Postgame reaction: BG vs. OIT

(Update: 9:09 p.m.) According the the BGSU Hockey Facebook page, Athletic Director Greg Christopher announced at the Falcon Faceoff Reception that coach Chris Bergeron's contract has been extended two years.

Well, what can I say about this game. It was a complete win for BG. Offensive pressure was great, the defense limited true scoring opportunities, and the Falcons' special teams actually resembled special teams units, to borrow a quote from coach Chris Bergeron. Let's look at a couple of talking points following the Falcons' 9-1 exhibition win against the Ontario Institute of Technology.

Sloat Update

Let's start with the one negative of the game. Junior defenseman Jake Sloat was taken down awkwardly into the boards during the second period of this game and left with an apparent leg injury.

After the game, he was on crutches and had a protective boot (or a cast?) on his right foot. Bergeron said he would likely "be out awhile" with what he called a lower leg injury. He added that it was probably broken, meaning the likely injury here is to his ankle or leg. That's probably a little better than it being a knee, but regardless, that is unfortunate for Sloat, who figured to be a big part of this team this year.

Breakout stars

Last season, in 43 games, defenseman Mike Sullivan had one goal and three assists in 43 games. Tonight, in about 20 or so minutes of ice time, he had one goal and three assists. Yes, the stats from this game do not count toward season totals (it was an exhibition game, after all), but Sullivan's performance is a huge one for BG.

All four of his points came on special teams (two power play assists, a short-handed goal and an assist). It's no secret BG's special team struggled last year. It's also no secret the team has been looking for a blue liner to step up in the offensive end. If he can provide this type of offense from the blue line for the Falcons this season, that would be absolutely huge.

Also having a big game for BG was Dajon Mingo. After a strong debut Saturday against Niagara, he potted two goals and had two assists. Once again, it's important to remember that these stats don't count, but he's another guy who if he can be a productive forward, BG is a much more dangerous team.

He showed is great speed in this game, flying down the left wing boards to draw a hooking penalty, as well as his great shot, scoring twice from the left circle — once on a wicked wrister and once on a massive one-timer slap shot.

Ryan Carpenter scored twice for BG, and Cam Wojtala and Adam Berkle each had two assists. Overall, it was tough to find anything wrong with the Falcons' offensive performance.

'Special' teams

BG's power play unit "actually resembled a power play unit," Bergeron said after the game. After a rough year with the man advantage last year, BG scored three power play goals in five opportunities Sunday. The Falcons cycled the puck well, getting seven shots (most all of them quality chances) with the man advantage.

On the penalty kill, BG was a perfect 6-for-6, and added a pair of short-handed tallies. BG was aggressive with the penalty kill. Bergeron said he thought the team did a good job of making entry into the offensive zone difficult. They did that, and that added aggressiveness led to several strong short-handed scoring chances.

Take everything with a grain of salt

Yes, this was a hugely impressive win. Yes, the Falcons did allow four goals to the same OIT team last season. But it is important to remember the level of competition here is not CCHA level. Dominating the game was something I'm sure Falcon fans loved to see. It's definitely not something we saw much of last year. But things are going to be different when No. 5 Union rolls into town next weekend. They're much more talented than OIT. They will play smarter and won't allow BG to dominate play like they did tonight.

However, let's look at this from a different angle: this weekend, Western Michigan tied Western Ontario. Lake Superior barely slipped by Ryerson. Ohio State needed overtime to beat Waterloo. Several CCHA teams struggled with these exhibition games this weekend. So, despite the level of competition not being elite, BG scoring nine times is no small feat. If this team brings this level of effort and energy every weekend, the sky is the limit for them.

The BG News' CCHA preseason rankings

It's almost that time of the season again: hockey season.

While hockey fans may be robbed of NHL hockey for the time being due to (another) lockout, college hockey will not be affected, and the Falcons open their season Saturday, Oct. 6 at Niagara. BG opens at home the next night with an exhibition game against Ontario Institute of Technology.

With the opener now inside of three weeks, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association has begun tallying votes for both its preseason media and coaches polls. While these polls ultimately mean nothing in the big-picture, they are a fun way to see how your team is predicted to do this season.

I am fortunate enough to receive a vote in this poll, which I have shared with you below. Please note that this is my poll only, and not the collective preseason media poll, which will released within the next two weeks.

1. Michigan: Plain and simple, the Wolverines return a ton of talent. Led by reigning Rookie of the Year Alex Guptill, Michigan brings back 20 letterwinners from last season's second place finish. However, a huge question mark for this team is goaltending following Shawn Hunwick's graduation. Compounding this problem have been recent decommitments by Jack Campbell and John Gibson to the OHL. Junior Adam Janecyk was the only other goalie to see game action last year, playing in five games — one start — with a 3.17 goals-against average and a .897 save percent. Struggles at this position are the only thing that can hold Michigan back this season.

2. Ferris State: Coming off it's first National Championship game appearance in school history, the Bulldogs appear poised to be one of the conference's best teams again. Like Michigan, Ferris loses its starting goalie in Taylor Nelson. Unlike Michigan, Ferris has an established goalie to succeed him in C.J. Motte, who posted a 1.98 GAA in 12 starts last season. Coach Bob Daniels was the conference Coach of the Year last season. Entering his 21st season, he is the longest tenured coach in the CCHA, ironically, behind Michigan's Red Berenson. Despite losing Nelson, Ferris returns 18 players this year, including 12 forwards, on a team that scored the second most goals in the league last year.

