Carrollton, GA - The University of West Georgia baseball team returns home this week, and prepares to take on Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday, March 26 at 5:00 p.m.
Game Notes (PDF)
Wednesday is Blue Diamond Day at Cole Field. Wolves' fans are encouraged to wear their blue to the game and will have opportunities to win prizes throughout the game. Bring your family out to the game to support the UWG baseball team, and everyone to enter will receive a free t-shirt!
Wolves at a Glance
The University of West Georgia comes into today's weekday game with a record of 12-17. They will be looking to get back to a .500 home record if they can pull out the win. UWG is coming off an exciting weekend beating West Florida who was ranked as the #5 team in the nation according to NCAA.com. The Wolves came up just short of winning the series losing the final game by a score of 3-2.
Georgia Southwestern at a Glance
GSW comes into the game against the Wolves with an overall record of 6-19. They also come into the game 0-4 against Gulf South Conference opponents, losing to Valdosta State and getting swept by West Alabama in a three-game series. The 'Canes are just 4-19 on the road this year and are just 3-12 in conference play.
Wolves Offense
The Wolves have started hitting the baseball better as of late, getting their team batting average up just under the .260 mark.
Shaquille Jackson has continued to be the most consistent batter, as he leads the team with a .356 average. He has done a respectable job getting on base in the leadoff position, and he has also shown his speed on the base path stealing 10-of-11 bases.
Sumner McWhorter has come on as of late hitting .326 in the month of March. McWhorter also hit the team's third home run this past weekend.
Georgia Southwestern Offense
The 'Canes have only hit .244 at the plate compared to opponents hitting .315 against them. The 'Canes most dangerous hitter so far in 2014 has been senior first baseman Stephen Eldridge. Eldridge is hitting .333 and leads the team with 17 RBI and also in walks with 13. Senior catcher Jarrod Taylor has also shown his potential at times. Taylor leads the team with 9 doubles and has also shown his durability playing in all 25 games.
Wolves Pitching
The West Georgia pitching staff has also improved from February to March. Overall, they have dropped their ERA 1.61 points and have allowed ten less extra base hits. Some likely candidates that fans could see on the mound against GSW are:
Chris Burdette,
Taylor Craft, or
Colton Duttweiler. Craft and Duttweiler each pitched Sunday against West Florida, but could be ready to go on Wednesday. Burdette has pitched in four different games this year and has a 5.59 ERA.
Georgia Southwestern Pitching
The 'Canes pitching staff has struggled on the mound as their team ERA is above 6. The Wolves will likely see sophomore pitcher Earl Dupree on the mound at some point. Dupree has appeared in nearly half of the games Georgia Southwestern has played in, but could start as he did start one game this year. Dupree has an ERA of 5.95, and has pitched in 19.2 innings. Another potential starter in the weekday game could be freshman Dylan Brown. Brown has started in two games, but has only pitched a total of nine innings.
