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For Immediate Release 30 April 2003
EMPORIA,
Kan. – The Southwest Baptist baseball team will travel
to Emporia, Kan. for a three-game Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association series against Emporia State this weekend.
The Bearcats will play one nine-inning contest at 7 p.m. on
Friday, May 2. Then the two teams will clash for one nine-inning
and one seven-inning game at noon on Saturday, May 3. The
series closes out the 2003 baseball season for the Bearcats.
SBU enters the contest with a 11-35 overall record. The Bearcats
are in ninth place in the MIAA with a 6-22 conference record.
SBU is coming off two losses at home on Tuesday to Pittsburg
State (13-7 and 9-2).
The Bearcats are led at the plate this season by Caleb Stark.
Stark is batting .301 and is second on the team in hits (44),
doubles (eight) and is third in RBI with 26. Leading the team
with 45 hits, 15 doubles and 32 RBI is Tyson Shields (.296).
He is second on the team in batting. The Bearcats have a team
batting average of .256 this season.
On the mound, SBU is led by Chris Gerleman (1-6) with a 7.74
ERA. he has seen 43.0 innings of action and has recorded 25
strikeouts. Tanner Rust (3-6) is second on the team with a
7.98 ERA in 58.2 innings of work. He has 41 strikeouts. Drew
Osborne (1-7, 9.17 ERA) leads the team with 50 strikeouts
in 53.0 innings pitched.
Emporia State enters the weekend series with a 20-19 record
overall. The Hornets are 16-10 in the MIAA and are in third
place in the conference standings. ESU is playing for a bid
to the MIAA Postseason Tournament berth.
The Hornets are led at the plate by Dan Ford with a .419 batting
average. Ford leads the team with 13 doubles and is tied for
the team lead in RBI (33) and hits (57). He is second on the
team with 38 runs. Josh Stratman leads the team with 42 runs
and is batting .375. He is tied with Ford in RBI and hits.
Also batting above the .300 mark for the Hornets is Jason
Way (.315) and Ben Taylor (.313). ESU is batting .304 as a
team.
Emporia State is led on the mound by Mark Funston. Funston
(6-1) has an ERA of 4.15 in 52.0 innings of action and has
recorded 50 strikeouts. Grant Barker (6-3) is second on the
team in ERA with a 5.58. He leads the team with 57 strikeouts
in 61.1. innings of pitching. The team ERA is 7.71.
The Hornets have won seven of their last eight with their
only loss during that span coming at the hands of Pittsburg
State. PSU defeated Emporia State on April 18, 13-12.
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