3. Western Michigan: There is tremendous parity atop the CCHA this year, with four or five teams who could legitimately win the league title this year. Why I mention this in this post is because Western was your CCHA Tournament champion last season, defeating Miami and Michigan in Detroit. While Western may not be the most talented team in the league, I feel that they have the best chance of unseating Michigan at the No. 1 seed (yes, despite the fact I have them third). Western has perhaps the best goaltending duo in the league in Frank Slubowski (2.03 GAA, .911 SV%) and Nick Pisellini (2.41 GAA, .903 SV%). Chase Balisy might also be the best player in the league this season following a 37 point campaign last season.

4. Miami: Call this one an ode to past successes, but I could see Miami easily falling out of the top five (i.e.: first round bye territory) this season. The goalie problems Michigan has? Miami has it a bit worse. The three goalies who played a game for the RedHawks last season, including CCHA Goalie of the Year Connor Knapp, have graduated. Of the three goalies on the roster, two are freshman and none have any college experience. Also gone is captain Reilly Smith. The talent is still there, but if they don't get their goaltending figured out, they could fall quickly.

5. Notre Dame: I have the Irish a bit low here, mostly because if its late-season collapse still fresh in my mind, but don't be surprised to see the them challenge for the No. 1 seed. ND loses two pretty important forwards in Billy Maday and Riley Sheahan, but return 20 players, including outstanding forwards T.J. Tynan and Andres Lee. Goalies Mike Johnson and Steven Summerhays had mediocres years last year: as a team, the Irish had only a .893 save percent last season. If those two can improve, the Irish will be tough to beat.

6. Northern Michigan: The Wildcats have finished in this spot each of the last two seasons, and will once again likely fall in the middle of the back. Justin Florek (36 points) is the team's biggest loss, but the Wildcats return 18 players from last season, including all six defenseman and starting goalie Jared Coreau (2.22 GAA, .928 SV%). As long as they don't have to face BG in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight season, I'm sure they won't mind where they finish.

7. Bowling Green: In all honesty, this is a tough one to predict. I would not be surprised to see BG crank out a top-5 seed and earn a first round tournament bye, and at the same time I would not be surprised to see the Falcons finish bottom two again should something go wrong (meaning an injury to a key player, namely Andrew Hammond). The talent level on this team has grown significantly the past two seasons, and the team now has the experience to match that skill. One thing is for sure, no one will be sleeping on the Falcons this season, and the Falcons won't be afraid of playing anyone.

8. Michigan State: Beneath the record, the Spartans were good, not great, last season, despite a top-5 seed. Michigan State only had a +8 goal differential last season, which was significantly worse than any of the other top-5 seeds. While the Spartans bring back some strong players in Lee Reimer (31 points) and Greg Wolfe (26 points), they lose a lot as well. The team only brings back 12 players, and lose the Conference Player of the Year in defenseman Torey Krug (34 points).

9. Lake Superior: While the Lakers do return 20 players this season, they lose a large part of the nucleus of the team in forwards Fred Cassiani  (22 points) and Kyle Jean (24 points) and defensemen Kyle Haines (23 points) and Zach Trotman (21 points). That beings said, they do return their three leading scorers for last season. Goalie Kevin Kapalka (2.67 GAA .916 SV%) will need to step up his game to help pick up the slack.

10. Ohio State: This isn't as much as the Buckeyes being worse than last season (they finished tied for eighth in the conference with Notre Dame), I just don't see them as being better than last season. Most notably, they lose goalie Cal Heeter, who started 30 games last season. That role will not fall to senior Brady Hjelle, was was good in a limited role last season, posting a 2.53 GAA and .922 SV%. His success will likely determine where Ohio State ultimately falls in the standings this season.

 11. Alaska: The Nanooks round out my poll, after finishing 10th in the league last season. The great news for Alaska is they return leading scorers Cody Kunyk (32 points), Andy Taranto (26 points) and Colton Beck (25 points). The bad news for them is, like several other teams in the league, they enter the season with goalie questions.  Gone is starter Scott Greenham (2.47 GAA, .905 SV%). The heir apparent to the starting role is senior Steve Thompson, who posted a 2.92 GAA and .866 save percent in three starts last season. Those numbers do not bode well for a team that carried a -13 goal differential in CCHA games last season.

