NEW ORLEANS – The ACU Wildcats will wrap up their four-game road swing this weekend with a three-game Southland Conference set against New Orleans at Maestri Field.
The series is set to begin Friday at 6:30 p.m. with Saturday's game set for a 2 p.m. first pitch. The series will wrap up Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Wildcats are 9-7 overall and 1-2 in Southland Conference play and enter the three-game series coming off a 9-1 win Wednesday at Texas-Arlington. The Privateers are 10-7 and 0-3, but Wednesday night in Baton Rouge, La., they knocked off No. 6 LSU, 7-4, in 15 innings to complete a season home-and-home sweep of the Tigers and hand LSU its first home loss of the season.
Here's a quick look at each team:
ACU Wildcats (9-7, 1-2)
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday – LHP
Austin Lambright (0-0, 2.16 ERA)
Saturday – RHP
Case Rolen (1-0, 2.79 ERA)
Sunday – RHP
Drew Hanson (2-0, 2.76 ERA)
Notes
• ACU DH
Luis Trevino now has 20 RBI in 16 games this season, which is one more than team RBI leader
Russell Crippen had in 53 games in 2016.
• After being outscored by Michigan State, 51-21, in the first four games of the season, the Wildcats have outscored opponents 71-39 in their last 12 games (average of 5.9-3.3 per game).
• Freshman OF
Anthony Dominguez hit his first collegiate home run in the seventh inning against UTA to give the Wildcats nine home runs in 16 games, the same number they hit in 53 games in 2016.
• In their last 12 games of the season – in which they are 9-3 – the Wildcats are hitting .317 and their team ERA is 2.81, while opponents are hitting just .218.
• The Wildcats are second in the Southland in team batting average (.303), eighth in runs scored (92), third in hits (172), third in doubles (37), tied for fourth in home runs (9), and third in fewest strikeouts (106).
• Junior 2B
Dalon Farkas leads the league in hits with 27, while Crippen and Trevino are tied for second with 26 hits apiece. Farkas is also third in the league in total bases (39).
• Trevino is second in the league in RBI with 20 and is 11
th in the league in batting average (.419).
• Trevino and Crippen are tied with Ricky Ramirez of McNeese for the league in doubles with nine apiece.
• Sophomore OF
Derek Scott is third in the league in stolen bases (9 for 11).
• On the mound, the Wildcats are sixth in the league in strikeouts (137), seventh in fewest runs allowed (90) and ninth in the league in ERA (4.86).
•
Austin Lambright – ACU's starting pitcher in Friday night's game – is ninth in the league in ERA at 2.16.
• The Wildcats are sixth in the league in fielding percentage (.973) and are tied for fourth in the league in fewest errors (16).
New Orleans Privateers (10-7, 0-3)
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday – RHP Shawn Semple (2-1, 2.22 ERA)
Saturday – LHP Bryan Warzek (2-0, 0.77 ERA)
Sunday – RHP Riley Hodge (0-1, 9.00 ERA)
Notes
• The Privateers opened Southland Conference play last weekend against Southeastern Louisiana, dropping all three games to the Lions.
• The Privateers are 9-5 at home, but have lost three straight at Maestri Field.
• UNO boasts one of the top offenses in the Southland Conference, leading the league in doubles (46) and home runs (16), while ranking third in batting average (.295), hits (183), runs scored (119), slugging percentage (.462) and third in sacrifice flies (10).
• Samuel Capielano leads the league in hits (26) and is fourth in batting average (.413) while junior outfielder Tristan Clarke has the most home runs in the conference (5) and total bases (50), plus is second in RBI (21), fourth in hits (25) and doubles (8).
• On the mound, the Privateers allow the fewest hits per nine innings (7.75) in the conference, while posting a 3.79 ERA with 145 strikeouts and holding opponents to a .235 batting average.
• Sophomore southpaw Bryan Warzek boasts the second-lowest ERA in the Southland Conference (0.77), while ranking seventh in strikeouts (27) and opposing batting average (.183).
