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Ball State & Bowling Green Picked As Division Favorites

Cleveland, Ohio – Defending MAC Regular Season Champion Bowling Green and defending West Division Champion Ball State have been chosen by the league’s head coaches to win their respective divisions, released today by the league office. The Cardinals were also selected by six of the leagues head coaches to take home the 2010 MAC Tournament title.

The Falcons were followed by 2009 MAC Tournament Champion Kent State in the East, while Ohio was picked to finish third. Miami was selected to finish in fourth place, while Akron was tabbed to place fifth. Buffalo rounded out this year’s East Division predictions.

2009 MAC Tournament runner-up Toledo was picked to finish second in the West Division and was followed by Central Michigan in third place. Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan rounded out the remaining sports in the West.

Ball State returns 16 letterwinners, including six position starters and eight pitchers from its 2009 squad that went 26-26 (14-10 MAC). Among those returning are 2009 All-MAC first-team selections Zach Dygert and Kolbrin Vitek. Ian Nielsen will also return for the Cardinals after being named to the Freshman All-America team last season. Earlier this month Vitek was named to the 2010 Ping!Baseball Preseason All-America Third Team. Vitek finished second on the team and sixth in the MAC with a .389 batting average. He also led the MAC in doubles (25), was second in RBI (67), third in slugging percentage (.736), third in total bases (153) and was fourth on the mound in opponent batting average (.268).

The Falcons and 2009 MAC Coach of the Year Danny Schmitz welcome back 20 letterwinners, including 12 position starters and eight pitchers from last year’s MAC Regular Season Champion squad that finished with a 28-22 overall record (18-8 MAC). Among those returning are 2009 MAC Pitcher of the Year and All-MAC first-team selection Brennan Smith. Joining Smith are first-team selections Logan Meisler, Matt Malewitz and second-team honorees Tyler Elkins and Derek Spencer.

The MAC baseball season begins on February 19th, while conference play starts up March 26. The season will culminate with the MAC Baseball Tournament, which takes place May 26-29 at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.

2010 MAC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll

East Division
1. Bowling Green – 64 points
2. Kent State – 61 points
3. Ohio – 49 points
4. Miami – 39 points
5. Akron – 25 points
6. Buffalo – 14 points

West Division
1. Ball State – 72 points
2. Toledo – 52 points
3. Central Michigan – 44 points
4. Eastern Michigan – 35 points
5. Northern Illinois – 29 points
6. Western Michigan – 21 points

Tournament Champion:
Ball State (5), Kent State (3), Bowling Green (2), Eastern Michigan (1), Miami (1)

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Top MAC Teams From 2009 Reside In The East

2009 Division Winners: Bowling Green won the East Division & Ball State won the West.

2009 Champion: Kent State defeated Toledo 5-3 to win their 7th MAC championship in school history.

East Side Rules: The top 4 teams in the East all had conference and overall records above .500, while only Ball State accomplished that in the West.

2010 MAC East Division Preview

CLICK HERE to see our MAC West Division with our picks for top player and pitcher in the division as well as division winner for 2010.

Akron

2009 Season: (19-33, 12-15)

Mascot: Zips

Head Coach: Pat Bangtson

Location: Akron, OH

Vitals: .302 BA, 57 HR, .384 OBP, .957 Fld. %…6.55 ERA, 10 SVs, 355 K, 188 BB, .311 Opp. BA

Big Returns: Akron welcomes back 4 of their top 5 hitter from a year ago.  Sr. OF Jake Plata (.357 BA, 3 HR, .453 OBP), Sr. OF/1B Brian Kordal (.346 BA, 4 triples, 44 RBI), Sr. IF Kevin Haas (.324 BA, 9 HR, 21 RBI), and Jr. C/OF Brandon White (.309, 6 HR, 32 RBI) all return in 2010.

Mound Struggles: The Zips had a team ERA of 6.55 and opponents hit over .300, but two top arms return.  Jr. RHP Ben Danzinger (3-4, 5.81 ERA, career-high 58 K) and closer Chris Bassitt (1-2, 3.52 ERA, 7 SVs, .184 Opp. BA) will look to lead an improved pitching staff.

