensive MVP of the Falcons following the 1972 and 1974 seasons, and the Offensive MVP following the 1973 campaign. A four-time Academic All-MAC first team selection, Haas was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American following the 1973 and 1974 seasons. He is currently fourth in school history with 442 assists from his shortstop position. Upon the completion of his BGSU career, Haas held nine records, including most hits in a season and career. Haas had a career batting average of .392 in MAC games.

Bowling Green has just a handful of retired numbers in school history. Haas becqme just the sixth student-athlete to have his number retired. In men's basketball, Nate Thurmond's #42 is retired, while Paul Miles' #29 is retired in football. George McPhee's #9 jersey is retired in hockey, as well as the #19 jersey honoring both Nelson Emerson and Brian Holzinger.

Special day at the park.

Thank you, Gary Haas, for everything that you have done and continue to do for our BGSU Baseball Family! pic.twitter.com/709Y2AriGK
— Bowling Green Baseball (@BGSU_Baseball) May 4, 2019

After the Chippewas scored the first six runs of the ballgame, Jake Wilson singled home Mike Malewitz in the sixth for BGSU's first run of the afternoon. CMU countered with one run in the seventh, before a Jeff Scott ground out and Ty Suntken RBI single concluded the game's scoring in the ninth.

Andrew Abrahamowicz started for the Falcons, and allowed just one earned run over 5.0 innings. Griffin Parrill did not surrender an earned run over 3.0 innings of work, while Jay Ward tossed a perfect ninth inning. Only one earned run was charged to the BGSU pitching staff on the day. Abrahamowicz struck out three, while Ward fanned one.

COACH SCHMITZ QUOTE
"The second inning proved to be the difference. We made a few mistakes, and Central Michigan made us pay. I thought Andrew bulldogged through five innings, and the rest of our staff did a good job, but in baseball, it's about pitching, hitting and defense. We'll need to execute better in the three phases tomorrow in order to get the job done."

SERIES SCHEDULE
The series will conclude with a doubleheader, beginning at 12:05 p.m. Both games will last nine innings, and the second game of the day will begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

In a pre-game ceremony that will begin at 11:45 p.m., BGSU Baseball will remember the life of Cory Miller. Cory played at Bowling Green under current head coach Danny Schmitz from 1991-95. Cory hit .389 and was named All-MAC Honorable Mention in 1994. A catcher, Cory played in 97 games in the Orange and Brown and was the backbone to the Falcons' 1995 MAC Championship team. Over Cory's career at Bowling Green, the Falcons racked up 112 wins, culminating in a 34-win season across Miller's senior year.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Stay up to date with everything BGSU Baseball – in-game updates, news and notes – by following the Falcons on Twitter at @BGSU_Baseball. Schedule changes will also be posted on Twitter, as well as BGSUFalcons.com.