Bowling Green Falcons baseball

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Bowling Green Falcons
File:Bowling Green Falcons logo.png
Founded 1915
University Bowling Green State University
Conference MAC
East Division
Location Bowling Green, OH
Head coach Danny Schmitz (24th year)
Home stadium Warren E. Steller Field
(Capacity: 2,500)
Nickname Falcons
Colors Brown and Orange[1]
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NCAA Tournament appearances
1972, 1998, 1999, 2013
Conference tournament champions
1998, 1999, 2013
Conference champions
NWOIAA
1921, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1931, 1932
MAC
1972, 1995, 2002, 2008, 2009

The Bowling Green Falcons baseball team are the baseball team that represents Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. The school's team currently plays in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference in NCAA Division I since 1953. The Falcons have played in three NCAA Tournaments, going in 1972 1999 and 2013. The Falcons have won twelve regular season conference championships (7 NWOIAA, 5 MAC), six East Division championships, and two conference tournament championships.[2] The most recent regular-season championship came in 2009.[3] The 1921 Bowling Green Normals baseball team was the first athletic team at the university to win a title, when they finished 6-1-2 in the Northwestern Ohio Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

History

Early Years

The first baseball team at Bowling Green Normal College was established in 1915 under the guide of head coach F.G. Beyerman and finished their inaugural campaign at 1-3. The program would not reach varsity level until 1918, playing their first game on May 3, 1918 defeating Defiance College 4–3 in 7 innings. The Normals would finish the 1918 season 2-1 defeating Bluffton College 6–5 and losing a rematch with Defiance 13–3.

Bowling Green joined the Northwestern Ohio Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1921 and finished the season 6-1-2, good enough to make the Normals NWOIAA champions in their first year in the conference. The 1921 Normals baseball team would be the first athletic program at Bowling Green to win a title of any sort.

Bowling Green would win six more NWOIAA titles (1922, 1925–26, 1928, 1931–32), before deciding to leave the conference and become an independent.

Move to the MAC

In 1953, Bowling Green would become a member of the Mid-American Conference, following rival and former NWOIAA conference mate Toledo who joined in 1951. In their first season in the MAC, the Falcons would go 8-6 including a 4-4 conference record which would place them 3rd in the conference. Bowling Green would not win their first MAC crown until 1972 when they posted a 24-12-2 record (6-2-1 MAC) and were invited to the NCAA District IV Tournament. The Falcons would defeat Northern Illinois 2–0 and Central Michigan 7–5 in 10 innings, but fell just short of a birth to the College World Series as they lost 7–2 and 7–5 to Iowa.

Since moving to the MAC, Bowling Green has won six more regular season championships (1995, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2008) and two conference tournament championships (1998–99). The Falcons were the MAC's representative in the 1999 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament and were selected to compete as the 4th seed in the Columbus Regional, hosted by Ohio State. The Falcons would go 0-2, losing to 1st seed Ohio State 4–1 and then lost in the loser's bracket 10–5 to the 2nd seed Nebraska.

Danny Schmitz era

Since 1991, Danny Schmitz has been the head coach of the Bowling Green Falcons having replaced Ed Platzer. In Schmitz's first season as head coach, the Falcons posted a 16-39-1 (7-23) record and finished 9th in the MAC. Schmitz would turn the program around in his fourth season (1994) posting a 29-18 (16-10) record, finishing 3rd in the MAC. He would lead the Falcons to their second MAC crown the following year posting a 34-20 (22-8) record.

Under Schmitz' watch, the Falcons have won five regular-season conference championships, six East Division titles, two conference tournament championships, and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Schmitz is second longest tenured coach in the program's history, only behind Warren E. Steller (31 seasons) and is the programs all-time winningest manager with 489 wins. Schmitz became the program's all-time winningest coach on March 26, 2000 after the Falcons defeated Buffalo 3–2.

Warren E. Steller Field

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Main article: Warren E. Steller Field

Warren E. Steller Field has been home to the Falcons baseball team since 1964. The field is named in honor of Warren E. Steller, a former instructor at the school who coached the school's football (1924–34) and baseball (1925, 1928–59) teams. The stadium is located on the Bowling Green campus, next to BGSU Ice Arena and across the street from Perry Field House.

Season-by-season results

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Falcons. For the full season-by-season history, see Bowling Green Falcons baseball seasons

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Win% = Winning percentage

Records as of the end of the 2013 season.

Season W L T Win% Finish Conf. Tour. NCAA Tour.
2009 28 22 0 .560 1st, East 0-2 Did not qualify
2010 31 23 1 .573 T-1st, East 3-2 Did not qualify
2011 20 31 0 .392 T-3rd, East 0-2 Did not qualify
2012 20 33 0 .377 6th, East Did not qualify Did not qualify
2013 20 28 0 .417 4th, East 4-1 0-2

Head coaches

  • Records are through the end of the 2013 season
Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1915–19211 F. G. Beyerman 5 12–14–2 .464
1922 Earl Krieger 1 7–1 .875
1923 Allen W. Snyder 1 5–3 .625
1924 Ray B. McCandless 1 2–2–2 .500
1925, 1928–19592 Warren Steller 31 221–154 .589
1926–1927 Paul Landis 2 14–11 .560
1960–1971 Dick Young 12 184–146–6 .557
1972–1982 Don Purvis 11 305–219–6 .581
1983–1990 Ed Platzer 8 202–217–6 .482
1991–present Danny Schmitz 23 612–581–5 .512
Totals 10 coaches 95 seasons 1564–1348–27 .535
1 - Records for 1916 and 1917 are unknown
2 - Bowling Green did not field teams in 1935 and 1937 due to lack of funds and a playing site


Notable alumni

See also

References

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  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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