Goin’ South: Akron begins its season with a three game series against Minnesota in Fort Myers, FL  at the Twins’ spring training facility.

Bowling Green

2009 Season: (28-22, 18-8)

Mascot: Falcons

Head Coach: Danny Schmitz

Location: Bowling Green, OH

Vitals: .345 BA, 63 HR, .416 OBP, .958 Fld. %…7.62 ERA, 12 SVs, 325 K, 195 BB, .316 Opp. BA

Very Offensive: Bowling Green boasted one of the top offenses a year ago hitting .345 as a team with 11 players over

Brennan Smith

the .300 mark individually.  This year’s team returns several top hitters, including 2nd team All-MAC selection Sr. C/IF Tyler Elkins (.406, 16 doubles, 31 RBI), slugger Sr. OF Derek Spencer (.385, 15 HR, 59 RBI), and 1st team All-MAC selection Sr. IF Logan Meisler (.361, 4 HR, 45 RBI).

Pitching Strength: The Falcons bring back several top pitchers including the 2009 MAC Pitcher of the Year Jr. RHP Brennan Smith (8-4, 4.41 ERA, 80K).  Soph. closer Charles Wooten (5 SVs, 39 K) returns, while  Frank Berry (7-1, 4.76 ERA in 2008) and Kevin Leady (3-4, 5.03 ERA in 2008) are back as well after missing 2009 with injuries.

Three-peat: Bowling Green is looking to win its 3rd consecutive MAC Regular Season Championship,  having won back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009.  They, however, haven’t won the MAC tournament title and appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 1999.

Buffalo

2009 Season: (20-35, 6-20)

Mascot: Bulls

Head Coach: Ron Torgalski

Location: Buffalo, NY

Vitals: .306 BA, 35 HR, .398 OBP, .954 Fld. %…8.49 ERA, 6 SVs, 358 K, 294 BB, .325 Opp. BA

On the Rise: The 20 wins a year ago were the most for Buffalo since they won 20 games in 1983.  The 50 wins over the past three seasons under Ron Torgalski are also the most wins for a Buffalo coach in his first three years in school history.

Key Losses: Buffalo will have to deal with the loss of P/DH Chris Ciesla (.372, 4 HR, 44 RBI), who set UB single-season records for hits and total bases in 2009, and OF Eric Flynn (.283, 4 HR, 13 SB).

Late Start: The Bulls start their season a week later than most teams when they begin a three game series February 26th at Charlotte.

Kent State

2009 Season: (43-17, 17-9)

Mascot: Golden Flashes

Head Coach: Scott Stricklin

Location: Kent, OH

Vitals: .324 BA, 80 HR, .410 OBP, .971 Fld. %…5.69 ERA, 20 SVs, 489 K, 239 BB, .287 Opp. BA

Challenges: Kent State plays Western Kentucky, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Indiana, and Kansas State in their non-conference slate.  All but Wake Forest made it to an NCAA Regional last year.

Season of Success: Kent State’s 43 regular season wins were 13 more than any other MAC program last year, yet they finished one game behind Bowling Green for the MAC East championship.  They went on to win the MAC Tournament and made their 8th NCAA Tournament appearance.

Key Losses: The Golden Flashes will have to replace sluggers Greg Rohan and Jason Patton who combined for 149 hits, 30 HRs, and 117 RBI.

Miami's Adam Eaton

Miami (OH)

2009 Season: (30-25, 15-12)

Mascot: Red Hawks

Head Coach: Dan Simonds

Location: Oxford, OH

Vitals: .310 BA, 67 HR, .397 OBP, .965 Fld. %…5.91 ERA, 10 SVs, 348 K, 205 BB, .303 Opp. BA

Offensive Loss: Miami loses its top 3 hitters from a season ago, including 2nd team All-MAC selection Tommy Nurre (.406, 18 doubles, 17 HR, 54 RBI).  Also gone are Jordan Petraitis (.364, 8 HR, 54 RBI, and Chris Nadeau (.356, 19 doubles, 5 HR, 50 RBI).

