The Malone University baseball team will take on Kentucky Wesleyan College in a doubleheader this Friday, March 16th in its Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) opener. The Pioneers will then face Trevecca Nazarene University (TN) on Saturday in another competitive twinbill with the Trojans beginning at 1:00 pm.
 
Originally scheduled to be played in Owensboro, Kentucky at 1:00 pm, Friday's contests have been moved, in light of weather and field conditions, to Nashville's E.S. Rose Park (home of the Belmont University Bruins) and will start at 12:00 pm ET.
 
GameDay
(3/16) Malone at Kentucky Wesleyan (DH) – 12:00 pm
(3/17) Malone at Trevecca Nazarene (DH) – 1:00 pm 
Live Video & Stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
Twitter: @BaseballMaloneU
 
Series History
The Pioneers recorded a 3-2 mark against both teams in their first year in the G-MAC in 2017. Malone was 3-1 vs. Kentucky Wesleyan in the regular season, but it was the Panthers who earned the extra-inning victory to eliminate Malone from the G-MAC Tournament last May. One day earlier, Malone knocked off Trevecca 1-0 after splitting four games during the regular season.
 
Team Comparison

Category	Malone	KWC	TNU
Record	10-5 (0-0 G-MAC)	10-7 (0-0)	9-9 (0-0)
Avg	.281	.291	..286
OBP	.405	.357	.293
Runs/Gm	6.3	6.8	6.0
HR	3	24	14
SB	40	15	22
ERA	4.74	5.52	6.79
WHIP	1.44	1.47	1.82
K/9IP	7.5	8.9	7.3

Malone Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• After an 0-4 start to begin the season, the Pioneers reeled off 10 wins in 11 spring break games last week in Florida, outscoring opponents 84-38 during the stretch. They'll look to continue their hot streak this weekend against the top two teams in the G-MAC South.
• Malone has been getting it done with the small ball approach and aggressiveness on the base paths. Pioneers batters are reaching in 40.5% of their plate appearances and they lead the country in sacrifice bunts. The Pioneers are also 16th in the nation with 40 stolen bases through 15 games.
• First baseman Todd Ropp had a phenomenal spring trip, hitting .447 across the 11 starts while driving in 12 runs. Ropp leads Malone in slugging (.571) and is tied for the team lead in RBI (14).
• Junior shortstop Joe Crank, the defending G-MAC North Player of the Week, leads the team in average (.404), on-base percentage (.545), runs (16), and is tied with Ropp with 14 RBI. He has scored at least one run in eight straight games.
• G-MAC Freshman of the Year Nate Cobb has picked up where he left on last spring when he led the league in runs and stolen bases. Through 15 games, Cobb (.295 avg, .475 OBP) has scored 14 times and is tied for the league lead with 13 steals.
• Fellow outfielders Andy Fletcher and Turner Hill are both coming off of productive spring trips. Fletcher hit .333 with seven RBI while Hill was an on-base machine, getting on at a .556 clip from the nine spot in the order.
• Third baseman Damian Maglione (.296), who collected six RBI all of last season, already has 12 RBI this spring and he is tied for the team lead, with Ropp and Crank, with five multi-hit games.
• Second baseman Zach Mottice, is reaching base at a .449 clip and is second on the team with nine steals. He is primed for a breakout this weekend after hitting .500 against Kentucky Wesleyan last season.
• Catcher Matt Noel, a .415 hitter last spring, has recovered from a slow start to record a hit in each of his last 10 games, marking the longest hitting streak of his career.
• The Malone pitching staff also bounced back from a rough start to the season, posting a 2.90 ERA over the last nine games.
• Starters Joshua Hurford (1-0, 0.98 ERA) and Roscoe Blackburn (2-1, 1.99 ERA) have continued their success last season when they were arguably the best 1-2 punch in Division II.
• Hurford is currently second in the G-MAC in ERA and he leads the conference in batting average against (.156) and fewest walks per nine innings (.98). Those numbers have resulted in the 7th-best WHIP (0.65) in Division II.
• Blackburn, the G-MAC North Pitcher of the Week, has tossed back-to-back nine-inning shutouts, including a one-hit, 15-strikeout performance over Notre Dame (OH) in his most recent start.
• Sophomore Eric Mullet, the Pioneers' third starter, is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 13 innings. Mullet earned the win in Malone's shutout of Trevecca in the G-MAC Tournament last season.
• Freshman Clay Cooper, with the exception of one inning in which he allowed four runs, has been solid in his first two collegiate starts. Cooper surrendered just three hits over six innings in a win over West Virginia Wesleyan last Saturday.
• The Malone bullpen went 3-0 with two saves and 3.67 ERA over 27.0 innings during spring break. Jordan Yoder, James Kontur, and Christian Specht combined to pitch 18 innings over 10 appearances over the span.
   

Kentucky Wesleyan Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The defending G-MAC Tournament Champions and NCAA Tournament participants enter the week on a six-game winning streak in which they are averaging over 10 runs per game.
• The KWC offense is led by 2017 G-MAC First Team selections Cody Bridges (CF) and Joseph Burke (1B). Bridges is hitting a G-MAC-best .484 with a league-leading 31 hits (10 doubles) in 17 games atop of the order. Burke (.323 avg), the defending G-MAC South Player of the Week, already has 10 homeruns on the season, all of which have come in the last 10 games.
• Third baseman Andrew Kirkland, a G-MAC Second Team pick last season, is batting .313 with six homers and 25 RBI.
• G-MAC South Pitcher of the Week Sammy Holder (3-0, 1.14 ERA) and 2017 G-MAC First Teamer Ryan Hundley (1-0, 4.95 ERA) anchor the starting rotation while G-MAC Second Teamer Alex Franzen, who has two saves, is the Panthers' top reliever.
   

Trevecca Nazarene Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Trojans, who finished 12-4 in the G-MAC last spring to earn the #1 seed in the Tournament, come into the week with four wins in their last five games. Trevecca is scheduled to take on Walsh on Friday before hosting Malone on Saturday.
• Junior catcher Sam Mang leads the TNU lineup, hitting .327 with seven long balls (2nd-most in the G-MAC) and 23 RBI. 
• Ethan Harrison, an All-Conference second baseman a year ago, is hitting .314 with four homers and 13 RBI.
• Starting pitchers Ryan Shultz (2-2, 4.43 ERA), another 2017 All-Conference pick, Drew Pierce (0-3, 4.44 ERA, 29 K in 24.1 IP) and Jake Roberson (3-0, 4.98 ERA) lead a staff that has struggled at times this season, allowing eight or more runs in nine of their 18 games.