BG Football Spring Game Live Blog

Falcon Rugby beats Toledo Celtics laden with BG Alums

By Max Householder
Reporter

The BG Rugby team got another confidence boosting win on Saturday when they took down the Toledo Celtics by a score of 38-10. As mentioned in Fridays preview, the Toledo Celtics are a "Senior men's team"  riddled with Alums of Bowling Green Falcon Rugby.
One of those alums, Joey Newton had the only 2 trys of the day for the Celtics. The game started out slow for the Falcons, much as they expected due to the fact that many of their former players on the Celtics had a knowledge of the Falcons playbook.
"This happens to a certain extent every time we play an Ohio senior men''s team," Rugby Director Roger Mazzarella said.
  "This time was a little exceptional as all the ex-Falcon players had left BGSU within the last two years and were pretty versed in the current Falcon offensive and defensive schemes.
It took a fair amount of hard work for the Falcons to open things but once they got in that 10-0 hole, things only got better. The Falcons at one point even went on a 17-0 tear during a period where Toledo had them down.
Things got interesting just 10 minutes into the second half when 2 Falcon players got ejected, leaving BG at a 13-15 man advantage to Toledo. This had no effect on the ending result as the Falcons were already up 21-10 at that point. In fact, it was also at that point that BG went on their 17-0 tear that put the final tally at 38-10.
It was another dominating scoring effort by the Falcons as scoring trys was Flanker Frank Viancourt, Hooker Mike Brown, Dominic Mauer and Nick Mussara(2). BG will play at Ohio University this Saturday at 1pm.

BG Men's Golf in Third After First Day

The BG men's golf team is in third place after day one at the 2012 Rutherford Intercollegiate. The first round was supposed to be 36 holes total, but the first round was delayed resulting in only first round completion and part of the second round.

BG shot a 303 on the Blue Course at Penn State University which is only two shots off the lead controlled by George Mason at 301. In second place is Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a 302. Right behind the Falcons at 304 is a three way tie for fourth place between William and Mary, Connecticut and Penn State. Mid-American Conference opponents Miami Ohio (310) and Eastern Michigan (313) are in the field as well who sit in eighth and 11th place respectively.

Individually leading the way for BG is Wes Gates who fired a 75 on his first round and is tied for eighth place. Tied for 12th place after shooting scores of 76 is Parker Hewit, Drew Preston and Chris Melvin. Rounding out the Falcons first round play is Charlie Olson who fired a 78 and is tied for 35th. Also, competing as just an individual from BG is Joe Cooper who carded a 77 and is tied for 22nd. Leading the tournament individually is Kevin Yerks of George Mason who shot an even round of 71.

Play will resume at the Rutherford Intercollegiate at 10 a.m. this morning with a shotgun start. The final round will begin immediately as the second round is complete.

BG Rugby gets back on track with convincing win over Michigan

By Max Householder
Reporter

After losing 3 of their first 4 matches the Bowling Green Falcon Rugby Club got back to their winning ways with a convincing 89-0 victory over the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday night. BG continues its dominance over the Wolverines as they have not lost to them since 2004.
BG started strong, scoring their first try just ninety seconds into the game and had a convincing 60-0 lead at halftime.
Junior Mike Brown described the Falcons play over the last two weeks as "the best two weeks of the season" for the Falcons as although they lost their last two the performance has gotten better.
"This was a really important game for us, I mean we knew they weren't a good team but we were still focused on executing accordingly," Brown said.
The Falcons were clearly the better team: they were bigger, faster and more athletic on the outside than Michigan and those advantages were easy to see. Momentum swung intensely in BG's favor when coach Tony Mazzarella made a bold move and moved Nick Musarra to scrum half while Ben Marshall who normally occupies that position was moved to fly half. This move proved to be beneficial for the Falcons averaged nearly a point a minute throughout the game.
Scoring trys for the Falcons were Mike Zeigler(4), Dominic Mauer(2) and Scrum Half Nick Mussara who also had 2 trys. Taking over conversion kicking duties was Prop Dane Szente who made 12 of 13.
The Falcons will look to build on this win next week when they travel to Toledo to take on the Toledo Celtics Saturday at 1pm.

BG Men's Golf Finishes 14th in Little Rock

The BG men's golf team took a 14th place finish at the UALR-First Tee Collegiate Classic Monday and Tuesday.

The 54 hole tournament at Chenal Country Club featured 16 teams with 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday. University of Arkansas Little Rock hosted the tournament and was the first time the Falcons have ever participated in the event.

Drew Preston led the Falcons in scoring with a 228 (75-72-81) that earned him a tie for 29th place. Charlie Olson shot a 232 (76-79-77) finishing tied for 43rd. Parker Hewit (81-77-76) and Wes Gates (77-76-81) both tied for 48th place with total scores of 234. Torey Brummett rounded out the BG scoring with a 262 (91-84-87).

Southeastern Louisiana won the tournament with a total score 887 defeating Sam Houston State by 13 shots. Both teams were ranked in the top 100 heading into the tournament.

BG will next head to State College, Pa. for the Rutherford Intercollegiate on Easter weekend April 7th and 8th.

BG baseball hosts Dayton

Following a 2-6 spring break trip to Florida, the BG baseball team will finally play on its home field.

The Falcons will take on Dayton today at 3 p.m. at Warren Stellar Field. It is the home opener for the Falcons, who are already 14 games into the season with a 3-11 record.

The Falcons’ pitching has struggled this season, particularly of late. BG has allowed double-digit runs in three of its last four games. The Falcons have lost all four of those games.

Jason Link leads BG with a 1.59 earned-run average coming out of the bullpen in six appearances. However, the Falcons have gotten little production from their starting rotation.

Among pitchers who have mades starts for BG this year, Andrew Lacinak leads the team with a 4.91 earned-run average. The four other pitchers who have started games for BG this year — Cody Apthorpe, Matt Malewitz, Ethan McKenney and Patrick Martin — all have earned-run averages greater than 6.14.

