SHAWNEE – OBU Baseball faces Muleriders for three-game series to kickstart conference action.
Oklahoma Baptist Baseball is Southern Arkansas bound to open up conference play on Valentine's Day weekend. The Bison will see a three-game series now beginning Sunday due to inclement weather.
The previously scheduled series saw the weekend action begin on Friday but inclement weather will delay the series to a Sunday start with a double header on Feb. 16 beginning at 1 p.m. Monday afternoon will see a 1 p.m. first pitch to close out the series.
Bison Notes
- In the most recent week of play, the green and gold hosted MSU-Denver where the Bison swept the Roadrunners in a four-game series to for the home opener in Shawnee. The opening game of the series saw OBU run rule the visitors 13-3 and the final game saw another run rule close out the series with a 12-2 final for game four.
- Earlier this week, OBU was scheduled to take on Arkansas-Fort Smith, but inclement weather called for the postponing of Tuesday's meeting. The midweek matchup has potential to be rescheduled later in the season.
- The MSU-Denver series compiled some impressive numbers for the green and gold with DJ Van Atten leading the efforts at the plate for OBU. In the four-game series, Van Atten closed out the weekend with a .733 batting average, going 11-15 at the plate with nine RBI and a slugging percentage of .867. Van Atten totaled two doubles, 13 total bases and an on-base percentage of .706.
- Bryant Thornton was the standout pitcher this weekend, claiming his second win of the season to go 2-0 on the mound. Thornton went 6.0 innings on the bump as the Sunday starter, giving up one run on four hits, walking two and securing three strikeouts with an opponent batting average of .182.
- Lucas Schaefer and Zane Bennett each added a home run on the weekend for OBU. Schaefer's two-run homer tallied his third on the season and his first in Ford Park. Bennett's first homer came in the form of a grand slam on Saturday playing the role of a big momentum builder as the Bison continued to pile on the runs against the Roadrunners.
- Schaefer totaled eight RBI, four hits, one double and a homer to bring his slugging percentage to .727 for the weekend.
- The green and gold head into conference play with a 5-2 overall record on a five-game win streak.
Mulerider Notes
- The Muleriders are 4-4 overall with wins over Arkansas-Fort Smith, Washburn (x2) and Emporia. Southern Arkansas' four losses came against Missouri Southern, Augustana University, and UCO (x2).
- Similar to OBU, the Muleriders had scheduled a midweek meeting with Delta State, but the matchup was postponed.
- Lee Matsuzaki leads SAU with a batting average of .406 at 13-32 from the plate with four doubles, one triple, one homer, five RBI and a .688 slugging percentage. Matsuzaki is 1-1 for stolen bases and holds an on-base percentage of .444.
- Trace Shoup and Josh Phillips have also made their presence known at the plate. Shoup is batting .802 with a .469 slugging percentage, two homers and four RBI, going 9-31 at the plate. Shoup is 1-1 for stolen bases with an on-base percentage of .333. Phillips is batting .238 with a slugging percentage of .619 with two homers, two doubles, and 10 RBI. Phillips is 5-21 at the plate with an on-base percentage of .360.
- Clay Burrows leads the infield statistically, racking up three double plays so far this season with no errors. Grant Roosma has compiled 48 put outs at catcher with two runners caught stealing.
- Eli Hutcherson holds the best ERA amongst the Muleriders at 4.00 in 9.0 innings on the mound, giving up four runs on seven hits. Hutcherson has totaled seven strikeouts in 32 at bats while walking only one batter, maintaining an opponent batting average of .219.
