BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball program and head coach Danny Schmitz announced their 2016 season schedule Monday (Dec. 7) morning. The Falcons will open the season with a three-game series against East Tennessee State University, starting Feb. 19 in Johnson City, Tennessee. Bowling Green will play 24 conference games, and host 18 games at Warren E. Steller Field.
The Falcons will play a three-game series against Florida State in Tallahassee, Florida across May 6-8. Florida State went 44-21 last season, and made it all the way to the Super Regionals.
“We are excited to announce our 2016 schedule,” said head coach Danny Schmitz. “The early season schedule will prepare us for Mid-American Conference play, and we are thrilled to be playing 18 games in front of our fans at Steller Field.”
The 2016 season will begin with two-consecutive road series. After three games against ETSU, Bowling Green will play a four-game set in Seattle against Seattle University across Feb. 26-28. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 27.
Before a pair of invitational tournaments, Bowling Green will hit the road to face the University of Dayton on Tuesday, March 1. BGSU will participate in the Elon Tournament over March 4-6 in Elon, North Carolina, before heading to Emerson, Georgia to take part in the Perfect Game Tournament March 7-13. In Elon, the Falcons will take on hosts Elon (March 4), as well as Appalachian State (March 5) and Stony Brook (March 6). Specific dates, times and opponents for the Perfect Game Tournament will be announced at a later date.
After the Perfect Game Tournament, BGSU will host Central Michigan for opening day at Warren E. Steller Field on March 15, before playing the Chippewas again in Mount Pleasant, Michigan on March 22. In between the CMU games, BGSU will play a pair of doubleheaders against Western Michigan on March 18 (away) and March 19 (home). All games against Central Michigan and Western Michigan are officially non-conference games that will not count towards the MAC standings.
The Falcons will then open Mid-American Conference play on the road at Eastern Michigan over Feb. 25-27, before returning home for the Battle of I-75 against Toledo from April 1-3. Before the Toledo series, BGSU will host the University of Findlay on Tuesday, March 29. Prior to traveling to Oxford, Ohio for three more MAC games against Miami spanning April 8-10, the Falcons will take on the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Wednesday, April 6.
The Orange and Brown will then host the University of Dayton on Wednesday, April 13, prior to playing three games at Steller Field from April 15-17 against Ohio. BGSU will then play five-straight road ballgames. In between a series in Muncie, Indiana (April 22-24) against Ball State, BGSU will play at Wright State on April 19 and at Youngstown State on April 27.
BGSU will then host Northern Illinois from April 29-May 1, before traveling down to Florida to take on the Seminoles. The Falcons will then host Youngstown State on Wednesday, May 11, before playing at Steller Field for the last time in 2016 against Kent State. BGSU will open the series against the Golden Flashes on May 13, with Senior Day scheduled for May 15.
Bowling Green will conclude the regular season on the road against Buffalo from May 19-21, before the MAC Tournament in Avon, Ohio begins on Wednesday, May 25.