Offensively, the Falcons have struggled with the long ball, hitting two home runs this season — one by T.J. Losby and one by Matt Vannett. However, the Falcons are hitting a strong .291 as a team.

Leading the team in batting average is outfielder Jake Thomas, who has emerged as an unlikely presence at the top of the Falcons’ lineup. Through 10 games — eight starts — Thomas is hitting .400 with seven RBI and five runs scored.

The Falcons have received strong production from their outfield in general, with Andrew Kubuski and Patrick Lancaster each having batting averages greater than .300.

Two areas that have plauged the Falcons the most is on the basepaths and in the field. BG is only 6-for-14 on stolen bases. The Falcons have also committed 36 errors in 14 games after committing only 55 errors in 51 games last season.

Those errors have caused the Falcons to allow 23 unearned runs this season. This season, 24 percent of the runs the Falcons have allowed have been unearned.

Falcon Softball Finish 3-2 at Adidas Invitational

Falcon Softball finished 3-2 this past weekend at the Adidas Invitational in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

The Falcon’s started of the tournament with a double header against Winthrop University and Campbell University, earning a split with a loss and victory respectively.

Hitting was a key part of the Falcon’s game against Winthrop despite losing a close game 9-8. Junior Andrea Arney led the team going 3-for-4 with two home runs earning six RBI’s. Hannah Fulk also homered in the game and went 2-for-3 with two RBI’s.

The team showed resilience as they went into the third down 5-1. Arney got hot, hit a home-run and brought in three runs to bring the score to 5-4.

Despite Arney’s hitting, the Eagles scored four more runs to bring the total to 9-4 needing the Falcon’s to come from behind. Arney hit another home run yet it wasn’t enough as the Falcon’s ended the game a run short with a score of 9-8.

Friday afternoon saw the team play Campbell University where the Falcon’s retaliated and won 4-0.

“I am proud of the way the team played game two,” said head coach Shannon Salsburg. “Jamie set the tone on the mound and the team responded with solid defense and clutch hitting.”

Freshman Jamie Kertes earned the shutout on the mound and the victory.

Saturday the Falcon’s again played a double header, this time against Gardner Webb and Albany. The team swept the day winning both games 8-0 and 3-2 respectively.

Junior Paige Berger set the tone against Gardner Webb, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, while Katie Yoho went 2-for-2 with a single and a home run. This marks the second shutout of the tournament and the fourth put on by the Falcon’s this year.

Albany was a closer game with the Falcon’s scoring all three runs in the first inning thanks to a Yoho three-run hit giving the Falcon’s an early 3-0 lead.

Albany would respond with two of their own runs thanks to a strong performance from pitchers Paige Imholz and Kertes.

The Falcon’s concluded the tournament Sunday with a loss to St. Johns 3-2. Again Kerney lead the Falcon’s offensively with a home run and RBI to give the Falcon’s their only two runs, while the Red Storm scored all their runs early in the first.

The Falcon’s (10-7) will return to Bowling Green before heading to Farifax, Virginia this weekend to partake in the Red Blossom Classic.

Softball Heads to South Carolina for Adidas Invitational

With Katie Yoho having been named the Papa Johns Player of the Week last week, the Falcon's will travel to Rock Hill, South Carolina for their tournament this Friday.
The Adidas Invitational being held at Winthrop University will see the Falcon's play 5 games that will test their 7-5 record this season.
First up the Falcon's will play the host team, Winthrop, followed by Campbell University Friday afternoon.
Saturday will feature a Gardner Webb and Albany double-header for the Falcon's and Sunday will bring a game against St. Johns university.
Having yet to play a home game, the Falcon's have done well being constantly on the road. Bringing impressive hitting and a young, but talented pitching squad, the Falcon's have been able to go toe-to-toe with every opponent they've faced. Paige Berger, Hannah Fulk, and Yoho all have demonstrated leadership at the plate, while the freshmen Paris Imholz and Jamie Kertes have done well joining Jessica Odell and Erin Greenwalt on the mound.
Defense will be key in the Falcon's performance this weekend.

Temple to leave the Mid-American Conference

UPDATE, MARCH 9: According to a MAC press release, BG will move back to East Division for football. The Falcons were to move to the West Division for the 2012 season to accommodate Umass' move to the MAC. With Temple leaving for the Big East, that accommodation will no longer be necessary.

“Temple University requested to be released from its obligation, as a football-only member of providing two season’s prior notice before departing the Mid-American Conference," MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said in the release. "As a result the Conference and its member institutions engaged in a dialogue with Temple regarding an appropriate resolution. We have come to an agreement that is fair to the parties involved.”

“As a result, the Mid-American Conference has adjusted its football divisional alignment. Bowling Green State University will compete in the East Division that will consist of seven member institutions. The West Division will have six members. The eight-game Conference schedule should be released within several weeks.”

Temple negotiated a $6 million with the MAC. Since the season is still months from starting, nothing changes from BG's standpoint.

ORIGINAL POST: The Temple Owls, which has been a football-only member of the Mid-American Conference since 2005, will reportedly leave the conference to compete in the Big East, effective for the 2012 season, according to the Associated Press.

All other Temple sports compete in the Atlantic-10 conference.

