Carrollton, GA - Ranked teams have been the norm throughout the first month of the 2011 season for the West Georgia baseball team, and that won't change this week, as 11th-ranked North Georgia comes to town on Tuesday for the first of five home games this week.
The Wolves have played five games so far this season against ranked teams, including four against current No. 1 Georgia College and State.
In addition to the Saints on Tuesday, West Georgia hosts Division II newcomer Ohio Dominican on Wednesday in non-conference action. The Wolves' GSC home opener comes on Saturday and Sunday as in-state rival Valdosta State comes to town.
West Georgia comes into the week with a 7-10 overall record and has a team batting average of .298. The Wolves have an ERA of 4.93 and have outscored their opponents by a 97-85 mark.
Leading the way at the plate for West Georgia is the duo of #
Stuart Drew# and #
Andy Marinelli#. Drew has a .556 batting average after going 5-for-8 this past weekend with four runs scored and three RBI. He leads the Gulf South Conference in average, total hits and stolen bases.
Marinelli is the top run-producer for the Wolves on the year, boasting a .355 batting average with four home runs and a team-leading 22 RBI.
On the mound, head coach
Skip Fite will likely look to three different starters for the weekend, beginning with senior #Jared Slaven#, who has hit his groove in the past two weeks. In the past 10 days, he has two starts and is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA. He has 14 strikouts in 15 innings of work and tossed a complete game in both. This past Sunday, he went toe-to-toe with UAH starter Robert Griffin and fell just short in a 2-1 duel.
North Georgia Snapshot
The Saints are coming off of two straight series against the top two teams in the nation, North Georgia swept a doubleheader against #2 West Florida last week, then dropped a 4-2 decision to Georgia College in a rain-shortened series this past weekend.
NGSU is 11-4 on the year and comes into the week with a .319 batting average and a 3.29 team ERA. The leading hitter is Troy Snitker at .404, but the Saints have four regulars that have an average of .321 or better and six overall with that distinction.
Ohio Dominican Snapshot
The Panthers come into Wednesday's game with a 1-2 record overall this season and will be in the midst of a weeklong road trip that covers much of the state of Georgia and goes through Northern Kentucky before settling back home in Ohio.
ODU played Bellarmine in their season opener, falling in 2-of-3 games, each of which was a hard-fought pitcher's duel. The Panthers are batting .176 on the season heading into the week.
Valdosta State Snapshot
The Blazers are coming off of their first GSC trip of the season and the Blazers suffered two losses at the hands of West Florida, similar to how West Georgia did against UAH last weekend. The difference between the two teams was that VSU also took one game from the Argos, where West Georgia was rained out of their third game.
VSU comes into the weekend with a 6-12 record overall and 1-2 in GSC East play. The Blazers have two common opponents with the Wolves, going 1-1 against Georgia Southwestern and Georgia College. Against those teams, West Georgia is 1-4 this year.
ON the hitting front, the Blazers have a team batting average of .271 on the season and are led by Bobby Triglia, who is hitting .354 with five home runs and 16 RBI on the season. He is one of seven different players for VSU to hit a home run this season, as the Blazers have hit 16 total as a team.
Despite the 6-12 record, the Blazers can score runs, as they have only been outscored by a 270-252 margin on the year. Triglia's 16 RBI are tops on the team this year.
On the pitching front, VSU has a team ERA of 5.83, but has struck out 179 batters to just 89 walks on the year. In contrast, the Blazers have struck out just 133 times on the year. One sore spot has been errors, as Valdosta State has given up 128 total runs this season, but only 100 of those have been earned.
As a team, VSU has committed 35 errors in 18 games and has a fielding percentage of .947. In contrast, the Wolves have committed 21 errors in 17 games with a .961 fielding percentage.
