LIVINGSTON, Ala.
– The 10th-ranked
University of West
Alabama baseball
team returns to Gulf
South Conference
action on Saturday,
Apr. 18, as UWA
(31-10, 10-1 GSC)
travels to North
Alabama for a key
East Division
affair. The Saturday
doubleheader will be
aired on WZNJ
106.5-FM and at
athletics.uwa.edu.
First pitch is
scheduled for 1:00
p.m.
The Tigers, who are
ranked third in the
NCAA Division II
South Region Poll,
are currently riding
an eight-game win
streak after
sweeping a
doubleheader from
the University of
Arkansas at
Monticello on
Tuesday at Tartt
Field. UWA enters
this weekend riding
a two-game GSC win
streak with wins at
West Florida two
weekends ago. The
pair of victories
claimed the fourth
GSC series this
season for the
Tigers and earned
the Red and White
its sixth
consecutive berth
into the GSC
Tournament.
Rob Dahlberg leads
UWA at the plate for
the season. The
Gilbertown,
Ala.-native is
batting .448 on the
year with a
team-leading 60 hits
and 41 RBI, which is
second on the team.
In the last 10
outings, the senior
first baseman has
bolstered a .472
average at the dish
with a team-best 14
RBI and 17 hits.
Fellow senior Nick
Wheeler is batting
.377 on the season,
while tied with
Dahlberg for the
team lead in hits
(60). The Hokes
Bluff, Ala.-product
has driven in 51
runs on the season,
which is tops of the
team. Mike Schmitt
and Matt Hill pace
the Tiger pitching
staff. Schmitt, a
Cheyenne,
Wyo.-product, has
pitched a
team-leading 66 1/3
innings while
compiling an 8-1
record with a 2.85
ERA. Hill holds a
7-2 record on the
mound with a 3.52
ERA. The D’Iberville,
Miss.-native has
fanned a
team-leading 55
opposing batters
this season.
UNA (30-17, 4-5 GSC)
enters the weekend
series having
dropped four of its
last five contests,
including being
swept by Ouachita
Baptist during a
midweek double dip
in Florence, Ala.
The Lions are
presently fifth in
the GSC East with
the top four teams
in each division
traveling to the
conference baseball
tournament in
Millington, Tenn.,
May 2-6. Jeffery
Ritter leads the
Purple and Gold at
the plate with a
.406 batting average
and a team-leading
42 RBI on 58 hits.
Matt Vandenheuvel is
the catalyst on the
mound for the Lions
with a 3.12 ERA and
4-2 record in 40 1/3
innings pitched.
The weekend series
concludes on Sunday,
Apr. 19 with a 1:00
p.m. scheduled first
pitch. The game will
be broadcasted on
the internet only by
clicking the UWA
Baseball logo at
www.MyWin98.com.