The Owls competed in the East Division, and their departure will once again leave the MAC at 13 football members — six in the East, seven in the West.

During the season, it was announced that Massachusetts-Amhurst will join the MAC as a football-only school in 2012 in order to give the conference 14 football teams, thus evening out the divisions.

As part of this addition, BG was relocated to the West Division. The Falcons originally competed in the West in 2002 and 2003, but have been in the East since the 2004 season.

It is unclear whether the Falcons will remain in the West Division, or return to the East Division, where they compete in men's and women's basketball.

Falcons split pair of games

The BG baseball team picked up a dramatic 4-3 win against Georgetown, and followed that up with a clunker against Penn, a 13-2 loss.

Against the Hoyas, BG scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to go ahead and eventually win. A pair of two out singles — one by Andrew Kubuski and one by Brian Bien — did the damage for BG.

Andrew Lacinak started for BG and went five strong innings, allowing two runs — one earned — on four hits and two walks.

BG's offense and defense failed them against Penn. The Falcons had only six hits and committed four errors, leading to six unearned runs.

T.J. Losby had both RBI for the Falcons.

Five games into the tournament, BG is 2-3, and 3-8 on the season. The Falcons have an off day Wednesday, and will return to action Thursday against Yale.

Yoho Named Athlete of the Week as Falcon's Finish Positve

Katie Yoho was named Papa Johns player of the week for her performances for the Falcon's softball team at the Under Armour Invitational.
Yoho went 8-16 and added two home-runs for the Falcon's during their time in Clearwater, Florida. Yoho also added 4 RBIs and scored three runs herself.
With Yoho's impressive hitting the Falcon's finished out their tournament by beating St. Francis for a second tome on Sunday, by a score of 4-2.
The Falcon's finished 3-2 with losses coming from Quinnipiac University and Florida Gulf Coast University. The team beat St. Francis twice and had an impressive come-from-behind game against Bethune-Cookman.
Strong hitting once again drove the Falcon's to their victories, and their pitching depth also contributed. All pitchers were used several times as the Falcon's managed to keep hitters out of sync.
This Invitational brings the Falcon's to a 7-5 record this season, and allowed Yoho to pass Paige Berger in the season home-run total.

Game Three: BG @ Northern

Game three started off differently than the previous two games because there was no score in the first period. Northern Michigan held the advantage in shots 9-5 and both teams went 0-3 on power-play chances.

The Wildcats broke through first just under five minutes into the second period. Mitch Jones received a pass and fired a wrsit shot past Hammond that barely snuck in under the crossbar.

The Falcons responded as Dan DeSalvo held the puck after a Wildcats turnover and he rushed in on goalie Jared Coreau. DeSalvo whizzed the puck past him to tie the game 1-1 in the second period.

Just a little over two minutes later BG struck again as Adam Berkle broke through Northern's defense on a breakaway and he missed his initial shot, but DeSalvo was there to clean up the rebound and put it home for his second goal of the night and the go-ahead goal 2-1.

A little later after that goal, Berkle created offense again. He threw a shot at Coreau, which again he let up a huge rebound, but this time Berkle finished what he started and put the puck in the back of the net for the Falcons third straight goal. The score was 3-1 Falcons heading into the third period.

In the third period Northern tried to get to Hammond, but he was solid and the defense cleared many of the rebound chances. BG scored again as Ryan Viselli scored on a pass from Ryan Carpenter to make the final score 4-1 in favor of the Falcons.

This is the second straight year the Falcons advance in the playoffs as the #11 seed. Also the second straight year they fell behind 1-0 to Northern Michigan and then beat them with two straight wins.

Berkle led the Falcons in points in the series with seven (2 goals, 5 assists) and DeSalvo scored 5 goals and recorded one assist in the series. He scored only four goals the whole regular season.

It doesn't get any easier as the Falcons now travel to top ranked Ferris State in the second round of the CCHA playoffs. They were 0-4 against the Bulldogs this season.

Falcons swept in doubleheader

After picking up a win to start its spring break invitational, the Falcons ran into strong pitching from Northeastern as the Huskies took two games from BG.

On day after a 25-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox in an exhibition game, the Huskies received two fantastic outings from their starting pitchers. In a game one, 4-3 win, Northeastern starter Andrew Leenhouts went the distance, throwing seven innings, allowing three runs out eight hits, striking out four.

In game two, a 5-2 Huskies win, Dylan Maki one-upped his counterpart, also going the distance, allowing two runs — one earned — on five hits in seven innings.

T.J. Losby hit his first home run of the year in game one, while Logan Walker and Brian Bien each drove in a run for BG in game one.

The Falcons only mustered five hits in the second game, but three came off the bat of Jake Thomas, who returned to the leadoff spot after sitting game one. While Thomas has only appeared in five of BG's nine games, his his hitting 9-for-17 (.529) with three RBI.

Ethan McKenney started game one for BG and went the distance, throwing six innings and allowing four runs on seven hits with six strikeouts.

Pat Martin started game two, but did not fare as well as McKenney. He lasted only three innings, allowing four runs — three earned — on three hits and three walks.

Now at 2-7, BG returns to action Monday afternoon as it takes on Georgetown.

Game Two: BG @ Northern Michigan

The Falcons are battle-tested coming into this series and they showed how tough they are last night against Northern Michigan.

