The Malone University baseball team will make the short trip to North Canton to take on Walsh University in a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday, March 29th. First pitch of the twinbill is slated for 2:00 pm.
 
GameDay
(3/29) Malone at Walsh (DH) – 2:00 pm
Twitter: @BaseballMaloneU

The Pioneers are coming off a four-game series split against Cedarville last weekend in which they struggled at times offensively. After stranding a record 18 men on base in a game one loss, Malone hit just .210 (16-76) over the final three games of the series. The pitching staff, meanwhile, posted a 2.45 ERA over the final three games to help Malone manage the 2-2 split.
 
The Pioneers will have their hands full this Wednesday against a red-hot Walsh outfit that has won seven of its last eight games including three out of four over NCAA DII #13 Grand Valley State last weekend. Across the last six games, the Cavaliers are hitting .399 (83-208) as a team and have 31 extra-base hits. Walsh enters the week with the second-best record in the Midwest Region. Malone, meanwhile, is 10th among the 36 teams in the Midwest.

All-Time Series
In 126 games of the longstanding rivalry, Malone holds an 82-44 all-time advantage. Last season, however, the Pioneers dropped three out of four.

Team Comparison by the Numbers

Malone	Category	Walsh
11-7	Record	14-4
.321	Avg	.333
.416	OBP	.411
5.9	Runs/Gm	8.2
4	HR	22
23	SB	9
4.21	ERA	4.75
1.58	WHIP	1.39
8.9	K/9 IP	8.3

Malone Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Senior rightfielder fielder Brenden Wells is in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak in which he has raised his batting average from .275 to .358. Wells leads the team with 10 extra-base hits and is tied for second on the team with 11 RBI.
• Senior leftfielder Keanan Locke leads the team with 19 RBI despite missing six games earlier in the season. He also leads in hitting (.420) and slugging (.700). Locke has two of the Pioneers' four homeruns and carries a seven-game hitting streak of his own.
• Freshman Nate Cobb (.350, .487 OBP) is the third member of a talented Malone outfield that has combined to score 49 of the Pioneers' 106 runs. Cobb leads the team with 18 of those runs. From his leadoff spot, Cobb has reached base in all 18 games.
• Catcher Matt Noel (.418, 11 RBI) has cooled off a bit from his blistering start to the season, but still leads Malone with a .507 OBP.
• The Pioneers continue to receive outstanding production from Zach Mottice at the bottom of the order. Mottice is hitting .345 with a .429 OBP to go along with 10 runs and six stolen bases.
• The Malone pitching staff enters the week ranked third in the Region in K/9 IP thanks in part to freshman righthander Eric Mullet (16 K, 11 IP). Mullet (1-1) is expected to toe the rubber in game two while Braun Miller gets the honor in game one.
• Miller will look to bounce back against Walsh from a rough outing at Cedarville last week in which he allowed an uncharacteristic 12 baserunners and a career-high seven earned runs. Miller is 1-1 on the year with a 5.40 ERA.
   

Walsh Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Cavaliers are led by catcher/designated hitter Austin Szink who is 7th in the nation with a .484 batting average. Szink leads the squad with seven homers, 25 runs, 26 RBI, and an absurd .903 slugging percentage.
• He is followed closely by rightfielder Jordan Grubb (.471, 3 HR, 13 RBI, .804 slugging). Grubb is the defending GLIAC Player of the Week.
• The lineup is bolstered by 2016 All-Region catcher Luke Caple (.296, 2 HR, 10 RBI) as well as All-GLIAC selections Tyson Lautanen (.400, 3 HR, 18 RBI) and Andrew Stalnaker (.323, 3 HR, 13 RBI) as well as Johnny Knight IV (.350, 15 RBI).
• The pitching staff has been all or nothing at times this season. Walsh has limited its opponents to three earned runs or fewer in 12 games but have given up eight or more earned runs five times and 12 or more earned runs three times.
• Cavalier closer Ryan McSweeney is 2-0 with four saves. He has allowed just four hits while striking out 13 batters in 10.1 scoreless innings.