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Yes, it's cold out. Yes, there's that stupid white stuff on the ground that makes people drive like complete morons. Yes, it's January, but baseball is near. College baseball season is just a short 16 days away, which is fitting because that means the first pitch for everybody is scheduled to be on Valentine's Day. See, it's not just some made-up Hallmark holiday.
We're going to be counting down the days until these teams' Opening Day, but let's have a quick refresher of the 2013 season.
Final Standings:
| Team (Seed in Tourney) | Conf. Record | Record |
| East | ||
| Kent State (1) | 20-7 | 36-23 |
| Buffalo (2) | 19-7 | 33-24 |
| Miami (5) | 14-13 | 26-30 |
| Bowling Green (6) | 13-14 | 24-31 |
| Akron | 10-16 | 15-37 |
| Ohio | 9-18 | 14-39 |
| West | ||
| Northern Illinois (3) | 16-11 | 22-34 |
| Ball State (4) | 15-12 | 31-24 |
| Toledo (7) | 13-14 | 25-33 |
| Eastern Michigan | 12-15 | 26-28 |
| Central Michigan (8) | 12-15 | 25-32 |
| Western Michigan | 8-19 | 16-38 |
2013 MAC Tournament:
An unlikely Bowling Green team made it to the NCAA tournament. Finishing the regular season with a 24-31 record (13-14 MAC). Led by T.J. Losby, a First Team All-MAC catcher, appeared in 55 games and posted a .832 OPS for the season. The Falcons were only a 6-seed heading into the MAC tournament and started things off right with an 11-inning victory over the MAC West champions Northern Illinois Huskies. Having to put up with a pesky Rockets team to avoid elimination, the Falcons met up with the Ball State Cardinals in the final, but Nick Bruns really took care of business throwing a complete game shutout allowing just four hits and one walk.
MAC Baseball Tournament Video: Bowling Green Tournament MVP Nick Bruns (via MACDigitalNetwork)
The Falcons would go on to be be one of the unlucky two-and-out teams with losses against #15 Louisville and Oklahoma State in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
Top Performers:
Jason Kanzler- The senior center fielder ended his career for Buffalo with as good of a year as anybody could ask for. The primary #2 hitter in the lineup led the team in nearly all batting categories. Starting in 57 games for the Bulls, Kanzler posted a .330 batting average with a 1.009 OPS. A pure athlete who could hit for power (led the conference with 12 home runs) with good speed (21-for-25 in stolen bases), Kanzler was a darling for MAC baseball.
Scott Baker- Just turned 21 years old in November, Baker's sophomore season was very impressive. Mostly coming out of the bullpen as a freshman in 2012, Baker had 16 starts with five complete games with a shutout. Through 11 and two-thirds innings pitched, Baker had the third-lowest ERA in the MAC with 2.18 with a 1.16 WHIP.
2013 MLB First-Year Draftees:
Tyler Skulina (Kent)- Chicago Cubs, 4th round, 108 overall.
Taylor Williams (Kent)- Milwaukee Brewers, 4th round, 122 overall.
Jeff Zimmerman (NIU)- Seattle Mariners, 19th round, 567 overall.
Dylan Rheault (CMU)- Baltimore Orioles, 19th round, 579 overall.
Jason Kanzler (UB)- Minnesota Twins, 20th round, 590 overall.
Eric Dorsch (Kent)- Cincinnati Reds, 21st round, 645 overall. [Did not sign, with Golden Flashes in 2014]
Derek Toadvine (Kent)- New York Yankees, 22nd round, 674 overall.
George Roberts (Kent)- Arizona Diamondbacks, 26th round, 780 overall.
Brett Barber (Ohio)- Toronto Blue Jays, 37th round, 1105 overall.
