The East Central University baseball team will hit the road for four-straight games, including the first Great American Conference series of the 2015 season.  The Tigers will travel to Weatherford, Okla., for a three-game series with Southwestern Oklahoma State, Feb. 13-14.  A single game is set for Friday, Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. and a double-header Saturday, Feb. 14 at noon.  ECU will then make a stop in Edmond, Okla., Tuesday, Feb. 17 for a 1 p.m. game at Central Oklahoma.

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 Southwestern
The Bulldogs are 2-5 on the season after dropping a 8-9 decision at home to West Texas A&M Tuesday.

Bryan Holt is leading the team with a .429 batting average.  Holt has garnered three runs, six hits and five RBIs.  Jacob Spring has also been consistent with four runs, 10 hits and four RBIs.

Jon Chidester is the pitcher that has seen the most action, with 12 innings of work.  In his time on the mound, he has a 1-1 record, 0.75 ERA, 11 hits and five runs allowed and 10 strikeouts.

Against the Bulldogs
Last season, ECU went 2-1 against SWOSU in Ada, earning a .227 to .204 batting average advantage.

Senior Andrew Ayrado is the top returner at the plate for the Tigers, with a .429 average on three hits.  Senior Ty Huie added a .400 batting average, with two runs, two hits and an RBI.  Senior Luc Pomales hit two of ECU's four home runs in the series.

Senior Merrick Ardoin came into two games and earned two wins in three innings of work.  Senior Lucas Kaplan threw 7.2 innings and allowed four hits and one run, while striking out two.

Jiro Morales and Tyler Rapp both hit .333 against ECU last season.  Morales earned four hits and four RBIs, while Rapp tallied two hits and an RBI.

Ethan Davis is the only returning pitcher from the series, with a 2.57 ERA in a complete game.  He allowed seven hits and two runs and struck out four.

Scouting Central Oklahoma
The Bronchos are currently 0-3 and will have three chances to improve that record at the Fort Hays State Festival this weekend.  Tuesday's game will be the first home game of the season for UCO and the first of five-straight at home.

Ethan Elroy is the team's leader at the plate with a .444 batting average.  Elroy has tallied four hits, one run and one RBI.  Isaac Hellbusch adds a team-leading six RBIs on five hits and two runs scored.

On the mound UCO has four pitched that have pitcher three innings or more.  Ricky Reeves leads the group with five innings of work and a 0-1 record.  He has a 3.60 ERA and has allowed seven hits and five runs, while striking out five.

Winning Start
For the first time since the 2010 season, the Tigers opened the season with a win in the first game when they defeated Cameron 6-1.  The last opening game win was a 7-2 decision against West Texas A&M (Feb. 15, 2010).

Kaplan Completing Games
Senior Lucas Kaplan came out ready to pitch, and earned his fourth career complete game in the 6-1 win over Cameron.  It also marked the second complete game for Kaplan against the Aggies.  Kaplan allowed three hits, one run, two walks and struck out five.

Bryce Beyond the Fence
Senior Bryce McKee came to the plate ready to start the season.  McKee garnered two hits and two runs in the first two games of the season, including the first home run of the year for the Tigers.

Returning Power
The Tigers will be looking to continue the success they started in 2014 and will have a strong chance to do so as they return 22 players, including eight starters from the roster.

ECU saw six members of the 2014 squad earn All-GAC honors, the most representatives in a single season.  Four of those players will return for 2015, with juniors Garrett Donohoe, Luc Pomales, Nick Spini (All-GAC Second Team) and Andrew Ayrado (honorable mention) on the roster.

GAC Preseason Poll
After finishing tied for seventh a season ago, ECU has been picked to finish tied for sixth in the 2015 Great American Conference Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll.

The Tigers, who were 26-23 overall and 14-16 in the GAC in 2014, earned 50 points in the poll and were tied with Ouachita Baptist for sixth.  Southern Arkansas was picked to finish first, with 97 points and seven first-place votes.  Arkansas Tech was a close second with 93 points and four first-place votes.  Arkansas-Monticello was third (76), Southwestern Oklahoma State fourth (67) and Harding fifth (60).

Rounding out the final four spots in the poll are Southeastern Oklahoma State in eighth (45), Henderson State in ninth (34), Northwestern Oklahoma State 10th (20) and Southern Nazarene in 11th (13).

Up Next
The Tigers will return home for eight-straight home games from Feb. 20-March 3.  The Tigers will first host Northwestern Oklahoma State, Feb. 20-21 for a three game series at Ken Turner Field.