Falcons Continue MAC Play By Traveling To Oxford To Take On RedHawks

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
Miami enters play this weekend with a 12-15 record, including a 3-3 mark in Mid-American Conference play. Miami dropped two games across MAC opening weekend at Ball State, but rebounded with a series win over Northern Illinois last weekend. The RedHawks have been crushing the ball as a team. Miami has 98 extra-base hits, and 34 home runs. To put that in perspective, Bowling Green has a total of 44 extra-base hits. Miami is also hitting .281 as a team with 56 doubles. However, Miami's pitching hasn't been as strong. The RedHawks pitching staff owns a 6.31 ERA. Miami is allowing 7.40 runs per game, and 9.37 hits per game.

SCHMITZ SAYS…
"This is without a doubt a huge weekend for us," said head coach Danny Schmitz. "Miami is a game above us in the MAC East standings, and winning on the road in conference play is never easy. We are going to have to play great baseball, and execute in the three phases in order to come away with a series win this weekend."

THE MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE THROUGH TWO WEEKENDS
Through the first two weekends of conference play, Eastern Michigan sits alone atop the standings with a 5-1 record. Western Michigan and Central Michigan have only played three conference games, and sit at the bottom of the MAC with 1-2 records. Kent State is in first place in the MAC East with a 4-2 record, while every other school has at least two wins. Buffalo and Miami are 3-3, while Bowling Green and Ohio are 2-4. As of now, the Falcons and Bobcats would be the final two seeds in the MAC Tournament.

BOWLING GREEN CLAIMS BATTLE OF I-75 BRAGGING RIGHTS
After Toledo opened the Battle Of I-75 on April 1 with a 4-2 win, the Falcons clinched the series with a doubleheader sweep on April 3. Bowling Green won the first game of the doubleheader, 5-3, before winning the second game by a score of 7-3. The doubleheader gave Bowling Green its first MAC series win on the season. After falling behind, 2-0, in the first game of the twin bill, Cody Callaway tied the game with a two-run bomb. BGSU went on to score three more times to claim the victory. In the second game, the Orange and Brown scored all seven of its runs in the fourth inning, and got eight innings of three-run ball from starter Andrew Lacinak.

DANNY SCHMITZ CONTINUES TO DOMINATE TOLEDO
Since being named manager in 1990, head coach Danny Schmitz has experienced nothing but success versus Bowling Green's biggest rival. Schmitz owns a 54-30 record against the Rockets. In 26 seasons, Schmitz has managed his team to a season-series win a total of 16 times. Nine of those series wins have come in the form of a sweep. Schmitz's teams have really dominated the rivalry as of late. Since 2005, BGSU has lost just one series to Toledo, racking up a 26-9 record across that time frame. En route to a MAC Tournament title in 2013, Bowling Green won a Schmitz Era-high five ballgames against Toledo.

CAPTAIN BASALYGA CONTINUES TO STAY HOT AT THE PLATE
Heading into Bowling Green's annual spring-break trip on March 4, junior captain Greg Basalyga was hitting just .100 on the year. Heading into this weekend's series in Oxford, Basalyga owns a .253 batting average. The Pickerington, Ohio native has hits in eight of BGSU's last nine games, and has racked up 11 hits over those nine ballgames. Basalyga has also gotten off to a great start in conference play. He has seven hits in the Falcons' six conference games, and he's leading the club with a .389 average.

SMITTY BRINGING THE CONSISTENCY
Senior captain Matt Smith has been a constant in the Bowling Green lineup this season. Along with sophomore Randy Righter, he's the only Falcon that's played in all 29 games in 2016. He leads the team in starts (28), hits (25), RBI (16) and total bases (32). Last week, he led the Falcons to a 3-1 record. Smith picked up at least one hit and one RBI in all four ballgames. He also picked up his first home run of the season. His two-run shot in the second game of April 3's doubleheader helped BGSU clinch Battle Of I-75 bragging rights. It put Bowling Green on top by a score of 7-0, and capped the Falcons' seven-run inning.

DR. ELECTRICITY
Devin Daugherty – who is commonly referred to as "Doc" by his teammates – to put it simply, has been electric from out of the Bowling Green bullpen. He is striking out more than a better per inning, as he's fanned 29 over 27.0 innings of work. His versatility has been on display throughout the season. He often goes multiple innings when called upon. The righty also has two wins and two saves to his name in 2016. The Wooster, Ohio native has posted a 2.67 ERA – the lowest on the club.

LACINAK LOGS EIGHT INNINGS TO EARN WIN OVER TOLEDO
With the Battle Of I-75 tied at one game apiece, senior Andrew Lacinak pitched Bowling Green to a series victory on April 3. In the second game of the scheduled doubleheader on April 3, Lacinak logged eight innings of three-run ball to complete the doubleheader sweep. Heading into the ninth inning, the southpaw had thrown just 88 pitches and had allowed just one run. Toledo went on to score two runs off Lacinak in the ninth, but the damage had been done. Across Lacinak's eight-plus innings, he allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out three batters. The lefty did not issue a free pass.

CROY EMERGING AS MIDWEEK STARTER
Freshman Brad Croy has started each of Bowling Green's last three midweek games. The Falcons, and Croy, have compiled a 2-1 record in those ballgames. Croy picked up back-to-back wins in consecutive starts against Central Michigan and Findlay, before taking the tough-luck loss at No. 17 Michigan on April 6. Croy has not pitched more than four innings in any of the three starts, but has earned the two wins due to the fact that he's been on a pitch count. Over his three starts, Croy has thrown 10 innings, allowing just one run on eight hits while walking five and striking out four.

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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