Though his team has looked dominant this week in back-to- back blow-out victories over IPFW and Wright State, BG baseball coach Danny Schmitz knows that the Falcons’ level of success hinges on their ability to win games in the Mid-American Conference.
“These mid-week games are most important in gearing us up for the weekend and conference play,” Schmitz said.
This weekend could be especially critical for the Falcons (11-13, 4-4 in the MAC), as they travel to Dekalb, Illinois for a four-game series with the Northern Illinois Huskies. Both teams are in the middle of the pack in the MAC West Division, with NIU (18-12, 5-3) sitting a game atop BG heading into the series.
Schmitz and first-year Huskies coach Ed Mathey will not only be looking to distance their teams from each other, they will also be seeking to gain ground on division front-runner Ball State, who has run out to an 8-4 MAC record.
The Falcons will carry plenty of momentum into the series, riding a three-game winning streak in which the offense has come to life. During those three games alone, BG hitters have amassed 44 hits and put 33 runs on the board. Junior David Barkholz (.313, 5 HR, 17 RBI), sophomore Kevin Longstreth (.304), and freshmen Steven Raszka (.360), Nolan Reimold (.333) and Tyler Wasserman (.304) have all pulled their batting averages up over the .300 mark in the past week.
Meanwhile, senior standout Kelly Hunt is still comfortably over the .400 mark, as his .427 average is complimented by five home runs and 34 runs batted in. Having already tied the school record for RBIs in a game with his eight spot against IPFW, Hunt will be chasing down more milestones this weekend. Besides his current 16-game hitting streak, he is four home runs shy of the all-time team record (Andy Tracy’s 45) and just eight RBIs short of another all-time BG record (Len Elias’s 178).
While the Falcons hope to keep the bats hot, they will also need dependable bullpen work and the continued consistency of probable starters Kyle Knoblauch (2-2, 1.87 ERA), Keith Laughlin (3-1, 4.05 ERA), Tyler Saneholtz (3-2, 4.18 ERA) and Tom Oestrike (1-1, 3.62 ERA).
Coach Schmitz is very aware of the challenge that NIU will pose for his young squad.
“They have a brand new coach who’s doing a great job,” he said. “It looks like they are getting some outstanding pitching, and they’re swinging the bats, too. We’re going to have to go there and play our best baseball.”
Today’s game at NIU’s Ralph McKinzie Field will begin at 3 p.m., with tomorrow’s double-header and Sunday’s single game each scheduled for 1 p.m. starts.