Bowling Green Falcons baseball
Encyclopedia
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 two NCAA Tournaments
, going in and . The Falcons have won twelve regular season conference championships (7 NWOIAA, 5 MAC), six East Division championships, and two conference tournament championships. The most recent regular-season championship came in 2009. 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.
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.
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
.
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.
and across the street from Perry Field House.
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Win% = Winning percentage
Records as of the end of the 2011 season.
{| border="0" width="100%"
| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="80%" class="wikitable sortable"
! style="background: #613005; color:#FFFFFF;"|Tenure
! style="background: #613005; color:#FFFFFF;"|Coach
! style="background: #613005; color:#FFFFFF;"|Years
! style="background: #613005; color:#FFFFFF;"|Record
! style="background: #613005; color:#FFFFFF;"|Pct.
|- align="center"
| 1915–19211 || F. G. Beyerman || 5 || 12–14–2 || .464
|- align="center"
| 1922 || Earl Krieger
|| 1 || 7–1 || .875
|- align="center"
| 1923 || Allen W. Snyder || 1 || 5–3 || .625
|- align="center"
| 1924 || Ray B. McCandless
|| 1 || 2–2–2 || .500
|- align="center"
| 1925, 1928–19592 || Warren Steller
|| 31 || 221–154 || .589
|- align="center"
| 1926–1927 || Paul Landis || 2 || 14–11 || .560
|- align="center"
| 1960–1971 || Dick Young || 12 || 184–146–6 || .557
|- align="center"
| 1972–1982 || Don Purvis || 11 || 305–219–6 || .581
|- align="center"
| 1983–1990 || Ed Platzer || 8 || 202–217–6 || .482
|- align="center"
| 1991–present || Danny Schmitz || 21 || 568–517–5 || .523
|- align="center" class="sortbottom"
!style="background: #FF7300; color:#000000;"| Totals
!style="background: #FF7300; color:#000000;"| 10 coaches
!style="background: #FF7300; color:#000000;"| 93 seasons
!style="background: #FF7300; color:#000000;"| 1520–1284–27
!style="background: #FF7300; color:#000000;"| .542
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Longest Tenure
! Rank
! Name
! Seasons
|-
| 1
| Warren E. Steller
| 31
|-
| 2
| Danny Schmitz
| 21
|-
| 3
| Dick Young
| 12
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Most Wins
! Rank
! Name
! Wins
|-
| 1
| Danny Schmitz
| 568
|-
| 2
| Don Purvis
| 305
|-
| 3
| Warren E. Steller
| 221
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Best Winning Pct.
! Rank
! Name
! Pct.
|-
| 1
| E.C. Kreiger
| .875
|-
| 2
| Allen W. Snyder
| .625
|-
| 3
| Warren E. Steller
| .589
|}
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
in Bowling Green, Ohio
Bowling Green, Ohio
Bowling Green is the county seat of Wood County in the U.S. state of Ohio. At the time of the 2010 census, the population of Bowling Green was 30,028. It is part of the Toledo, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bowling Green is the home of Bowling Green State University...
. The school's team currently plays in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
in NCAA Division I since 1953. The Falcons have played in two NCAA Tournaments
NCAA Division I Baseball Championship
The NCAA Division I Baseball Championship tournament is held each year from May through June and features 64 college baseball teams in the United States, culminating in the College World Series....
, going in and . The Falcons have won twelve regular season conference championships (7 NWOIAA, 5 MAC), six East Division championships, and two conference tournament championships. The most recent regular-season championship came in 2009. 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.
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 CollegeDefiance College
Defiance College, located in Defiance, Ohio, USA, is an independent, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Church of Christ. The campus includes eighteen buildings and access to the Thoreau Wildlife Sanctuary....
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 ToledoToledo Rockets
The Toledo Rockets are the athletic teams that represent the University of Toledo. The Rockets are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association and play in the Mid-American Conference . The school's colors are midnight blue and gold.Toledo's...
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
Northern Illinois Huskies
The Northern Illinois Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Northern Illinois University. The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Mid-American Conference...
2–0 and Central Michigan
Central Michigan Chippewas
The Central Michigan Chippewas are the sixteen men's and women's athletics teams of Central Michigan University. CMU was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1950-1970. The school's athletics programs are affiliated with the NCAA and compete in the Mid-American...
7–5 in 10 innings, but fell just short of a birth to the College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
as they lost 7–2 and 7–5 to Iowa
Iowa Hawkeyes
The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletics teams that represent the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 24 sports, 11 for men and 13 for women. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and are members of the...
.
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
1999 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 1999 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was held from May 28 through June 19, 1999. 64 NCAA Division I college baseball teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament, to play in the NCAA Tournament...
and were selected to compete as the 4th seed in the Columbus Regional, hosted by Ohio State
Ohio State Buckeyes baseball
The Ohio State Buckeyes baseball team are the college baseball team of The Ohio State University. The program, founded in 1881, was the first athletic team in Ohio State history. Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus, Ohio has been the home field of the program since 1997. The team has won a National...
. 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
Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball
The Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team is a member of the Big Ten Conference in the NCAA, and is currently coached by Darin Erstad. The program started in 1889....
.
