The East Central University baseball team has a full slate of games over the next week, starting with a three-game non-conference series at Abilene Christian, March 14-17.  Games times are set for 6 p.m., 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. at Crutcher Scott Field.  The Tigers will then make a trip back to Shawnee, Okla., to face Oklahoma Baptist, Tuesday, March 17 at 6 p.m.  The final non-conference game of the week will be a home game against Dallas Christian, Wednesday, March 19 at 1 p.m. at Tiger Field.

Game Notes

The Coverage
Fans who can't be at the game can find links to live stats, live video (if available) on ECUTigers.com.  Go to the baseball schedule page.

Scouting Abilene Christian
The Wildcats are 7-7 and have yet to play a Southland Conference game.  ACU's last game was called in the seventh inning due to a dust storm and ended in a 2-6 loss.  The Wildcats will play one game before hosting the Tigers, as they travel to face Oklahoma State, Thursday, March 13.

ACU has a .292 team batting average, while allowing a .271 mark.  The Wildcats have a slight 135 to 123 hits advantage and a 70 to 69 run lead on the season.

Seth Spivey leads the team with a .519 batting average.  He has scored 16 times, tallied 28 hits (10 extra base), and has 10 RBIs to his credit.  Brandon Grudzielanek adds a .392 average on 20 hits and nine RBIs.  Garrett Demeyere is the top pitcher for the Wildcats, with a 3-2 record.  He has thrown 30 innings, recorded 21 strikeouts and allowed 26 hits and 11 runs.

Against the Wildcats
In 2013 the Tigers and ACU played four games, with each earning two wins, including a win by five-or-more runs each.

Senior Michael Mariano is the top returner for the Tigers with a .500 average, two runs scored, four hits and one RBI.  Senior Robert Buitrago saw five innings of work, with six hits and two unearned runs allowed and one K.

Seth Spivey is the top returner for the Wildcats, with a .333 average.  He tallied three hits, scored six times and added three RBIs.  Ty Taylor is the only returning pitcher that saw action against ECU.  He suffered a loss in seven innings, allowed eight hits and three runs and struck out two.

Scouting Oklahoma Baptist
The Bisons have started out the 2014 season on a strong note, having gone 20-0 overall and 6-0 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.  OBU will play Roosevelt March 13 for a double-header and play three games against Northwood over the weekend before hosting ECU.

The Bisons have a .337 team batting average and their pitching staff is allowing just a .211 mark.  They have a clear advantage in both hits and runs, with a 205 to 114 mark in hits and 165 to 137 lead in runs scored.

Matt Page is the team's leader at the plate, with a .462 average.  He has scored 20 times, recorded 30 hits (19 extra base) and added 30 RBIs.  Jordan Morales and Julian Merryweather have seen most of the action on the mound.  Morales has thrown in 28 innings, is 4-0, while allowing 23 hits and nine runs and recording 23 K's.  Merryweather is 5-0 on the season in 27 innings of work.  He has allowed 13 hits and three runs, while striking out 37 batters.

Against the Bisons
The teams meet three times in 2013, with OBU earning wins in all three meetings.

Senior Josh Lavender is the top returner for the Tigers, with one hit and two RBIs.  Buitrago threw six innings and struck out four batters.

Mason Ankeney is the key returner for the Bisons, with a .800 average, four hits and three RBIs.  Jordan Morales and Brandon Willard each saw limited action on the mound, with one inning each.

Scouting Dallas Christian
Dallas Christian is 13-8 on the season and will play a double-header against Dallas March 12 and a three-game series with Arlington Baptist March 14-15 before coming to Ada.

Donohoe Earns GAC Player of the Week
Junior Garrett Donohoe was been named the Great American Conference Player of the Week for March 10 after helping the Tigers to a 2-1 record over the weekend against Harding.

Donohoe started the weekend series by hitting .857 in the double-header March 7.  Donohoe hit for the cycle in the games, with two singles, two doubles, a triple and home run, while garnering six RBIs.  The Lake Forest, Calif., native added six put outs and four assisted outs.  He ended the weekend with a .636 batting average, seven hits and six RBIs.

National Strikeout Leader
Junior Icezack Flemming has made an immediate impact for the Tigers on the mound, recording 45 strikeouts in the first 17 games of the season.  His total not only puts him at the top of the GAC category, but he is the NCAA's Division II Strikeout leader as of March 4.  For his efforts he is currently ranked No. 1 in the GAC in strikeouts (54), No. 1 in complete games (5) and No. 5 in innings pitched (39.0) and No. 8 in ERA (2.77).

Taking Down Ranked Teams
The Tigers had a strong road GAC weekend, Feb. 28-March 1, earning a 2-1 record against then-No. 17 Arkansas Tech.  ECU fell in the opening game 2-12, but rebounding to win 9-1 and 7-3 in Saturday's double-header.

Home Run Performance
The Tigers had a strong weekend at the plate against Henderson State, recording five home runs, including a grand slam.  The weekend total surpasses what ECU put together all of the 2013 season (4).

Pomales Pounding Away
Junior Luc Pomales had a strong week for the Tigers, with seven hits, four RBIs and two runs scored against Ouachita Baptist and Texas Wesleyan.  Pomales tallied one home run, a slugging percentage of .667, a .467 hitting percentage, stole a base and was 8-for-8 in the field.
 
Opening Weekend Pitching
Junior transfers Lucas Kaplan and Icezack Flemming combined for a good opening weekend for the ECU pitching staff.

Kaplan threw a complete game in the first game of the season and finished with a 1.29 ERA.  Flemming ended the second game with seven strikeouts.

GAC Preseason Poll
ECU will have a lot to prove, as the Tigers were picked to finish 11th (13 points) in the 2014 Great American Conference Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.

Southern Arkansas was a clear top choice with 100 points and 10-of-11 first-place votes.  Arkansas Tech was the only other team to receive a first-place vote, finishing second with 88 points.  Southwestern Oklahoma State was picked third (78 points), Arkansas-Monticello fourth (63), Henderson State fifth (61), Harding sixth (55), Ouachita Baptist seventh (50), Southeastern Oklahoma state eighth (46), Northwestern Oklahoma State ninth (25) and Southern Nazarene 10th (19).

Up Next
The Tigers will host Southern Nazarene, March 21-22 for a GAC series and they host Oklahoma City, March 25 at 2 p.m.