CARROLLTON, Ga. – The University of West Georgia Baseball team is set to hit the road for a 6:00 p.m. non-conference rematch against the Georgia Southwestern Hurricanes on Tuesday.

West Georgia (16-17, 9-9 GSC) enters Tuesday's rematch after dropping their three-game series to Delta State this past weekend while Georgia Southwestern (25-9, 9-6 PBC) comes in after winning one out of three against North Georgia also this past weekend.

The Wolves and the Hurricanes played each other back on February 20 where an 11-run ninth inning for GSW propelled them to a 17-2 win. In that game, UWG had one of their worst pitching and defensive performances of the season as they walked a season-high 12 batters and surrendered 13 hits, while committing three errors in the field.

Since that first meeting, West Georgia has been better on the mound. Seth Dudley seems to have taken sole position of the number one spot in the starting rotation as the reigning South Region and GSC Pitcher of the Week put together another solid outing against Delta State on Friday. Dudley went 6.2 innings and only allowed three runs on five hits while striking out seven batters. The junior now leads the team in strikeouts with 46 after recording seven or more strikeouts for the fifth time against the Statesmen on Friday.

In the bullpen, Jonathan Hickman has been the anchor all season but as of late, Ronny Piepmeier and Ryan Whitener have been solid as well. Piepmeier comes into tomorrow's matchup after recording a career-high six strikeouts against Delta State in 3.0 innings of work. As for Whitener, he's had back-to-back solid outings, only allowing four hits in 6.1 innings in games against West Alabama and Delta State.
 
On the offensive side of things, Cooper Prince, Luke Hatcher, Jared Emory, and Jack Witmer continue to lead the way while Cade Hohl has emerged as one of the hotter hitters in the lineup. In his introductory season at UWG last season, Hohl was known for his defensive brilliance but in 2024, he's become a dangerous hitter at the plate. In his last seven games, Hohl is batting .385 with two home runs and six RBI, catapulting his season batting average to .289.
 
With their record standing at 25-9, Georgia Southwestern is currently receiving votes in the National Division II Top-25 poll. The Hurricanes are 17-2 at home and arguably have the best offense in the country. GSW brings a .351 team batting average into Tuesday's game, which ranks third in the nation, while leading the country in hits with 409. The Hurricanes have seven players hitting well over .300 with Brant Deerman leading the way with a .443 average, ranking 27^th in all of Division II. Deerman is a pure contact hitting that can spray the ball to all parts of the field which has propelled him to 62 hits which leads the country. Jake Blinstrub, Miles Hartfield, Matthew Manuel, Paul Hegeman, Noah Roberts, and Cory Lee are the other six players on the roster that are hitting over .300 while Kalvin Alexander leads the team and sits third in the country in home runs with 13.
 
While GSW has one of the most dangerous lineups that you will find, they also have a plethora of talented arms. The Hurricanes have a team ERA of 3.77 and have allowed three runs or fewer in 19 games this season. Nick McCollum is the 'ace' as he leads the team with a 2.18 ERA and strikeouts, with 68, on a team-high 57.2 innings pitched. Rijnaldo Euson and Joesph Roden also carry ERAs under 3.00 while Andrew Geiger, Grant Adams, and Daemon Woodruff all have ERAs under 4.00.
 
First pitch for Tuesday's game is set for 6:00 p.m.