The Malone University baseball team will travel to Greensburg, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, March 21st to take on Seton Hill University in a nine-inning, non-conference showdown at 3:00 pm. Tuesday's meeting will serve as preparation for Great Midwest Athletic Conference play which begins this weekend at Cedarville.
 
The Pioneers will be taking the diamond for the first time since going 8-3 during their spring break trip to Arizona. Seton Hill comes into the matchup having won six of its last seven including a doubleheader sweep of NCAA DII #9 Grand Valley State last Monday and a victory over #1 Tampa last Tuesday.
 
GameDay
(3/21) Malone at Seton Hill – 3:00 pm
Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/setonhill/baseball
Twitter: @BaseballMaloneU
 
All-Time Series
In 18 previous meetings, Malone has posted a 7-11 record against Seton Hill.

Malone Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Pioneer lineup features five players hitting .350 or better including sophomore catcher Matt Noel who currently ranks 11th in the nation with a .514 batting average.
• Outfielders Michael Mathieu (.435, 1 HR, 10 RBI) and Keanan Locke (.429, 1 HR, 12 RBI) lead the squad in slugging.
• Centerfielder Nate Cobb (.391 avg, .491 OBP) has swiped a team-high eight bases from his leadoff spot while second baseman Zach Mottice (.350 avg, .422 OBP, 6 SB) has effectively turned the lineup over from the no. 9 spot.
• Rightfielder Brenden Wells, who led the squad with a .385 average last spring, is hitting .313 and leads the team with seven extra-base hits.
• Shortstop Joe Crank (.333 avg, .424 OBP) is 5th in the nation with four triples through the first 13 games.
• The Malone pitching staff features six players, Roscoe Blackburn (0.00 ERA), Kyle Kovach (0.00), Joshua Hurford (0.59), Gunnar Smeyres (1.69), Jordan Yoder (1.86), and Braun Miller (1.86), who've tossed five or more innings and sport a sub-2.00 ERA.
• Blackburn, a junior lefty, has struck out 12 over 13.1 innings. He is slated to get the start at Seton Hill on Tuesday.
   

Seton Hill Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Center fielder Craig Lewis paces the Griffins 'offense with a .352 avg, 17 runs, and 12 stolen bases from his leadoff spot.
• Right fielder Mark Colella (.316) leads the team with nine doubles and 17 RBI
• Third baseman Tom McCarthy (.368, 12 RBI) and shortstop Tyler Sullivan (.348, eight RBI) are each tough outs in the middle of the order
• Seton Hill, a member of the PSAC, finished 40-18 a season ago and reached the Atlantic Regional Tournament.
   

Team Comparison by the Numbers

Malone	Category	Seton Hill
9-4	Record	10-5
.337	Avg	.314
.427	OBP	.393
6.5	Runs/Gm	7.1
3	HR	10
18	SB	51
4.28	ERA	5.59
1.58	WHIP	1.66
9.0	K/9 IP	9.3

Through the opening month of the season, the Pioneers rank among the top-20 teams in DII in both batting average and on-base percentage. Outside of a lopsided 20-5 loss to St. Cloud State, Malone has posted a 2.97 team ERA, a figure that would also rank among the top-20 teams in DII.
 
While Seton Hill has hasn't posted as high of averages, the Griffins have been getting done on the base paths where they rank 2nd in the nation with 3.4 stolen bases a game.