Falcons Set For Weekend MAC Series At Northern Illinois

SCOUTING THE NIU HUSKIES

Northern Illinois entered the first week of conference play with a 4-16 record, but after a sweep of Toledo last weekend, NIU is feeling like a different team, as they own a 7-17 mark, and an undefeated 3-0 record in conference play. The Huskies are hitting .251 as a team, and averaging 4.45 runs and 8.58 hits per contest, while the pitching staff owns a 5.44 ERA. NIU pitchers are surrendering 6.41 runs and 9.45 runs per ballgame. Freshman catcher Jacob Dunham leads the team with a .413 batting average. Junior infielders Samuel Vega (.309) and Jesus Tovar (.300) are also hitting at least .300. Weekend starters Donovin Sims and Joe Hawks are having strong seasons with ERA's of 3.16 and 3.69, respectively. Third-year head coach Mike Kunigonis owns a record of 53-82 at Northern Illinois.

SCHMITZ SAYS
"We are going to have to play very good baseball this weekend in order to win this series. Northern Illinois swept Toledo last weekend, and it is really hard to sweep anyone in this conference. I thought we did a lot of things well last weekend, but we still made one too many mistakes, and that is why we only took one game. I hope our kids embrace how much of a challenge this will be, and be hungry to continue to prove themselves. Each weekend, we should be battling tooth and nail for every inch of the field."

THE NORTHERN ILLINOIS SERIES
Bowling Green holds a 29-19-1 advantage in the all-time series versus Northern Illinois. However, the Falcons have dropped their three-game series with the Huskies in each of the past two seasons. Last season, the Huskies swept the Falcons in Bowling Green. It was a series than likely hasn't left the minds of BGSU players, as NIU won the first game by a score of 20-4, before shutting out the Falcons over the next two games. BGSU last won a series in DeKlab in 2011, as the Falcons took two of three that season from the Huskies.

SALVAGING THE SERIES AT EMU
It would have been easy for the Falcons to mail it on opening weekend. BGSU led 6-2 in the seventh inning of the Friday (March 24) game, before suffering a devastating 7-6 loss in walk-off fashion. EMU's starting pitcher then threw a two-hit shutout in the first game of Saturday's (March 25) doubleheader, but Bowling Green avoided the sweep behind 6.2 innings of two-run ball from Zac Carey. Bowling Green took a 6-0 lead before holding off Eastern Michigan for a 6-2 win. With the win, Bowling Green won a ballgame on the opening weekend of MAC play for the first time since 2012.

FRESHMAN, FRESHMAN AND FRESHMAN VS. YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Bowling Green dropped a 3-1 contest at home on Tuesday (March 28) versus Youngstown State. The BGSU bats were held to just four hits, but the Falcons received solid outings on the mound from three Falcons. Freshmen Chandler Stillings, Damon Egnor and Nathan Lohmeier threw the entire game, and combined, allowed just six hits, while striking out five and walking three. Stillings started and surrendered one run over a career-high 4.2 innings. Egnor and Lohmeier allowed one run apiece over 2.0 innings and 2.1 innings, respectively. Lohmeier is having one of the better freshman seasons for a pitcher in the conference. He's made eight appearances, hurling a total of 14.0 innings, and he's allowed just 11 hits and two runs. He owns a 1.29 ERA, and has fanned 17, while holding opponents to a .220 batting average.

BLANC'S STAFF IS SURGING
Since Bowling Green traveled to Emerson, Georgia for its annual spring trip, pitching coach Rick Blanc and his pitching staff have been downright dominant. Over that stretch, which covers the last 12 games, Bowling Green owns a team ERA of 2.34. In those 12 games, nine pitchers have made at least three appearances. Eight of those pitchers own a sub-3.50 ERA, while six of those pitchers own an ERA below 2.49. The Falcons have logged 104.0 innings across the last 12 games, and have allowed 80 hits, 38 runs, and 27 earned runs while striking out 75 batters and walking 48. Over the last 12 games, the BGSU pitching staff is holdings its opponents to a .216 batting average.

CAREY'S BOUNCE-BACK SEASON
After being named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America and the MAC's Freshman Pitcher of the Year in 2015, junior right-hander Zac Carey had a down year in 2016. He went 3-10 and posted a 6.69 ERA. In 2017, Carey is back to his old self. Over his last three starts, Carey has logged at least 6.0 innings, while allowing three runs or fewer. Carey led BGSU to its first MAC win of the season on March 25 at Eastern Michigan, as he allowed just two runs over a season-high 6.2 innings. He had retired 11-straight batters heading into the seventh inning. In 32.1 innings this season, Carey owns a 3.90 ERA, and has recorded 17 strikeouts. The Orange and Brown have won in two of Carey's last three starts.

DREWES ON FIVE-GAME HITTING STREAK
Junior infielder Derek Drewes had a breakout season in 2016, as he hit a team-best .298 during his sophomore campaign. Drewes is hitting .291 this season, and is currently on a five-game hitting streak, having registered nine hits over the last five games. In Bowling Green's first MAC win of the season at Eastern Michigan on March 25, the Napoleon native recorded a career-high four hits. He went 4-for-4 from the plate with a run and RBI. In the Falcons' midweek loss to Youngstown State (March 28), Drewes extended his streak to five games by going 1-for-4. He posted one of BG's four hits, while scoring the club's only run of the contest. On the season, Drewes has 16 hits, seven runs, five RBI and two doubles.

THREE-HIT GAMES FOR BASALYGA
In Bowling Green's MAC opener at Eastern Michigan on March 24, senior Greg Basalyga went 3-for-4 with a run and RBI, marking the fourth time this season that Basalyga has recorded three hits in a ballgame. Although the senior has not recorded a hit in Bowling Green's last three games, he is still hitting a team-high .306 on the season. He also leads the team with 12 RBI and 28 total bases, and is tied for the team lead with 19 hits, and two home runs. His .452 slugging percentage is also tops on the team. Even though Basalyga has been held hitless since the MAC opener, he's drawn a walk in two of those three games, while managing to get on base twice in Tuesday's (March 28) game versus Youngstown, as he coaxed a walk and was hit by a pitch.

RIGHTER'S RESURGENCE
Junior infielder Randy Righter entered the 2017 season coming off an injury that sidelined him for the second half of the 2016 season. Righter got off to a hot start this season, but quickly went into a slump. However, over the past week, Righter has been on a surge. Righter has five hits over the last four games, and has notched at least one hit in three of those four games. Righter went 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored in the conference opener at Eastern Michigan (March 24). He posted a hit and run in the team's win over the Eagles on March 25, before going 1-for-3 with two walks against Youngstown State on March 28. Righter is now hitting .247 on the season, and is tied for the team lead in hits with 19, while leading the Falcons with 10 runs.

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Greg Basalyga

Zac Carey

Derek Drewes

Damon Egnor

Nathan Lohmeier

Randy Righter

Chandler Stillings

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