Key Returns: Back in 2010 is 2009 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Mideast Region 2nd teamer OF Adam Eaton who hit .350 with 11 HR and 48 RBI.  Eaton also was 28-of-29 in stolen bases.  The RedHawks also return Jr. LHP Tyler Melling (6-3, 5.35 ERA, 1 CG) and So. RHP Jordan Jankowski (6-1, 4.95 ERA, 5 SVs).

Season Opener: Miami starts their season February 19th on the road at Clemson, before playing the next two days in Greenville, SC against Furman and Michigan State.

Ohio

2009 Season: (29-24, 18-9)

Mascot: Bobcats

Head Coach: Joe Carbone

Location: Athens, OH

Vitals: .314 BA, 102 HR, .404 OBP, .955 Fld. %…6.70 ERA, 10 SVs, 332 K, 191 BB, .328 Opp. BA

Packing Some Pop: Ohio’s offense in 2009 was one of the best in school history hitting .314 as a team with a .514 slugging percentage and crushing 102 HRs.

Gauntlett Eldemire

One of the Best: OF Marc Krauss had one of the most successful season in Bobcat history.  Krauss was named a First-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, Baseball America and the American Baseball Coaches Association, and was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award (nation’s top amateur player).  In addition, Krauss became the first player in Ohio history to win MAC Player of the Year.  He was selected 64th overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2009 draft.

Stars of the Future: Even with the loss of Krauss, Ohio should still have a powerful lineup in 2010 with the return of Jr. Robert Maddox III (.320, 13 HR, 55 RBI) and Jr. (.313, 21 HR, 56 RBI, 11 SB).

2010 MAC East Predictions

MAC East Champion: Bowling Green with Kent State on their heels

Top East Player: Tyler Elkins—Bowling Green

Top East Pitcher: Brennan Smith—Bowling Green

Coming Soon:  2010 MAC West Divsion Preview with overall predictions for MAC Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and 2010 conference champion.

BGSU Head Coach Danny Schmitz

season and defending their home field with an 81 percent success rate. The Cardinal pitching staff led the Big East in team ERA (4.32) as well as in homeruns (85) and total bases (1,124). Last year UL swept BG in a three game set by a combined score of 33-12.

Complete 2010 Bowling Green Schedule

The road trip through Ohio’s southern neighbor continues with three games against the University of Kentucky. Though UK baseball finished fifth in the SEC East Division, College Baseball Newspaper has tabbed the Wildcats as having the sixth-best recruiting class in the nation, an honor the program has received two years in a row.

To open the month of March the Falcons will head further south to the former home of the Cleveland Indians spring training program, Winter Haven, Florida. The Falcons will spend nine days (March 5-14) in Winter Haven and play as many games during that span. Only two of the eight opposing teams return for this year’s Russ Matt Central Florida Invitational with Indiana and Sacred Heart, but six very skilled teams will visit to provide the Falcons some tough competition.

The Falcons will take the field against Northeastern, who finished the 2009 season with a 28-25 overall mark, to open their slate during the invitational. The next three days will feature match ups against Rhode Island, Butler and Sacred Heart. Those three teams sport a combined record of 77-89-1 from a season ago with Rhode Island garnering the most success following a 37-20-1 campaign a season ago. After enjoying an off-day at the mid-way point of the week long trip, the Falcons will head back into battle against the Ivy League’s Yale University for a double-header against the Bulldogs. North Dakota State and Indiana will round out the schedule for the duration of the tournament before the Brown and Orange return to Bowling Green.

Last year, the Falcons finished 5-3 during their stay in Winter Haven with signature wins over Bradley in extra innings and against 2010 recurring opponent Eastern Kentucky University. Of the two teams that the Falcons will play in back-to-back years in the tournament, Indiana and Sacred Heart, the Falcons were 1-1 in games against those opponents having lost to the Hoosiers 15-7 and defeating the Pioneers in a pitcher’s duel, 1-0.
Bowling Green will bring baseball back to northwest Ohio when they open their home schedule with a local rival in the Findlay Oilers. The Falcons will engage in a battle for I-75 South on March 16 at Warren E. Stellar Field for the home opener. Bowling Green has won their last ten home openers at Warren Steller Field and has not lost since a 7-6 defeat to the Wright State Raiders in the 1999 season opener.