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
Buffalo Bulls
The Buffalo Bulls are the athletic teams representing the University at Buffalo in intercollegiate athletics. The Bulls currently play in Division I , and are a member of the Mid-American Conference for all sports except women's rowing who is in the Cononial Athletic Assocition . They have been a...
3–2.
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 ArenaBGSU Ice Arena
The Bowling Green State University Ice Arena is a 5,000-seat hockey arena in Bowling Green, Ohio. It is home to the BGSU Falcons ice hockey team of the CCHA. It was built from 1965 to 1967 for a cost of $1.8 million and opened in February 1967...
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 seasonsBowling Green Falcons baseball seasons
This is a list of seasons completed by the Bowling Green State University Falcons baseball team. This list documents the season-by-season records of the Falcons from to the present, including conference and national post season records. Bowling Green's baseball program fielded its first varsity...
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Win% = Winning percentage
Records as of the end of the 2011 season.
| Season | W | L | T | Win% | Finish | Conf. Tour. | NCAA Tour. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 22 | 32 | 0 | .407 | 6th, East | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2008 | 32 | 20 | 0 | .615 | T-1st, East | 1-2 | Did not qualify |
| 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 |
Head coaches
- Records are through the end of the 2011 season
{| border="0" width="100%"
| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="80%" class="wikitable sortable"
! style="background: #613005; color:#FFFFFF;"|Tenure
! style="background: #613005; color:#FFFFFF;"|Coach
! style="background: #613005; color:#FFFFFF;"|Years
! style="background: #613005; color:#FFFFFF;"|Record
! style="background: #613005; color:#FFFFFF;"|Pct.
|- align="center"
| 1915–19211 || F. G. Beyerman || 5 || 12–14–2 || .464
|- align="center"
| 1922 || Earl Krieger
Earl Krieger
-External links:...
|| 1 || 7–1 || .875
|- align="center"
| 1923 || Allen W. Snyder || 1 || 5–3 || .625
|- align="center"
| 1924 || Ray B. McCandless
Ray B. McCandless
-External links:...
|| 1 || 2–2–2 || .500
|- align="center"
| 1925, 1928–19592 || Warren Steller
Warren Steller
-External links:*...
|| 31 || 221–154 || .589
|- align="center"
| 1926–1927 || Paul Landis || 2 || 14–11 || .560
|- align="center"
| 1960–1971 || Dick Young || 12 || 184–146–6 || .557
|- align="center"
| 1972–1982 || Don Purvis || 11 || 305–219–6 || .581
|- align="center"
| 1983–1990 || Ed Platzer || 8 || 202–217–6 || .482
|- align="center"
| 1991–present || Danny Schmitz || 21 || 568–517–5 || .523
|- align="center" class="sortbottom"
!style="background: #FF7300; color:#000000;"| Totals
!style="background: #FF7300; color:#000000;"| 10 coaches
!style="background: #FF7300; color:#000000;"| 93 seasons
!style="background: #FF7300; color:#000000;"| 1520–1284–27
!style="background: #FF7300; color:#000000;"| .542
|}
- 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
{| class="wikitable"
|+Longest Tenure
! Rank
! Name
! Seasons
|-
| 1
| Warren E. Steller
| 31
|-
| 2
| Danny Schmitz
| 21
|-
| 3
| Dick Young
| 12
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Most Wins
! Rank
! Name
! Wins
|-
| 1
| Danny Schmitz
| 568
|-
| 2
| Don Purvis
| 305
|-
| 3
| Warren E. Steller
| 221
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Best Winning Pct.
! Rank
! Name
! Pct.
|-
| 1
| E.C. Kreiger
| .875
|-
| 2
| Allen W. Snyder
| .625
|-
| 3
| Warren E. Steller
| .589
|}
Notable alumni
- Burke BadenhopBurke BadenhopBurke Heinrich Badenhop is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins. Burke played college baseball at Bowling Green State University. He played High School Baseball at Perrysburg High School in Perrysburg, Ohio...
- pitcher, currently with the Florida MarlinsFlorida MarlinsThe Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
. - Doug BairDoug BairCharles Douglas Bair is a right-handed former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played all or part of fifteen seasons in the majors, from until , for seven different teams...
- retired pitcher, 2-time World Series champion. - Orel Hersheiser - retired pitcher, member of 1988 World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers1988 World Series-Game 1:Saturday, October 15, 1988 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaBecause of using ace Orel Hershiser in Game 7 of the NLCS, the Dodgers had to open with rookie Tim Belcher in Game 1. Meanwhile, Oakland sent a well-rested Dave Stewart to the mound. Both pitchers, however, would have...
, 3-time All-Star, 1988 Cy Young Award winner and 1988 World Series MVP. - Nolan ReimoldNolan ReimoldNolan Gallagher Reimold is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles.-Early life:Reimold was born to John and Mary Reimold on October 12, 1983 in Greenville, Pennsylvania. He attended Kennedy Catholic High School in Hermitage, Pennsylvania...
- outfielder, currently with the Baltimore OriolesBaltimore OriolesThe Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
. - Andy TracyAndy TracyAndrew Michael Tracy is a Major League Baseball first baseman. He is an alumnus of Bowling Green State University....
- first baseman, currently in the Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia PhilliesThe Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
organization.