Carrollton, GA - The UWG baseball season is here, as the Wolves will host Emmanuel College tomorrow afternoon at Cole Field. The Wolves come into this season ranked 27^th in the nation by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. West Georgia is coming off their most successful season since they went to the Division II College World Series in 1998. The Wolves went 33-15 last season, led by an outstanding pitching staff that was third in the Gulf South Conference with a 3.12 ERA.

West Georgia returns 11 seniors and 15 contributors from last season, led by senior pitcher Matthew Norton. Norton went 8-2 last season with a 3.17 ERA, which placed him in the top ten in both wins and ERA in the GSC. The American Baseball Coaches Association's NCAA Division II All-America Committee named Norton a preseason All-American from the South Region.

Joining Norton on the list was senior right fielder Tyler Hutch. Hutch, who led the Wolves with a .358 BA last season, was named to the South Region Players to Watch List. Also, JUCO transfer Caleb Lopes was named to the Newcomers to Watch List for 2016.

West Georgia should also be very solid on the right side of their infield as they return both starters from last season. Artemis Kadkhodaian returns as one of the best second baseman in the GSC. The junior hit .321 last season for the Wolves with nine doubles and 2 home runs. He also led the team with 14 stolen bases on the year.
Second Team All-GSC member Dalton Rogers returns to his starting spot at first base. The senior was impressive in the middle of the lineup last season hitting .324 on the year with a team high 43 runs batted in. He tallied 13 doubles and four home runs in his junior year.

The Emmanuel College Lions are coming off a year where they went 10-35. The lions hit .261 as a team with a .329 on-base percentage. Shortstop Trent Jones returns as the leader of the Lion's lineup from last season. The Kathleen, GA native hit .369 on the year with five home runs, 16 doubles, and two triples with a team high 35 RBIs.

The Wolves and Lions are set for a 2:00 PM EST first pitch at Cole Field this Saturday, January 30. You can follow the game on Twitter @UWGAthletics. You can also view the live stats at the link at the top of the page. Come out and support your 2016 West Georgia Wolves baseball team.