The East Central University baseball team will host Harding, March 7-8 for a three-game Great American Conference series at Tiger Field.  A double-header is scheduled for Friday, March 7 starting at noon and a single game Saturday, March 8 starting at noon.  The Tigers will also travel to face St. Gregory's, Tuesday, March 11 at 3 p.m.

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 Harding
The Bisons are 12-5 overall and 5-1 in the GAC after winning their last four games.  Harding is hitting .277 as a team and allowing a .232 mark by the opposition.  The Bisons have recorded 101 runs and allowed just 48 on the season, with a 132 to 111 hits advantage.

Matt Calhoun leads Harding at the plate, with a .434 average.  Calhoun has garnered 23 hits, 17 RBIs and 13 runs scored.  James Anderson added 24 hits, 13 RBIs and a .393 average.

Collin Campbell and Logan Holthaus are the top pitchers for the Bisons.  Campbell has a 3-0 record, 16 hits and three runs allowed and 18 strikeouts.  Holthaus has allowed 20 hits and 10 runs, struck out 16 and is 2-0 on the season.

Against the Bisons
Last season, the Tigers fell in all three meetings with Harding on the road.

Senior Josh Lavender is the top returner for ECU, with a .333 average on three hits and two runs scored.  Senior Robert Buitrago saw six innings of action on the mound, allowing nine hits and four runs.

Matt Calhoun is the top returner for Harding, with an .800 average, eight hits, three runs scored and four RBIs.  Trent Wooldridge added a .500 average, with six hits and three RBIs.  Collin Campbell earned a win on the mound, with one inning of work, two hits and one run allowed and one strikeout.

Scouting St. Gregory's
The Cavaliers are 5-10 overall and 1-2 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.  SGU will play a three-game series with Oklahoma Christian this weekend before hosting the Tigers.

The Cavaliers have a .234 batting average as a team and are allowing a .332 average by their opponents.  SGU has a 101 to 157 hits disadvantage and a 63 to 119 runs scored deficit.

Fabian Reza leads the team with a .364 average, six runs scored and 20 hits and seven RBIs.  Mark Milioto adds a .339 average, 19 hits and 15 RBIs.

Chris Sutton is the top pitcher for the Cavaliers, with a 3-0 record in 25.2 innings pitched.  Sutton has allowed 35 hits adn 13 runs, while striking out 19.

Against the Cavaliers
In 2013, the Tigers and SGU played a home-and-home series to open the season, going 1-1 at home each.

Sophomore Brandon Maggia led ECU with a .500 average, with two RBIs.  Senior Ethan Gold added a .333 average, two hits, one run and two RBIs.  Senior Robert Buitrago threw five innings, with three strikeouts and three hits and two runs allowed.

Mark Milioto led SGU with a .700 average, five runs and seven hits.  J.J. Egler added a .667 average, with two runs scored and four hits.  Ben Moore threw a complete game win, with two hits, one run and six strikeouts.

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.

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.

Batters Fanning at Flemming
Junior Icezack Flemming has had a strong start to his Tiger career in his first two appearances.  Flemming has tallied a total of 45 strikeouts and thrown two complete games.  His strikeout total was bolstered with 15 against Newman.  For his efforts he is currently ranked No. 1 in the GAC in strikeouts (45), No. 1 in complete games (4) and No. 4 in innings pitched (32.0) and No. 10 in opponent batting average (.230).

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 remain on the road for a four-day road trip.  ECU will first play three games in three days at Albiene Christian, March 14-16, and then travel to face Oklahoma Baptist, March 17.