The first period started exactly like the first game, with BG coming out ready to play. Just 32 seconds into the game, Dan DeSalvo carried the puck into the Wildcats' zone and fired a shot past Northen goaltender Reid Ellingson for the 1-0 lead early.

The Wildcats responded at the 4:07 mark of the period when Steven Vigier tipped in a shot from the top of the zone and beat BG goalie Andrew Hammond to tie the game up. They scored again with just over a minute remaining in the first period. Justin Florek managed to score after a scramble in front of Hammond and the score was 2-1 Northern Michigan heading into the second period.

Just two minutes into the second period, the Wildcats scored again as they got a gracious bounce in the BG zone and Matt Thurber hammered the shot past Hammond for the 3-1 lead.

At this point the Falcons were on the brink of elimination, but they didn't give up.

At the 3:54 mark of the second period Marcus Perrier fired a shot from the point that beat Ellingson and cut into the lead 3-2.

Then again five minutes later, the Falcons tied the game up when Sullivan fired a wrist shot that dinged off the post and past Ellingson. The game was tied 3-3.

With just under a minute left in the second period the Falcons took control of the game. DeSalvo received a nice outlet pass and skated by the Northern Michigan defense. He faked out Ellingson and beat him with the backhand shot to give him his second goal of the game and the lead for the Falcons 4-3.

With five seconds left in the second period Vigier broke through the Falcon zone and was taken down from behind rewarding him a penalty shot to tie the game up, but Hammond stoned him preserving the one goal lead.

The Wildcats tried to come back but Hammond played sensational in the third period. Bryce Williamson added an empty-net goal for the Falcons as they beat Northern Michigan 5-3. They forced a game three tonight at 7:35 p.m.

Gymnastics sets season highs in loss to Ball State

The BG gymnastics team narrowly missed out on its first Mid-American Conference win, as Ball State mounted a last-second comeback to upset the Falcons 194.025-193.9 in Muncie, Ind.

The Falcons led the Cardinals after three rotations, but the balance beam again proved to be their undoing, as Gina Locigno and Danielle Wishart both hopped off in the final minutes of competition.

Despite the falls, BG nearly set a season high on beam, as Monica Eaton (9.625), Megan Valentini (9.775), Megan Harrington (9.775) and Jamilah Ali (9.85) gave standout performances.

While the Falcons struggled, Ball State turned in an impressive showing on floor exercise, scoring 48.825. The Cardinals hit all 24 routines, breaking 194 for the first time this year.

“We’ve kind of been in this pattern where the opposing team is having their best meet of the year,” said coach Kerrie Beach. “As I’ve said in the past, what the other team does doesn’t affect what we do. I just hope it really ignites that fire in our athletes.”

The fire was lit in the first half of the meet, as the BG gymnasts again put together six strong uneven bar routines, scoring 48.45 to open the meet. Monica Eaton tied for the win with Ball State’s Kayla Kmiecik, scoring 9.8. Locigno (9.775) and Lindsay Koch (9.675) hit season-high scores to help the Falcons.

On the vault, three Falcons scored the three highest scores of the night, led by Wishart’s career-high 9.9. Lacey Swords (9.775) and Ali (9.825) hit solid vaults to set up Wishart’s high, stuck full-twisting Yurchenko.

After two events, BG led Ball State by .425. On the floor exercise, the Falcons ran into some trouble, as Ali and Wishart both flew out of bounds on their opening passes, and no gymnast scored above a 9.75.

“We weren’t quite as in control as we usually are,” Beach said. “It’s an event that’s usually really strong for us. I was surprised to see us bouncing out of bounds.”

Surprisingly, BG’s lead over Ball State grew after the troubles on floor. Stellar performances by several Falcons on beam were not enough to overcome two falls, and Ball State achieved the slimmest of victories.

While a 193.9 marks the Falcons’ highest away score to date, it also signifies another meet that the team’s goal of scoring a 194 has eluded them.
“I can’t even tell you the level of frustration,” Beach said. “The team’s working so hard and I know that’s been a major goal of theirs. But you know when you’re that close that many times that it’s going to happen. We still have plenty of meets left to get that 194 or higher.”

The Falcons continue MAC competition next week, traveling to take on Kent State in the team’s third-straight away meet.

Falcons fall to Buffalo on final day of regular season

With seeding placement in the Mid-American Conference Tournament on the line, the BG men's basketball team fell to Buffalo Saturday afternoon, 68-64.

With the loss, the Falcons will be the No. 6 seed in the MAC Tournament, giving them a home game Monday night at 7 p.m. against No. 11 seeded Central Michigan. The Falcons defeated the Chippewas 71-58 earlier this season.

A'uston Calhoun paced the Falcons with 23 points, while Dee Brown (15) and Jordon Crawford (13) also scored in double figures for BG.

The Bulls used an aggressive inside presence throughout the game, attempting 25 foul shots, while BG had only eight free throw attempts.

Mitchell Watt led the Bulls with 20 points, who shot 47.9 percent from the field, including 38.5 percent from three-point distance.

Impressive Come From Behind Win Propels Falcon's Softball Team Into Day Three

A strong come from behind performance highlights the Falcon’s play at the Under Armour Invitational through day two.