Schmitz and Company continue to yield southern hospitality as the team travels east straight from EKU to play another Big East team in the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Mountaineers finished third in the Big East last season and only lost five games at home. The Falcons had not played a Big East team since 2008 when the Falcons fell to Villanova 10-8 in Bradenton, FL. This year, the teams will meet at a neutral site at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Of the early non-conference schedule, head coach Danny Schmitz said, “This is probably the toughest schedule we’ve put together. It is a schedule that we wanted to challenge our team with. We’re doing that for a reason. We have to get ourselves ready for conference play because the Mid-American Conference is an outstanding baseball conference.”

Schmitz continued, “We have high expectations [of the players]. You still have to earn it each day you cross the white lines. This schedule is going to be very, very competitive. We hope our kids are going to be up to the task.”

With their return back to Falcon country, BGSU will open its conference slate with MAC West foe Central Michigan on March 24. It will be the only time the Chippewas and the Falcons will play in 2010 but will ready Bowling Green for a home weekend set with Northern Illinois beginning two days later.

Bowling Green will step out of conference again to play Atlantic-10 power house Dayton for a single showdown to close out the month of March. The Dragons and Falcons have had three of their last five matchups cancelled due to weather since 2007. In those two matchups, the Dragons have come out on top both times. In their lone matchup in 2007, the Falcons took the Dragons to 12 innings before losing 8-7 in an extra-inning thriller.

The next four contests between April 2 and April 6 will take the Falcons into Michigan for a three-game series against Eastern Michigan. BG will then hop on the bus to East Lansing, MI. for its first contest with a Big Ten opponent in the Michigan State Spartans. Since 2001, Bowling Green has a 15-19 record when playing in the state of Michigan with nearly as many weather cancellations as wins.

The Falcons will then embark on their final game with a Michigan school against Michigan on April 14. Last year the Falcons beat the Wolverines 8-3 after not having played them since the 2002 season when the Falcons lost 4-3.

Right across the border heading back into Ohio, MAC rival Toledo will be waiting for the visiting Falcons for a weekend series to be held in the Glass City. Bowling Green possess 102 wins against Toledo over their 88 year rivalry. That stands as the most wins BGSU has over any school they have played in program history.

After back-to-back home games against Dayton and Western Michigan on April 20-21, the Falcons hit the road again, this time going to Athens for three games against Ohio and then heading to northeast Ohio for the season finale versus Cleveland State.

Six consecutive Mid-American conference home games follow on the Falcon schedule when Bowling Green plays host to the Miami Redhawks and Akron Zips to close out April heading into the first week of May (April 30-May 9).

For the first time since April 26, 2006 the Falcons will head back to South Bend, Ind. for a single out-of-conference game with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The last time Bowling Green took the trip to South Bend the Falcons outscored the Irish 11-8 on their home field. That win had broken a ten game winless streak against Notre Dame since 1990.

Bowling Green then heads to Kent, Ohio to take on the once nationally ranked Golden Flashes, who had taken two-of-three from the Falcons in 2009. Kent State finished one game behind the Falcons in the MAC standings last year after ranking second in the conference in team pitching as well as in team batting, finishing behind Bowling Green.

Another Horizon League team will come to the Falcons’ territory when the Penguins of Youngstown State come to Steller Field on May 18. Despite a 16-35 record a season ago, the Penguins return six of eight regular position players from their starting lineup and all three of their starting pitchers from last season.

“I think year in and year out there are some outstanding teams,” said Schmitz on the quality of MAC baseball this year. “Kent State as well as OU will be very strong again this year. Miami (OH) was a little young last year, but they’ve gained a lot of experience. We finished off the season with Akron and had a heck of a battle with them for three games and we expect Akron to be very much improved. You really have to bring the ‘A-game’ this year.”

This year the Mid-American Conference Tournament will be held in Chillicothe, Ohio at VA Memorial Stadium. Should the Falcons win a bid to be in field of eight MAC teams to participate in the tournament, they will return to the same field that they are scheduled to play West Virginia earlier in the season.

(Release)