GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE vs. LEWIS -- Saturday, March 28, 2015 (DH) and Sunday, March 29, 2015 (DH) -- Noon and 3 p.m each day., Romeoville, Ill.
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
LEWIS SEASON STATISTICS

(LEBANON, Ill., March 27)--The McKendree University baseball team will head north this weekend to open divisional play in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Bearcats will be in Romeoville, Ill., for a four-game series Saturday and Sunday at Lewis University. First pitch for each doubleheader is set for noon.

McKendree is in the midst of its longest road trip of the 2015 season, a 10-game stretch away from Hypes Field. The Bearcats split a four-game series last weekend at Truman State University, taking both ends of doubleheader last Saturday before dropping the final two games of the set on Sunday. McKendree was slated to visit Maryville University on Wednesday, but the contest was postponed due to wet field conditions and rescheduled for April 21. The Bearcats enter the Lewis series with an overall record of 3-13 while they are 2-6 in GLVC play. 

As a team, McKendree brings a team batting average of .263 into the Lewis series. Two of the Bearcats' full-time starters are hitting above .300 on the year, with junior shortstop Adam Kunkel (Red Bud, IL/Red Bud) leading the way at .361. Kunkel also has a team-high 22 hits, nine runs scored and 10 runs batted in. Senior outfielder Kyle Rutledge (Bloomington, IL/Normal) has a .310 average with six RBI for McKendree. On the mound, junior left-hander Sam Lidisky (Swansea, IL/Althoff Catholic) leads the Bearcats' pitching staff with two victories and a 2.81 earned-run average. In his four starts this season, Lidisky has tossed two complete games, including a five-hitter in a 3-1 victory in his last outing at Truman State. 

Following the Lewis series, McKendree will make the short trip to the state capital on Wednesday for a GLVC doubleheader against the University of Illinois Springfield. The Bearcats will finally return to Hypes Field next Friday, April 3, to begin a four-game GLVC set against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. 

ABOUT LEWIS
The Flyers are 6-10 overall and tied with McKendree in the GLVC standings at 2-6. Lewis hosted William Jewell College last weekend in GLVC play, and the visiting Cardinals came away with a four-game sweep. The Flyers, like McKendree, ran into weather issues on Wednesday as their non-conference doubleheader with Upper Iowa University was canceled due to field conditions.

Head coach Tim McDonough is in his eighth season at Lewis, His squad is hitting .293 through 16 games this season, which is fourth among all GLVC teams, and is led by junior infielder Brandon Collins at .373. Collins also leads the squad in hits (22), runs scored (14), stolen bases (4) and is tied for second in RBI (10). Freshman infielder Neal Tyrell has added a .339 batting average with six runs batted in. The Flyers' pitching staff is led by senior right-hander Eann Cox, who is 3-1 on the year with a 1.80 ERA. Cox has one complete game to his credit and has fanned a team-best 23 batters in 20 innings of work. 

McKendree and Lewis met last season on April 26-27 at Hypes Field, with the visiting Flyers taking three of four games in the series. The Bearcats' lone triumph in the set came in a 12-3 victory in game one of the April 27 twinbill as left-hander Josh Tonozzi (Mark, IL/Putnam County) scattered seven hits and struck out three to pick up the mound decision. First baseman Steven Todoschuk (Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada/Saltfleet) -- now McKendree assistant coach -- had a big day at the play by going 4-for-4 with two doubles and a pair of home runs while driving in six.