ADA – For the final time during the 2016 regular season, the East Central University baseball team will head to Arkansas to face Arkansas-Monticello, April 15-16. A single is set for Friday, April 15 at 2 p.m., while Saturday, April 16 sees a doubleheader set to start at noon.
The Tigers are 14-21 overall and 13-11 in the Great American Conference standings, with three weeks left to play. ECU is fighting to earn one of the eight spots in the 2016 GAC Championship Tournament. After earning their first series sweep of the season over Southern Nazarene last weekend, the Tigers need to win six of the last nine games to clinch their first trip to the GAC postseason.
Last weekend saw senior
Kris Molter led the team with four runs, nine hits and four RBIs. Sophomore
Shae Edmonds earned a complete game victory, allowing 12 hits and three runs, while striking out two.
The Boll Weevils are 23-11 overall and 14-7 in the GAC after getting swept by Harding last weekend and winning a non-conference game against Ouachita Tuesday (5-1). UAM is three spots ahead of ECU in the GAC standings and needs three wins to earn their way to the tournament.
The Boll Weevils are hitting .278 for the year and allowing a .272 mark, while recording 312 hits to 292. However, the reason for their winning record on the season comes with their 237 to 171 runs scored advantage.
Corey Wood and Kevin Fitzpatrick are leading the way at the plate for UAM this season. Woods has a .339 average, 35 runs, 52 hits, 13 home runs and 40 RBIs. Fitzpatrick adds a .338 average, 31 runs, 44 hits and 28 RBIs.
The Boll Weevils have a 12-member pitching staff, with four throwing over 29 innings and two over 50. Braden Chambers is undefeated on the season, with a 7-0 record, three complete games and a 2.31 ERA in 62.1 innings. He has allowed 42 hits, 17 runs and struck out 49. Zach McKnight adds a 5-1 record in 53.1 innings, allowing 44 hits and 23 runs and striking out 41.
The teams have battled on 13 previous occasions, with UAM holding a slight 6-7 lead in the series, but a 0-3 mark when playing in Monticello, Ark. The Tigers went 2-1 last season at Ken Turner Field.
