The Malone University baseball team will head to Nutter Fort, West Virginia on Tuesday, April 11th to take on Salem International University in a non-conference doubleheader starting at 12:00 pm. Although Tuesday's matchup has no conference implications, it could improve the Pioneers' Midwest Regional stock entering a pivotal final month of regular season baseball.
 
In last week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Midwest Region Poll, Malone was ranked 11th, receiving one vote. The Pioneers are currently 9-7 against Midwest opponents and could benefit from a pair of victories over SIU. This past weekend, Malone took three of four from regional and conference foe Kentucky Wesleyan.
 
GameDay
(4/11) Malone at Salem International (DH) – 12:00 pm
Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/salemiu/baseball
Twitter: @BaseballMaloneU
 
All-Time Series
In eight previous meetings with Salem International, Malone is 5-3. The Pioneers swept a doubleheader the last time the two teams met in 2014.

Team Comparison

Malone	Category	Salem Int'l
18-12	Record	4-28
.321	Avg	.244
.407	OBP	.347
5.7	Runs/Gm	3.7
9	HR	8
31	SB	37
3.73	ERA	11.57
1.42	WHIP	2.50
8.0	K/9 IP	5.7

Malone Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• In 18 non-conference games this season, catcher Matt Noel is hitting a robust .528 with a .600 OBP. The sophomore backstop has 14 multi-hit games this season.
• Senior rightfielder Brenden Wells also has 14 multi-hit games this season and is the midst of a 20-game hitting streak. During the streak, Wells has scored a team-high 22 runs.
• Senior leftfielder Keanan Locke (.385) leads the team with 28 RBI. In 91 at bats this season, Locke has struck out just 12 times (every 7.6 at bats). Locke has improved drastically on his strike out rate since last spring when he led the squad with 44 strikeouts (once every 4.9 at bats).
• Freshman speedsters Nate Cobb (.355) and Zach Mottice (.344) continue to produce at both ends of the lineup. Cobb leads the team with 29 runs and 15 stolen bases. Mottice is coming off of a four-game series against Kentucky Wesleyan in which he hit .538 (7-12) with two doubles and four RBI.
• Ryan Sarbaugh and Joe Crank both broke out of significant slumps in the series. Sarbaugh had a hit in all four games including his first career homerun on Sunday. Crank also collected his first career homerun on Sunday after delivering a walkoff single in a win on Saturday.
• Damian Maglione (.333) has settled in nicely since moving to third base last weekend. The sophomore transfer recorded his first extra-base hit as a Pioneer as well as his first RBI against Kentucky Wesleyan on Sunday.
• The Malone pitching staff limited Kentucky Wesleyan to just a .195 batting average in the series. The Pioneers are ranked 3rd in the Midwest Region in team ERA.
• The Malone offense is 3rd in the region in OBP and 4th in batting average.
   

Salem Int'l Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Tigers' offense is led by third baseman Donato Gallano (.322, 1 HR, 13 RBI), designated hitter Jimmy Cramer (.313, 2 HR, 8 RBI), and centerfielder Matthew Flores (.303, 2 HR, 17 RBI).
• Lefthander Abel Hernandez leads the pitching staff with 52 strikeouts in 52.1 innings. He also has three of SIU's four wins.