The Malone University baseball team will have a chance to move into first place in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) standings this weekend when it takes on Trevecca Nazarene University who currently holds a two-game lead over Malone in first place. The Pioneers will head to Nashville for a crucial four-game series (two doubleheaders) starting on Friday, April 14th. The Trojans are the defending regular season conference champions.
 
GameDay
(4/14) Malone at Trevecca Nazarene (DH) – 4:00 pm CT (5:00 pm ET)
(4/15) Malone at Trevecca Nazarene (DH) – 12:00 pm CT (1:00 pm ET)
Live Video/Stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/trevecca
Twitter: @BaseballMaloneU
 
G-MAC Standings

Team	W	L	PCT	Overall
Trevecca Nazarene	10	2	.833	16-17
Malone	8	4	.667	20-12
Alderson Broaddus	7	5	.583	17-14
Kentucky Wesleyan	3	5	.375	14-17
Ohio Valley	4	8	.333	14-18
Cedarville	2	6	.250	9-19
Davis & Elkins	2	6	.250	7-22

All-Time Series
Malone is 1-1 in two all-time games against TNU.
 
Last Time Out
The Pioneers survived an extra-innings scare from Salem International on Tuesday in game one of a doubleheader sweep that extended Malone's winning streak to a season-high five games. Malone has won six of its last eight G-MAC contests.
 
Trevecca Nazarene has won eight of its last nine G-MAC contests and 12 of its last 15 overall as it enters this weekend's series against the Pioneers. The Trojans defeated Tusculum in their last game on Tuesday.

Team Comparison

Malone	Category	Trevecca
20-12	Record	16-17
.324	Avg	.283
.408	OBP	.381
5.9	Runs/Gm	5.6
9	HR	24
40	SB	55
3.78	ERA	5.16
1.45	WHIP	1.49
7.9	K/9 IP	8.4

Malone Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Four Pioneers rank among the top-10 hitters in the G-MAC with a fifth not far behind. Matt Noel (.452 avg) is 1st, Brenden Wells (.405) is 4th, Keanan Locke (.396) is 5th, Nate Cobb (.368) is 10th. Zach Mottice has raised his batting average from .312 t0 .340 in the last six games
• in addition to leading the conference in hitting, Noel leads the league with a .523 OBP.
• Brenden Wells is 5th in OBP (.468) and carries a 22-game hitting streak into the weekend. In 12 G-MAC games, Wells is hitting .511.
• In G-MAC games, Mottice is hitting .405 with a .476 OBP.
• Pioneer cleanup man Keanan Locke leads Malone with three homeruns and is second in the G-MAC with 32 RBI. He has nine games of two or more RBI this season, including three straight.
• Pioneer leadoff man Nate Cobb leads the league in runs (34), stolen bases (16), and walks (19) and is 4th in the league in OBP (.471).
• In G-MAC games this season, Malone is the only team hitting better than .300, checking in with a .322 average. The pitching staff is the only squad with a sub 3.00 ERA, entering the series with a 2.44 ERA in 12 conference games.
• Junior hurlers Roscoe Blackburn (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 38 K, 36.1 IP) and Joshua Hurford (5-0, 1.26 ERA, 29 K, 35.2 IP) are 1,2 in the conference, 1,2 in the Midwest Region, and 1,12 in NCAA DII in ERA among qualified starters.
• Blackburn remains one of two starting pitchers in the nation who has yet to allow an earned run. He is second in the G-MAC in batting average against (.209) while Hurford is first (.195).
• Freshman righty Kyle Kovach (2-0, 0.86 ERA, 17 K, 21 IP) would rank 2nd in ERA had he met the innings requirement to qualify. Since moving to the starting rotation, he has allowed just two earned runs in 15 innings.
• Fellow freshman Eric Mullet is 3-1 with a 4.81 ERA and 29 Ks in 24.1 innings. Tossing out a rough outing against St. Cloud St. in Arizona, Mullet has a 1.96 ERA in his other seven appearances this season.
• Malone senior closer Gunnar Smeyres is 2-2 with four saves and a 1.62 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 16.2 innings pitched. He has not allowed more than one earned run in any of his 14 appearances this season.
   

Trevecca Nazarene Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Trojans will try to counter Malone's pitching prowess with some quality arms of their own. Jesse Peters is 5-1 with a 1.91 ERA and a G-MAC leading 58 strikeouts in 47.0 innings.
• Peters is joined by Jon Newman who is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA in three G-MAC starts and Bryan Smith who is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA.
• Super reliever Christian Lohr, a First Team G-MAC selection last spring, is 2-2 with a 2.97 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 30.1 innings pitched.
• The Trojans' offense is led by 2016 All-Conference selection Bryson Shelton who is 2nd in the G-MAC in hitting (.440), OBP (.507), and homeruns (5). He leads the conference with 39 RBI.
• Third baseman Griffin Ganick (.367, 2 HR, 16 RBI) and second baseman Ethan Harrison (.353, 6 HR, 19 RBI) anchor the top third of the lineup.