Baseball America picks BG 3rd in the MAC East

[BGSU33]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/co ... 14638.html

Conference Overall
EAST W L W L
*Kent State 24 3 47 20
Miami (Ohio) 12 15 30 29
Bowling Green 9 18 20 33
Ohio 16 11 28 29
Akron 10 17 17 38
Buffalo 10 16 20 36

WEST W L W L
Central Michigan 17 10 34 29
Toledo 19 8 30 27
Eastern Michigan 14 13 25 31
Western Michigan 14 12 26 29
Ball State 9 18 14 36
Northern Illinois 7 20 15 40

*2012 champion
Teams are listed by predicted order of finish with 2012 records listed.
2012 NCAA tournament teams in bold
Projected NCAA Teams (1): Kent State.
Conference Schedule: 27 games, begins March 22.
Conference Tournament: Eight teams, May 22-25 at Avon, Ohio (All Pro Freight Stadium).
Player of the Year: George Roberts, 1b, Kent State.
Pitcher of the Year: Tyler Skulina, rhp, Kent State.

TOP PROSPECTS, 2013-14 DRAFTS
1. Tyler Skulina, rhp, Kent State
2. Brian Clark, lhp, Kent State (2014)
3. Dylan Rheault, rhp, Central Michigan
4. Jordan Foley, rhp, Central Michigan (2014)
5. Taylor Williams, rhp, Kent State
6. Derek Toadvine, ss, Kent State
7. Matt Honchel, of, Miami (Ohio)
8. Michael Clark, lhp, Kent State
9. George Roberts, 1b, Kent State
10. Steve Weber, rhp, Eastern Michigan

TOP NEWCOMERS
1. Taylor Williams, rhp, Kent State (Tr.—Mount Hood, Ore., CC)
2. Brett Sunde, c, Western Michigan (HS—Madison Heights, Mich.)
3. Tucker Linder, rhp/1b, Kent State (HS—Tallmadge, Ohio)
4. Kyle Slack, rhp, Toledo (HS—Edwardsville, Mich.)
5. Logan Regnier, of, Central Michigan (HS—Novi, Mich.)

QUICK HITS

Tyler Skulina • Kent State reached the College World Series for the first time in 2012, becoming the first Mid-American Conference team to get to Omaha since Eastern Michigan in 1976. Afterward, Scott Stricklin turned down the Michigan job to remain head coach of the Golden Flashes. Kent State must replace several key departed players, including first-team All-America SS Jimmy Rider (.359/.425/.529) and 2012 MAC pitcher of the year David Starn (11-4, 2.48, 120 IP/127 SO), but will be dangerous once again this spring. Jr. RHP Tyler Skulina (11-3, 3.77, 107 IP/106 SO) could pitch his way into the first round of the draft with his 92-95 mph fastball and good slider. Jr. RHP Taylor Williams, a transfer from Mount Hood (Ore.) CC, will occupy the No. 2 slot in the rotation after showing a lively low-90s fastball in the fall. So. LHP Brian Clark (5-0, 2.08, 22 IP/28 SO) has the fastball/slider combination to close games and become an early-round pick in the 2014 draft. Sr. 1B George Roberts (.364/.392/.549, 8 HR) will power the offensive attack after leading the MAC with 66 RBIs and winning league player of the year honors in 2012.

• While Kent State may seem to have a monopoly on MAC pitching prospects, Western Division favorite Central Michigan has a pair of intriguing sophomore arms. Draft-eligible So. RHP Dylan Rheault (2-2, 4.43, 41 IP/44 SO) is a 6-foot-9, 242-pounder who can reach 94 mph with his sinking fastball and is making strides with his secondary pitches and command. RHP Jordan Foley (3-0, 8.20, 37 IP/25 SO) can hit 95 mph with his lively heater and took a big step forward during an all-star summer in the Northwoods League. Two brothers, So. OF Nick Regnier (.231/.370/.290) and Fr. OF Logan Regnier, could ignite the offense with their plus speed.

• Miami (Ohio) So. OF Matt Honchel (.395/.443/.442, 10 SB) won the MAC batting title and led all Division I freshmen in hitting a year ago. He's a plus runner who has added some strength to his 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame, and the Redhawks anticipate more power production from him this year. He'll be draft-eligible as a 21-year-old sophomore.

• After his contract wasn't renewed following 10 years at Michigan, Rich Maloney returned to Ball State as head coach. He replaced Alex Marconi, who resigned after two seasons. In Maloney's first stint at the helm of the Cardinals, he went 256-144 from 1996-2002 and led the program to its only 40-win seasons (1998 and 1999). Ohio also has a new coach in Rob Smith, who had been associate head coach at Creighton. Joe Carbone retired after winning 689 games and two MAC titles in 24 years with the Bobcats.

[Falconfreak90]

BG opens the season this Friday at WKU...all nine position players return and Factman stated if our pitching can stay healthy, this could be a very good year. Coach Schmitz returns for his 23rd season to lead BG.

A preview from the official site:

http://www.bgsufalcons.com/news/2013/2/ ... 32533.aspx

GO FALCONS!!!!

[BGSU33]

BG was picked third in the East in the MAC poll too. Hope we can go down to WKU and get at least a game or two this weekend. The Hilltoppers were picked 7th in the Sun Belt preseason poll. I was just on WKU's campus this past summer and came away impressed. Nice campus and some very nice athletic facilities. The basketball arena is very nice, the football stadium was pretty cool and the baseball stadium is pretty nice as well. It would rank in the top four of the MAC in my opinion, behind only Ohio, Miami and CMU. I would rank it fourth in front of Kent State's. Good luck this weekend Falcons.