It has been quite a whirlwind the past few weeks or so for the Bowling Green State University baseball team, going from seeing the program cut to seeing the program reinstated thanks to the giving from alumni.
Meanwhile, up the road on I-75, University of Toledo baseball coach Rob Reinstetle and the rest of the Rockets program were following closely.
Baseball season would not have been the same without our rival.
— Toledo Baseball (@ToledoBaseball) June 3, 2020
Welcome back, @BGSU_Baseball. https://t.co/1XA7QTUdoa pic.twitter.com/Vt1oJQxjP3
Upon hearing the initial news that the Falcons baseball program was cut, Reinstetle was sympathetic toward his rival program. As part of the Mid-American Conference, Reinstetle said it was no good for the conference when the program was cut.
“The first reaction is kind of shock,” said Reinstetle, who had his first season with Toledo cut short. “Then you start thinking about your own program and you go into that ‘holy crap, this is not good.’ It’s every coach in every sport’s worst nightmare to have your program pulled from you. It was at first shock and then I felt bad for those guys. I have only been in the league for a short time, but I have known [former BG coach Danny Schmitz] for a while, and he’s been there for a long time. So my heart went out to his staff and of course their players. It’s a situation that nobody envies at all.”
Through an aggressive fundraising campaign from former players, Bowling Green announced earlier this week the program had been reinstated, preserving a storied program with proud alums.
“To some degree, I was surprised,” Reinstetle said. “It’s happened before with baseball programs that alumni have stepped up and figured out ways to make it happen. I know they have a passionate alumni base. When the word got out that they were kick-starting it with a couple individuals, it quickly became a reality that maybe they would be able to pull this off if the university worked with them.”
Natural rivals like Toledo and Bowling Green tend to bring out the best in one another, and Reinstetle compared the I-75 rivalry to when he was an assistant coach at College of Charleston and they took on The Citadel. The two schools were “within a stone’s throw,” according to Reinstetle, and the series between the schools had an extra level of intensity.
“I know in past rivalries I’ve been a part of it brings a heightened level of intensity to the game,” Reinstetle said, “because you want to beat them every single year. You want those bragging rights. Like any other game it boils down to who plays the best, but there is always probably a little bit more on the line when it’s your rival.”
In jeopardy of not getting to experience the I-75 rivalry for himself, Reinstetle is glad to see the series will live on on the baseball diamond.
“Now that they are back, it’s a good thing, and I am excited to get after them and from my standpoint — with it being my first go of it here at Toledo — start building my record against Bowling Green would be nice,” he said. “I was sad when they cut the program and of course it’s good for the MAC that they got baseball back, and it’s good for our rivalry, and I’m genuinely happy that they are back.”
First Published June 5, 2020, 9:18 p.m.
