The Malone University baseball team will close out the regular season this weekend with a pair of doubleheaders against Ohio Valley University to be played at Schoonover Stadium on the campus of Kent State. Malone and OVU will open the series on Friday, May 5th at 10:00 am before returning to the diamond on Sunday, May 7th at 1:00 pm. Please note the time change for Friday's game from the original noon first pitch.
 
The Pioneers will celebrate Senior Day on Sunday and will honor graduating seniors Jordan Knight, Keanan Locke, Ryan Sarbaugh, Gunnar Smeyres, and Brenden Wells in between games one and two. Malone will also celebrate Bob Starcher Day prior to game one as the Bob Starcher Memorial Scholarships recipients will be recognized.
 

GameDay (5/5) Malone vs. Ohio Valley (DH) – 10:00 am** (5/7) Malone vs. Ohio Valley (DH) – 1:00 pm Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/malone/baseball Twitter: @BaseballMaloneU For directions to Kent State's Schoonover Stadium, click here.

Last Time Out
The Pioneers extended their win streak to 10 straight games with a doubleheader sweep of Davis & Elkins last Friday before splitting a twinbill on Saturday. Over the last 19 games, Malone is 16-3. While Malone saw its 10-game win streak come to an end last weekend, Ohio Valley saw its 13-game winning streak snapped in a four-game series split.
 
Both teams clinched a spot in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament, but both teams can improve their seeding this weekend. Malone can climb as high as number one with a little help from Trevecca Nazarene, while the Fighting Scots have an opportunity to climb to number two.

G-MAC Standings

School	Conf	Pct.	Overall
Trevecca Nazarene	12-4	.750	21-20
Malone	13-7	.650	31-15
Kentucky Wesleyan	12-8	.600	23-22
Ohio Valley	10-10	.500	26-20
Alderson Broaddus	10-10	.500	21-19
Cedarville	8-12	.400	17-26

All-Time Series
Malone is 2-3 in five all-time meetings with Vienna, West Virginia-based Ohio Valley.

Team Comparison

Malone	Category	OVU
31-15	Record	26-20
.331	Avg	.319
.410	OBP	.409
5.9	Runs/Gm	6.4
19	HR	12
55	SB	45
3.43	ERA	5.70
1.40	WHIP	1.72
7.8	K/9 IP	5.1

Malone Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Senior outfielders Keanan Locke (.413, 7 HR, 46 RBI) and Brenden Wells (.367, 3 HR, 32 RBI) will be playing in their final home games on Sunday. Both have an affinity for Schoonover Stadium, where, on the same day last season, Wells hit his first career homerun and Locke delivered his first collegiate grand slam.
• Locke enters the final week of the season leading the G-MAC in RBI and slugging (.692), he is second in the league in both hitting and homeruns. Wells enters the week ranked 2nd in runs (41) and third in hits (62).
• Senior First baseman Ryan Sarbaugh (.297, 12 2B, 21 RBI, .407 OBP) will also be playing his final home games on Sunday. Sarbaugh has been a key cog in the Pioneers recent success, hitting .387 with a .449 OBP over Malone's last 19 games.
• During that same time frame, freshman second baseman Zach Mottice has hit a team-high .444 with a .516 OBP. He has raised his average on the season to .367, good for third on the squad.
• Fellow freshman Nate Cobb is hitting .371 with a .450 OBP and a team-high 23 runs scored during Malone's 16-3 stretch. On the year, Cobb is hitting .365 and leads the G-MAC in runs (47) and steals (23).
• Sophomore catcher Matt Noel (.422, 11 2B, 32 RBI) continues to lead the league in hitting and OBP (.497).
• Sophomore shortstop Joe Crank (.359 OBP, 31 R, 31 RBI) is tied for the league in triples, with Wells and Cobb, with five and leads the conference in sacrifice bunts with 12.
• Junior lefthander Roscoe Blackburn enters the weekend as the Division II leader in ERA. In 56.1 innings this season, Blackburn has given up just four earned runs. He is 4-1 on the season and ranks 2nd in the conference in both strikeouts (62) and WHIP (1.10).
• Junior righthander Joshua Hurford (6-0, 1.51 ERA) leads the G-MAC in WHIP (1.09) and wins and is second among starters in ERA. He and Blackburn, who are expected to both start on Friday, make up one of the best 1-2 punches in the nation as Malone is just one of two teams in DII with two starting pitchers ranked among the top-40 in ERA. Hurford is ranked 12th.
• The Pioneers are slated to turn to another talented duo, Eric Mullet (5-1, 3.16 ERA) and Braun Miller (3-3, 4.36 ERA, to start on Sunday.
• Over his last eight outings, Mullet has registered a 1.89 ERA over 33.2 innings. He has not surrendered an earned run over the last 17.2 innings. Miller meanwhile hasn't been scored on over his last 11.2 innings.
• Senior reliever Jordan Knight (3-1, 2.88 ERA) has not been give up an earned run over his last 13 innings pitched. Classmate Gunnar Smeyres (2-2, 1.05 ERA) has gone 17 straight without allowing an earned run as the Malone closer.
• Smeyres enters the final weekend of the season leading all G-MAC relievers with eight saves.
• The Pioneers are 26-0 when leading after six innings this season, 28-5 when giving up five runs or fewer, and 24-6 when they score first.
   

Ohio Valley Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Just like the Pioneers, the Fighting Scots feature five players hitting .350 or better. Among the five are third baseman Justin Gil (.390, 2 HR, 26 RBI), centerfielder Travis Perkola (.379, 15 2B, 33 RBI, 19 SB), second baseman Charles Emery (.368, 13 2B, 23 RBI), first baseman Jake Carr (.356, 14 2B, 37 RBI), and DH Nicholas Villazon (.355, 24 RBI).
• Perkola, who moonlights as a relief pitcher, ranks just behind Nate Cobb in the conference leaders in steals and runs (40). Perkola, Gil, and Carr all rank among the top-10 in RBI and OBP.
• Charles Emery, who moonlights as a starter in the Scots' rotation, is 5-5 with 35 Ks in 58 innings.
• He is joined in the rotation by Matthew Carey (5-2, 3.88 ERA), Ryan Valentine (4-5,  42 K), and the defending G-MAC Pitcher of the Week Nicholas Shower (3-3, 5.04 ERA).
• Despite posting a 17-4 record at home this season, OVU is just 5-11 on the road.