LEBANON, Ill. - McKendree University baseball (4-10) is set to play host to the Lakers of Grand Valley State (10-5) in a four-game series at Hypes Field on March 19-20. The Bearcats enter the weekend series on a four-game losing streak, looking to collect a home series victory after splitting its opening set at Hypes Field against Hillsdale. McKendree most recently dropped its three-game series against Illinois Springfield on March 13-14. The weekend slate marks the first time the two programs have met.
THIS SPRING
The Bearcats have gone 2-2 on their home turf this spring with a split of its opening weekend with Hillsdale College on March 4-5. McKendree captured one win in each series down south against Harding (February 11-12) and Northeastern State (February 18-20).
At the plate, the Bearcats are led through three above-.300 hitters with senior outfielder
Corey Price owning a .439 average on the year and an OPS of 1.160 in 57 appearances. The senior has started all 14 contests with 25 hits, 16 runs scored, 12 RBIs, and eight extra-base hits. Freshman infielder
Gavin Arseneau ranks second in McKendree's lineup with a .352 average and .960 OPS. The freshman has collected 19 hits with three doubles and three bombs on the year with 14 runs scored and 11 RBIs. Senior infielder
Joseph Costanzo sits just behind Arseneau with a .326 batting average and .815 OPS while amassing 15 hits, 12 runs scored, and nine RBIs. The Bearcats own a team average of .273 with 121 hits on 443 plate appearances this spring. Eight hitters have blasted a homerun in the season while 13 have scored a run and 11 batted in a run while the overall OPS sits at .824.
On the mound, the four wins for McKendree are split between four separate hurlers with graduate senior
Andrew Yancik, junior
Mac Grant, sophomore
Mark Branz, and sophomore
Ryan Drayer, each collecting a win. Of the four winning pitchers, Drayer owns the top ERA with a 3.60 over 5.0 innings, a WHIP of 0.80, and seven strike-outs. Branz owns the most strike outs of winning pitchers while he is one of three Bearcats to own double-digit strikeouts on the spring.
SCOUTING GVSU
The Lakers (10-5) enter the weekend with their most recent contest getting them back in the win column, beating Wayne State, 7-4, on March 15 down in Florida. Grand Valley boasts five hitters above a .300 clip this spring and are led by outfielder Nathan Logan. Logan is hitting .365 with a 1.094 OPS over 15 starts and 52 plate appearances, where he has collected 19 hits, 11 RBIs, 11 extra-base hits, and eight runs scored. Infielder Christian Faust narrowly sits behind Logan with an average of .364 and an OPS of 1.081 in 55 attempts with 20 hits and 17 RBIs. Nick Rutkowski leads the Lakers on the mound with 18.0 innings pitched with an ERA of 1.50 and a WHIP of 1.00 but a 1-2 record. GVSU has five pitchers with WHIP under 2.00 and at least 13.0 innings pitched while two have multiple victories on the fall.
Grand Valley State travels to Hypes Field fresh off a trip down to Florida where it played 11 total games, earning a record of 7-4 during the trip. The Lakers opened the year with a 3-1 record, defeating Findlay in its opening series in Chillecothe.
WEEKEND SLATE
Game 1 | 12 P.M. | Saturday, March 19 | vs. Grand Valley State | Hypes Field | Lebanon, Illinois
(DH - Game 1)
Game 2 | 3 P.M. | Saturday, March 19 | vs. Grand Valley State | Hypes Field | Lebanon, Illinois
(DH - Game 2)
Game 3 | 12 P.M. | Sunday, March 20 | vs. Grand Valley State | Hypes Field | Lebanon, Illinois
(DH - Game 1)
Game 4 | 3 P.M. | Sunday, March 20 | vs. Grand Valley State | Hypes Field | Lebanon, Illinois
(DH - Game 2)
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