Day one saw the Falcon’s defeat St. Francis yet fall to Quinnipiac University.

The Falcon’s took the plate against St. Francis and drove home only one run, but it was enough. Katie Yoho was able to drive a single home-run in the seventh and was either teams only score, as the Falcon’s pulled through a 1-0 victory.

Game two took place against Quinnipiac University, where the Falcon’s fell 7-4. Paige Berger, Erika Stratton, Hannah Fulk, and Yoho all collected RBIs.

The excitement came on Saturday as the Falcon’s defeated Bethune-Cookman University 8-6. The Falcon’s at one point down 5 runs, rallied in the fifth to score four runs on three hits.

The sixth inning saw more of the team’s dynamic hitting, as the Falcon’s scored four more runs again just on three hits.

Berger, Yoho, and Andrea Arney all recorded RBIs while Rachel Proehl scored on a throwing error.

“We battled hard for the win today,” said Coach Shannon Salsburg. “The entire team contributed to this win. It is huge to know we can battle from behind no matter the score.”

Despite the impressive come-from-behind win, the team was unable to keep the momentum against Florida Gulf Coast, losing 6-1.

The game went back and forth for the majority of the game, until the fifth inning where FGCU scored five runs of off five hits.

Between the two days, the Falcon’s used all their pitchers and will look forward to playing an encore game against St. Francis on Sunday.

Twelve runs, 21 hits lead BG baseball to victory

A season-high 21 hits and 12 runs led the BG baseball team to its second win of the season, a 12-5 victory against Mt. St. Mary's on Saturday in the Falcons' first game of the RussMatt Invitational in Florida.

Seven Falcons had multi-hit games, led by Jake Thomas, who batted leadoff for the second consecutive game. He went 4-for-5 with two RBI, two runs scored and a walk.

Andrew Kubuski, Patrick Lancaster and Brandon Howard each had three hits for BG. Howard had two RBI, Kubuski had one and Lancaster scored three runs.

Cody Apthorpe once again struggled on the mound for BG, facing 15 batters in 2 1/3 innings pitched. However, he only allowed two runs on six hits and two walks.

Ben Singer picked up the win in relief, giving up an unearned run on one hit and no walks in 4 1/3 innings. Trevor Blaylock got the last six outs for BG, allowing a run on four hits.

The Falcons will be back in action tomorrow, playing a doubleheader against Northeastern.

Game One: BG @ Northern Michigan

The BG hockey team was ready to play Friday night as they scored a goal in the opening minute of the game. Connor Kucera sent a shot at the net that found Adam Berkle's stick. He deflected the puck to Dan DeSalvo who buried the shot in the back of the net. The Falcons were up 1-0 in the opening minute.

Then at the 11:58 mark of the first period, Northern Michigan's Justin Florek tied the game up heading into the second period of play 1-1.

The second period started quickly again as this time the wildcats scored just five minutes into the period making the score 2-1.

The Falcons responded as Berkle stole the puck and carried it in front of the Wildcats' net. He shot the puckl low and beat Northern goaltender Jared Coreau to tie the game up 2-2.

Late in the second period, the Falcons committed a penalty so the Wildcats started the third period on a power-play. Andrew Cherniwchan made the Falcons pay as he deflected a shot past BG goalie Andrew Hammond to give the Wildcats a 3-2 advantage with just over 18 minutes left in the game.

Howerever, the Wildcats struck again as senior Tyler Gron received a nice pass out of the penalty box and started a 2-on-1 advantage towards Hammond. He decided to keep the puck and beat Hammond and made the score 4-2.

The Falcons were then shut down on offense and lost game one of the three-game playoff series.

The game tonight is a win or go home situation. They need to win to force a game three. The game starts at 7:35 p.m.

Baseball picks up first win

Matt Malewitz pitched 3 1/3 strong innings in his first start of the season to help lead the BG baseball team to a 5-2 victory against Dayton, the Falcons' first win of the season.

BG had previously lost all five games it had played.

Malewitz, an All-MAC selection as a sophomore in 2009, gave up two hits, no runs and no walks, striking out two, to pick up his first win of the season. He was flanked by Jason Link, who followed up with 3 2/3 strong innings, allowing an unearned run on three hits and a walk, striking out three.

Andrew Lacinak pitched a perfect eighth inning for BG, and Ben Singer finished off the game in the ninth. He made things interesting, allowing three hits and an unearned run, but was able to finish off the win.

The Falcons had a season-high 15 hits. The top-of-the-lineup experiment continued for coach Danny Schmitz, who put Jake Thomas into the leadoff spot. He responded by going 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.

In fact, the top four in the Falcons' lineup did significant damage. Thomas, T.J. Losby, Andrew Kubuski and Drew Kuns combined to go 10-for-17. Kubuski and Kuns each had three hits, while Kuns had two RBI.

Five Falcons — Thomas, Losby, Kubuski, Kuns and Tyler Wynn — had multi-hit games.

The Falcons defense committed four errors in the game, leading to two unearned runs.

The Falcons will be back in action Friday, as they take on Mt. St. Mary's in the first game of the RussMatt Invitational in Florida.

Richards fired after 12 seasons

BG women's soccer coach Andy Richards has been fired after 12 seasons at the helm of the program, the University announced in a statement.

