CARROLLTON, Ga. – The University of West Georgia Baseball team is set to travel to Montgomery, Alabama this weekend for a three-game road series against the Auburn Montgomery Warhawks.
Game One of the series is slated for 7:00 p.m. EST on Friday while Games Two and Three are set for 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. EST on Saturday.
West Georgia (18-19, 10-11 GSC) enters this weekend's play after dropping two out of three to Alabama Huntsville last weekend. As for AUM (24-15, 15-6 GSC), they come in winners of 11 of their last 12 games with their latest win coming on Tuesday against Georgia Southwestern, 16-5.
As we now enter the final stretch of the regular season, it's time for the Wolves to hit their stride.
Cooper Prince and
Cade Hohl are two players in the lineup that are playing their best baseball of the season as Prince comes into this weekend's series after hitting .636 (7-11) last week while scoring four runs. The left fielder has recorded multi-hit games in his last four starts and continues to be a problem in the lead off spot for opposing pitchers. As for Hohl, He currently holds an 11-game hitting streak and is batting .359 during that stretch along with three home runs. Prince and Hohl have been outliers in a UWG lineup that has fallen into a mini slump offensively as of late. If West Georgia wants to climb back up the GSC Standings, they need the bats of
Luke Hatcher,
Jack Witmer, and
Jared Emory to come alive again.
On the mound,
Seth Dudley has remained solid in the number one spot in the rotation. After pitching 7.0 innings and only allowing two runs on five hits against a dangerous Alabama Huntsville offense, the right hander has seen his ERA dip to 4.76 which now ranks second on the team. Dudley has struck out 18 batters in his last three outings, but has had some issues with command as he's also walked 10 batter during that stretch.
Out of the bullpen,
Jonathan Hickman remains at the top of the food chain. Hickman leads UWG in ERA, strikeouts, walks allowed, and opposing batting average. While Hickman is the go-to out of the pen, it'll be interesting to see if head coach
Jeff Smith goes to
Carson Crossley a little bit more. Crossley has put together the best season of his career so far, by recording a career-best 1.99 ERA in 22.2 innings of work.
West Georgia will need to play their best baseball this weekend if they want to take a series victory back home to Carrollton against an Auburn Montgomery team that is red hot. After their latest surge, AUM is currently tied for second in the conference standings and is only 1.0 games back from, first-place, Lee. The Warhawks are solid everywhere as they rank seventh in the league with a .301 team batting average and fifth in the GSC with a 5.64 team ERA. Auburn Montgomery has nine players hitting over .300 with their catcher, Cooper Doughman leading the bunch. Doughman leads the Warhawks in home runs and RBIs with seven and 32 while ranking fourth on the team with a .336 batting average. The senior catcher is the most dangerous bat in AUM's lineup, but he's also surrounded with uber skilled hitters such as Jarren Wright, Tyrese Rooks, Zach Dew, Jackson Ceman, and Kasey Clark who are all regular starters that are hitting well over .300 and have on-base percentage's well over .400.
On the mound, Ryan Slaten is the Warhawks' ace. Slaten leads the team with a 3.65 ERA while possessing a 1.38 WHIP. The junior right hander is 3-1 on the season and has the ability to be a starter and a bullpen arm for Auburn Montgomery. While Slaten is the best starter in the rotation, Lucas Baggett is the best arm out of the bullpen as he's recorded a 0.73 ERA in 11 appearances, but the sophomore right hander has been sidelined since early March. Since Baggett has been sidelined, Brett Pitts has picked up the slack as he's accumulated a 3-1 record with a 3.46 ERA, leading the bullpen unit.
First pitch for Game One on Friday is set for 7:00 p.m. EST while Game Two and Three are slated for 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. EST on Saturday.
