Carrollton, GA - The Gulf South Conference schedule doesn't get any easier for the West Georgia Wolves this weekend, as UWG baseball heads south to Pensacola, FL, to take on the No. 2 team in the nation, West Florida.
But before playing games eight, nine and 10 of the season against a ranked opponent, the Wolves must make a stop on Thursday afternoon in Americus for an in-state return battle with Georgia Southwestern. The two teams met in Carrollton on February 24 and the Wolves fell hard to the Hurricanes, 8-1.
For the Wolves to take a step forward in the Gulf South Conference, head coach
Skip Fite will be looking for a few key places in the order to step up this week.
Fite is still getting a tremendous output from juniors #
Stuart Drew# and #
Andy Marinelli#. Drew continues to be blazing hot, as shown in the Wolves' win over Valdosta State, as he went 5-for-5 in that game. He leads the Gulf South Conference by more than 75 batting points and has eight more hits than the second place hitter in the league.
Marinelli is batting .338 on the season and is tied for second in the GSC and first on the Wolves' squad with five home runs. His 24 RBI on the season are tied for third in the conference and he has been one of the more consistent hitters in the lineup all season long.
On the pitching front, freshman #
Brandon Crumbley# picked up his third victory of the season against VSU despite giving up a few runs, but his strong play against the Blazers suggests that he is back in the saddle.
The top ERA on the team goes to reliever #
Walker White#, who has a 2.51 ERA on the season and has been extremely efficitent out of the bullpen. He has thrown 14.1 innings this season and has struck out eight but walked only three.
Georgia Southwestern Snapshot
The Wolves will have to keep the GSW bats at bay on Thursday to be able to stay with the up-and-coming team in the Peach Belt. Georgia Southwestern pounded out 13 hits in the first meeting and kept the Wolves off the bases in an 8-1 victory.
West Georgia will likely not see the same starter as the first meeting, as Trent Franzango is normally a weekend starter and will likely pitch against Augusta State this weekend.
First pitch tomorrow in Americus is set for 5 p.m.
West Florida Snapshot
As far as Gulf South Conference teams go, this Argonaut squad is on of the best, as West Florida leads the league in both team ERA and batting average.
The Argos boast two hitters that have a batting average of above .400 on the season, led by senior right-fielder Greg Pron, who is hitting .425 on the season. He is a two-time All-Conference player and is a terror in the gaps, as he has 11 doubles this year.
The other is senior shortstop Brandon Brewer, who is eighth in the conference this year with a .408 batting average.
On the mound, West Florida has three pitchers who have at least 25 innings pitched this season and all have an ERA of under 2.00. The best of the bunch is Kevin Peters, who has a 3-1 record and a 0.72 ERA. He has 27 strikeouts on the year to only seven walks.
Equally efficient is junior Ben Hawkins, who has a 1.31 ERA and a 5-0 record this season. He has struck out 40 batters this year and has surrendered only seven walks. In 40 innings of work, Hawkins has allowed eight total runs and just five of the earned variety.
The third is senior Jason Postill, who has a 1.66 ERA and a 5-0 record this year. He has 47 strikeouts and has been a little more wild than the first two with 16 walks, but has allowed opponents to hit just .200 on the year.
The Wolves and Argos hit the field in Pensacola for a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 3 p.m. (EST), then close out the series on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
