After being snowed out in their originally scheduled home debut on Wednesday, the Malone University baseball team will have another crack at playing a home opener this weekend when they take on a pair of Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) South Division foes.

The Pioneers are scheduled to host Cedarville University in a doubleheader this Friday, March 23rd at 1:00 pm before playing a pair against Ohio Valley University on Saturday, March 24th at 1:00 pm. Both twinbills will be played at Jackson High School in Massillon.
 

GameDay (3/23) Malone vs. Cedarville (DH) – 1:00 pm (3/24) Malone vs. Ohio Valley (DH) – 1:00 pm Live Stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone Twitter: @BaseballMaloneU

Series History
The Pioneers are 67-35 in 102 all-time meetings against Cedarville, including a 3-2-mark last season. The two teams split four regular season games last spring before Malone eliminated the Yellow Jackets in the G-MAC Tournament.
 
In nine all-time games versus Ohio Valley, the Pioneers are 4-5. In 2017, the two squads split a doubleheader in the regular season before meeting twice in the G-MAC Tournament. After an opening-round loss to the Fighting Scots, Malone bounced back to eliminate OVU with a 10-0 win on the second day.

Team Comparison 

Category	Malone	Cedarville	OVU
Record	12-7 (2-2 G-MAC)	5-11 (1-3)	9-12 (0-4)
Avg	.283	.264	.232
OBP	.403	.372	.277
Runs/Gm	5.9	5.9	4.3
HR	3	11	1
SB	45	34	23
ERA	4.16	9.07	7.66
WHIP	1.33	2.15	1.82
K/9IP	7.5	6.2	6.7

Malone Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Malone enters the weekend as the only team in the country with three starting pitchers who rank in the top-50 in ERA. All three, Joshua Hurford, Roscoe Blackburn, and Eric Mullet will take the mound this weekend.
• Over the last 14 games, a stretch in which Malone is 11-3, the trio have combined to make eight starts, going 6-0 with an incredible 0.30 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 60.2 innings pitched.
• Hurford (2-0) leads the G-MAC in ERA (0.71), WHIP (0.67), and batting average against (.169). The reigning G-MAC Pitcher of the Week has 20 strikeouts compared to only two walks in 25.1 innings.
• Blackburn, last week's Midwest Region Pitcher of the Week, is 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA and 28 Ks while Mullet (1-0) is second in the league with a 1.29 ERA and 21 Ks in 21 innings.
• While pitching has been the story as of late, the Malone lineup features five players hitting .299 or better and six reaching base at better than a .430 clip.
• First baseman Todd Ropp is in the midst of a breakout senior season, hitting a team-high .361 with six multi-hit games and 15 RBI.
• Shortstop Joe Crank is also excelling during his junior season, hitting .356 with a .500 on-base percentage and a team-high 17 RBI.
• Freshman Turner Hill is batting .342 and ranks 2nd in the G-MAC with a .528 OBP. After a 1-for-13 start to begin his collegiate career, Hill is since hitting .480 (12-for-25) over his last eight games.
• Centerfielder Nate Cobb, who has reached base in all 18 games he has played this season, sports a .468 OBP with a G-MAC-leading 20 walks and 14 stolen bases in 15 tries.
• Second baseman Zach Mottice owns a .462 OBP and 10 stolen bases. He hit a team-high .400 in the nine games against Cedarville and Ohio Valley last season.
• Malone went 13-5 in 18 home games last spring, including a 10-2 record in games played at Jackson.
   

Cedarville Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Yellow Jackets come into the weekend just 2-8 in their last 10 games. The Cedarville pitching staff has struggled, especially with control, as it ranks bottom-10 in the country in walks allowed per nine innings (7.69). Freshman starter Noah Schleinitz (3-0, 4.82 ERA) is the only Jacket with a sub-6.00 ERA
• Sophomore catcher Matthew Biermann (.358) leads the team in hitting and RBI (14) while shortstop Ross Melchior (.309) leads the squad in homeruns (4) and slugging (.582).
   

Ohio Valley Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Like Cedarville, the Fighting Scots have also struggled of as late, losing eight straight games following a 9-4 start. Also like Cedarville, Ohio Valley features just one starting pitcher Matthew Carey (3-3, 5.64 ERA) with a sub-6.00 earned run average.
• The OVU offense, which ranks last in the league and bottom-10 in the country in slugging (.277) has been held to one run or fewer in eight of their 21 games this season. Centerfielder Travis Perkola (.316 avg, 12 RBI), is the only Scot hitting over .300.