Falcons Back On The Field Tuesday To Begin RussMatt Invitational

WINTER HAVEN, Fla.—The Bowling Green State University baseball team will return to the field on Tuesday morning, kicking off play in the 2015 RussMatt Invitational. The Falcons, who have played just nine games to date, will play five games over the next five days. This season marks the seventh consecutive season in which the Falcons have competed at the RussMatt Invitational over spring break – an annual classic held in Central Florida for teams looking for neutral site competition.

Falcon Facts
*Bowling Green enters the RussMatt Invitational with an overall record of 3-6 on the season.
*The Falcons have played just nine-of-14 scheduled games to date, as weather has severely affected the early portion of the schedule.
*BGSU is hitting .287 as a team with a .361 on-base percentage and .362 slugging percentage. The Falcons have hit 14 doubles and three home runs through nine games.
*As a team, the Falcons have an earned run average of 5.55 through the first nine games. BGSU pitchers have 50 strikeouts through 73.0 innings pitched.
*The Orange and Brown have been successful on 12-of-21 stolen base attempts this season, while they have held opponents to just a 9-for-21 success rate.
*Catcher Trey Keegan leads the Falcons with a .483 batting average. He has a team-high nine RBI and nine runs scored and has an on-base percentage of .615.
*Andrew Lacinak is the staff ace for the Falcons on the mound. Through three starts he is 1-1 with a 5.51 earned run average.
*Bowling Green's defense has been strong or the most part in 2015, committing just 10 errors through the first nine games of the season for a .969 fielding percentage.
*Freshman Randy Righter has been impressive to start his career with three home runs through nine games. His .353 batting average is second on the team and his nine RBI are tied for the team lead.

Schmitz Says
"The five games this week in Winter Haven will be crucial for our program. We did not play well most of the weekend at Campbell, and we must bounce back this week in order to get ready for MAC play, which starts in just over a week."

Following The Falcons At The RussMatt Invitational
*Fans unable to travel to the RussMatt Invitational can find multiple ways to follow the Falcons this week during their games in Winter Haven.
*All five games will be available via live stats at BGSUFalcons.com, while each game can also be followed on Twitter (@WEAREBGBaseball). The official Twitter account of Falcon baseball tweets news, notes, and key, in-game plays during every game.
*Select games will also be available via a free live audio stream courtesy of the Falcons' opponent's broadcast. Illinois State will provide an audio broadcast on Wednesday, and a link will be provided at BGSUFalcons.com to any other games where that option is available.

Keegan Carrying Offense
*Redshirt sophomore Trey Keegan has carried the Falcons' offense over the past two weeks, going 11-for-19 (.579) in the last six games.
*Keegan has been on base a total of 20 times in the last six games, walking nine times while recording his 11 hits.
*Keegan has nine runs scored, seven runs batted in, and four doubles in the last two weekends of play.
*The catcher was named Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week on March 2 for his efforts against Eastern Kentucky.

Falcon Speedsters Off To Slow Start
*Bowling Green relies heavily on their speedsters to get on base and swipe bags, setting them up for success. The Falcons are 3-0 in 2015 when stealing multiple bases in a game and 21-5 since the beginning of 2014 when doing so.
*The Falcons have stolen just 12 bases through the first nine games of the season, including just one over the weekend at Campbell.
*In all three of their wins this season, the Falcons have at least two stolen bases.
*Bowling Green's trio of Brandon Howard (5-for-8), Brian Bien (3-for-4), and Kory Brown (1-for-2) will need to find their groove at the dish and on the base paths to lead the Falcons to success this week at the RussMatt Invitational and going forward for the Orange and Brown.

What's Ahead
*Following play at the RussMatt Invitational, Bowling Green is finally scheduled to open up their home slate on March 18 vs. Youngstown State.
*Following a midweek game with the Penguins, the Falcons begin Mid-American Conference play with a three-game series against Ball State at Warren E. Steller Field.
*After five games this week in Winter Haven, Fla., the Falcons will have played their first 14 games of the season on the road. Bowling Green has not yet been able to practice outside this year.

The Bucknell Bisons
2015 Record: 6-3
Head Coach: Scott Heather
All-Time Series: 3-3
Last Meeting: W, 7-0 (March 14, 2014) – Brett Fitzwater & Chris Miller combine for no-hitter
Quick Scout: Coming off a run to the NCAA Tournament in 2014, Bucknell is off to a quick start in 2015 at 6-3 overall. The Bisons lost their season opener to Georgetown, but then won five straight against Wake Forest, VCU (3), and Buffalo. Bucknell split a Sunday doubleheader in Port Charlotte, falling to Dartmouth before beating Illinois State. As a team, the Bisons are hitting .289 with a team ERA of 3.71.

The Butler Bulldogs
2015 Record: 3-10
Head Coach: Steve Fairley
All-Time Series: 1-0, BGSU
Last Meeting: W, 3-1 (March 8, 2010)
Quick Scout: Butler is off to a slow start to their 2015 season, with just an overall record of 3-10. The Bulldogs lost 2-of-3 at home to IPFW over the weekend. After losing their first eight, Butler has won three of their last five heading to Winter Haven. As a team, the Bulldogs have a .247 batting average with a team ERA of 6.87.

The Illinois State Redbirds
2015 Record: 6-6
Head Coach: Bo Durkac
All-Time Series: 5-1, Illinois State
Last Meeting: L, 3-11 (March 11, 2014)
Quick Scout: Illinois State enters the week with a 6-6 record overall. The Redbirds will play a Tuesday afternoon game at Florida Atlantic before traveling to Winter Haven for Wednesday's game against the Falcons. ISU and BGSU have one common opponent, in Southeast Missouri State. The Redbirds swept SEMO during the second weekend of play this season. Illinois State has a team batting average of .231 and team ERA of 5.84.

The Maine Black Bears
2015 Record: 4-12
Head Coach: Steve Trimper
All-Time Series: 3-0, Maine
Last Meeting: L, 5-14 (March 15, 2014)
Quick Scout: Maine enters the week at 4-12 on the year, coming off being swept over the weekend at Florida. The Black Bears have already played 12 games this season at the RussMatt Invitational and will play six more this week. The game against the Falcons will be their second of a Friday doubleheader, where they'll take on Illinois State in game one. Maine has a batting average of .270 and an earned run average of 5.65.

The Cornell Big Red
2015 Record: 1-5
Head Coach: Bill Walkenbach
All-Time Series: First Meeting
Last Meeting: N/A
Quick Scout: Cornell currently sits a 1-5 on the season, with four games upcoming this next weekend at the RussMatt Invitational in Winter Haven, Fla. The Falcons and Big Red will meet on Saturday morning, in Cornell's first game of a Saturday doubleheader. Cornell plays LIU-Brooklyn on Friday in Winter Haven. The Big Red have a batting average of just .174 on the season, but have an impressive 1.64 earned run average as a team. The Big Red have not allowed more than five runs in a game, but on the flip side, haven't scored more than four themselves.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brian Bien

Kory Brown

Brandon Howard

Trey Keegan

Andrew Lacinak

Chris Miller

Randy Righter

Upcoming Events

Recent Results