Putting together its best back-to-back set of games this season, the Bowling Green baseball team jumps back into to Mid-American Conference play.
An 8-2 win over Northern Illinois on Mar. 28 with a dominating performance from Zac Carey on the mound and a 10-0 win over Findlay with a near perfect outing from Brett Fitzwater just three days later, has the Falcons riding a two-game winning streak into the three-game series against the Miami [Ohio] Redhawks.
The win over the Oilers was the team’s first shutout of the season and just the fourth time it has eclipsed 10 runs in a game this year.
But the key to continuing this success deep into the season is simple for the Falcons.
The team needs to be able to advance baserunners, take advantage of opponents’ mistakes and execute the small ball opportunities, said head coach Danny Schmitz.
An important piece to this plan is the offense. Being able to stick to its “approach” is critical for the team’s ability to score runs.
“When our approach is good it’s something that [allows us to] put runs up on the board,” said outfielder Kory Brown. “If we keep our approach, it can carry us a long way.”
This same approach has been the one that helped the Falcons end their 10-game losing streak.
Looking toward the Miami series, BG will need to bring its recent style of play.
The Redhawks are 4-20 overall this season, with a 2-4 record in the MAC.
Miami has four players hitting at least .299, including two players with multiple homeruns on the season. Starting pitcher Jacob Banks carries a 3.16 season ERA as well as four relief pitchers with sub-4.00 season ERA’s.
The Falcons have had as much or more success in recent memory.
Over its last two games, the Falcons have scored 18 runs, registered 19 hits and struck out just six times. On the mound, BG has allowed just one earned run over the same span, including no runs in its last game.
“[This game] gives us a lot of confidence,” Fitzwater said. “When they make mistakes, make it hurt and hopefully this game will help us out and give us some confidence for this weekend.”
The Falcons begin the conference series on Friday, April 3 at 3:05 p.m. with 1:05 p.m. scheduled start times for the games on both Saturday and Sunday. This will be the second MAC series for the Falcons this year.
