BELLEVILLE, Ill. - Wednesday's baseball doubleheader in Louisville, Ky., between Webster University and Spalding University has been tabbed as this week's St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Game of the Week. First pitch for Wednesday's doubleheader at Derby City Field is set for 1 p.m. ET.
The game will feature a match-up between the two teams that were picked to win their respective divisions in the Preseason SLIAC Coaches Poll. In the West Division, Webster was a unanimous choice as the Gorloks earned 45 points and nine of a possible 10 first place votes, while in the East Division, Spalding was tabbed first as they earned 44 points and eight first place votes. Webster has claimed 12 consecutive SLIAC regular season titles and is the defending SLIAC Tournament champion.
Webster comes into Wednesday's doubleheader sporting a 10-3 overall record and the Gorloks have won two straight games and went 6-2 during its eight trip to Florida last week for spring break. Two of WU's three losses have come to nationally-ranked foes as Webster fell 5-2 to Wheaton (Mass.), who is 25th in the latest D3Baseball.com poll, on March 8 and then fell to No. 8 Concordia-Chicago, 4-1, on March 14.
Spalding comes into the doubleheader with Webster sporting a 10-6 record, but the Golden Eagles have lost two straight as they dropped a series last weekend at home to Thomas More. One of Spalding's win this season came on March 2 at home to Concordia-Chicago, 4-3. In addition, Spalding opened the season with an 8-5 win over then No. 2 ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater.
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At a Glance
The first spring SLIAC Game of the Week is a baseball showdown between Spalding University and Webster University. The two teams are off to strong starts this season, with each notching wins over ranked teams. Spalding and Webster will play a doubleheader in Louisville, Ky. on Wednesday afternoon.
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Spalding University 'GOLDEN EAGLES'
Spalding comes in with a 10-6 overall record but has dropped two straight after losing a series to Thomas More over the weekend. The Golden Eagles have scored 116 runs this season, the second most in the SLIAC; averaging 7.3 per game. They are hitting .275 as a team and lead the SLIAC with 11 home runs and 36 stolen bases.
Garrett Wilson sets the table and currently has a .439 average but has been held to just four stolen bases so far this season. Eric Meyer is coming off a red-hot weekend in which he hit 3 home runs and drove in 10. Those numbers pushed his season totals to 4 home runs and 18 RBI while hitting .353 this spring. Quenton Brownlee is hitting .304 with 3 home runs and a conference-leading 19 RBI. The pitching staff features Dillon Sievert and Zach Jones. Sievert holds a 2.39 earned-run average with 1 win while Jones is 2-0 with a 2.51 earned-run average and 35 strikeouts.
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Webster University 'GORLOKS'
Webster is currently ranked #15 in the latest national poll and is 10-3 this season, having won two straight. The Gorloks are averaging 5.2 runs per game and have a team E.R.A. of 1.80 this season.
Redshirt junior designated hitter A.J. Smith (DuQuoin, Ill./DuQuoin) is off to a fast start for the Gorloks, hitting .424 this season with 10 runs scored and 11 RBI. Senior rightfielder Nate Tholl (Tinley Park, Ill./John A. Logan CC) and sophomore third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport( are tied for team lead with 15 hits while junior centerfielder Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln College) has a team-high nine stolen bases. The Gorloks pitching staff is once again controlling the games thanks to their depth. Sophomore Sean Beaver (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) holds a 0.70 earned-run average in three starts while freshman Brendan May (St. Louis, Mo./Vianney) has a team-best 3 wins to go with his 1.47 E.R.A. Junior Matt Mulhearn (Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic) carries a 2.73 earned-run average into the week to go with his 25 strikeouts. Meanwhile, senior reliever Adrian Santiago (Chicago, Ill./Oakton College), who was this week's SLIAC/Diamond Sports Pitcher of the Week, is a force out of the bullpen with three saves and 14 strikeouts.
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Last Series
Webster took all three meetings last year against Spalding, taking both games of the regular season doubleheader and adding a win in the SLIAC Tournament. The Gorloks limited the Golden Eagles to seven runs (winning 6-2 and 7-5) in the regular season doubleheader and then outslugged the dangerous Spalding offense 16-10 in the tournament game.
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Game Notes
- Webster leads the all-time series against Spalding 21-8 and has won four straight in the series.
- Both teams have already registered wins over ranked teams with Spalding knocking off #2 Wisconsin-Whitewater and #8 Concordia-Chicago while Webster has a win over #9 UMass-Boston.
- Spalding and Webster are two of just three teams to have already reached double-digit wins this season.
- Garrett Wilson (Spalding) and Smith (Webster) are both in the top four of the conference in batting average.
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