Assistant coach Kellie Evans will serve as interim head coach for the 2012 season. A national search for a permanent head coach will begin in November.

“We would like to thank Andy for his years of service and contributions to BGSU women’s soccer,” BG director of athletics Greg Christopher said in a statement. “That being said, it is in the best interest of the program that we move in another direction.”

In 12 seasons at Bowling Green, Richards was 108-121-27 overall and 58-62-16 in MAC play. His teams won the MAC Tournament in 2004 and 2005, along with a regular season title in 2005.

However, the women's soccer team has struggled of late. BG hasn't posted a winning season since a 12-6-4 record in 2008, and had only six wins this past season.

BG baseball swept by Oklahoma State

For the second straight weekend, the BG baseball team went winless, dropping all three games in a series against Oklahoma State.

The Falcons dropped game one of the series, due to a superb effort on the mound by Oklahoma State pitcher Andrew Heaney.

The left-hander went 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run on seven hits and two walks, recording 12 strikeouts.

While the Falcons were only able to manage two runs in the game, they did put 13 runners on base behind 10 hits and three walks.

Logan Walker was moved up to the leadoff spot in the lineup and responded by going 2-for-4 with a walk. Andrew Kubuski added two hits, while Brandon Howard and Alex Davison each had RBI base-hits.

Cody Apthorpe started the game, but ran into trouble in the second inning. In that inning, he allowed four runs as the Cowboys batted around.

He finished the game by going four innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks, striking out three.

Saturday's game did not bring as much success for BG. While the Falcons scored a season-high three runs, their pitching faltered in a 13-3 loss.

Patrick Martin started the game and had similar results as Apthorpe, allowing five runs on six hits and a walk in four innings.
Trevor Blaylock relieved him and allowed seven runs — six earned — on six hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings.


Walker saw an end to his three-game hitting streak, going 0-for-4, but he had a walk and scored a run.

T.J. Losby had the only multi-hit game for the Falcons, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Drew Kuns had the other RBI for BG, going 1-for-3 and adding a run.

For the second straight game, the Cowboys received a strong effort on the mound, but this time it was from a reliever. Chase
Stevens pitched five innings in relief of Kyle Ottoson, allowing no hits and two walks, striking out 13 of the 16 batters he faced.

While Sunday's game started off well for BG, it did not finish as such in a 6-2 loss.

Ethan McKenney started the game for BG and was strong early. He allowed only one hit through five innings, but fell apart in the sixth inning. In the inning, he gave up three hits, a walk and four runs.

He finished the game going 5 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on four hits and a walk, striking out three.

Losby had another strong game for BG, going 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base.

Davison and Patrick Lancaster also had multi-hit games, each going 2-for-4, with Davison scoring a run.

The Falcons will be back in action March 3, as the team begins an eight-game in seven day stretch at the RussMatt Invitational in Winter Haven, Fla.

Falcon Softball Split 2-2 at Hilltopper Classic

Hannah Fulk continued her hit streak to five games as the Falcon’s competed in the Spring Hilltopper Classic in Bowling Green, Ky.

Fulk registered a hit in the Falcons’ first two games despite losing both games. Paige Berger continued her streak to four games before Western Kentucky snapped her streak.

The Falcons first played Indiana State on Saturday morning to a close 4-3 loss.

“[Saturday] was a tough loss,” said coach Shannon Salsburg. “We didn’t control the things we could, and they capitalized on our mistakes.”

The Falcons registered two runs in the first inning of play, before the Sycamores came back for the win. Berger went 2-for-4 with another home run, giving her 25 for her career, as she inches closer to the school record.

Friday night the Falcons played the host team of Western Kentucky. The team proved to be a tough match-up as they beat the Falcon’s 6-1.

The first run of the game didn’t come until the third inning, as WKU tallied its first run of the night. The sixth inning saw the Hilltoppers register four runs off of four hits.

“Today one inning was the difference in both games,” Salsburg said. “We talked as a team about shutting down the big innings. We look forward to playing all seven innings tomorrow the way we played six today.”

The game saw freshman pitcher Paris Imholz receive her first career loss.

Day two of the Classic saw a resurgence, as the Falcons closed off the day with two wins.

The Falcons played Morehead State first and won by a score of 6-3.

The Eagles came out sluggish and the Falcons pushed aggressively, especially from the batting of Katie Yoho. Yoho went 3-for-4 on the day, driving in two home runs and five RBIs. Berger also added another home run to the Falcons’ tally.

“We did a good job of attacking early and often,” Salsburg said.

Sunday afternoon saw the Falcons take down Murray State for the Sunday sweep.

Unlike in game one, the Falcons fell behind early by three runs, but with aggressive hitting and base running, the team managed to get the win. Berger and Yoho both contributed as well as Erika Stratton who gave the Falcons their first two RBIs.

The team used its pitching depth as it used three different pitchers in game; sophomore Erin Greenwalt earned the win while Jamie Kertes earned the save. Both were firsts for the pitchers.

Sunday saw the end of Hulk’s hit streak as she failed to reach base. The day also saw Berger move into second place for the career home run record with 26, as both she and Yoho now lead the team in home-runs this season with three.

This marks the first back-to-back wins this season, and the team will look to carry that momentum with their 4-3 record.