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Noah Mildren and Jacob Sherman at Davis & Elkins
Maureen Pasley

Hilltoppers Set for 3-Day Homestand Against Salem and Seton Hill

4/14/2024 7:25:00 AM

West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University baseball team will make their first appearance on Kovalick Field since mid-March on Sunday, April 14, as they open a 3-day homestand by hosting both Salem and Seton Hill. The Hilltoppers and Tigers are slated for a 4-game series with a doubleheader beginning at 1 and 4 p.m. on Sunday and Monday, while the Black & Gold will take on the Griffins in a single 9-inning contest at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, afternoon with all five match-ups being non-conference games.

GAME DETAILS
  • Location: West Liberty, West Virginia (Kovalick Field)
  • First Pitch (Salem): 1 and 4 p.m. on both Sunday and Monday
  • First Pitch (Seton Hill): 3 p.m. on Tuesday
WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES
  • West Liberty enters the 4-game series with a record of 7-24 (4-12 MEC) after falling on the road at Indiana (PA) on Wednesday afternoon by a score of 9-2.
  • The Hilltoppers are currently in fifth place in the MEC North Division standings.
  • As a team, WLU has hit .281 with 249 hits, 55 doubles, nine triples, 24 homeruns, 160 RBI, and 174 runs scored through 31 games played.
  • James Salvatori holds a batting average at .391 and adds a .429 on-base percentage, an .845 slugging percentage, and a 1.274 on-base plus slugging percentage. He has tallied 43 hits, seven doubles, five triples, 11 homeruns, 37 RBI, and 31 runs scored. Salvatori leads the MEC in triples and homeruns ranking sixth and 32nd nationally in DII. Additionally, he ranks second in the MEC in slugging percentage and RBI, ranking sixth and 110th in the country in those two categories. He has notched a hit in 16 of the last 22 games, including two or more hits in 14 of those contests. On the base paths he is 7-for-9 on stolen base attempts.
  • Jacob Sherman is also hitting above .300 as he is batting .333 with an on-base percentage of .434, a slugging percentage of .457, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .891. He has notched 27 hits, ten doubles, 12 RBI, and 18 runs scored. On the base paths he is 4-for-6 on stolen base attempts.
  • Rounding out the trio of players hitting .300 or better is Kobe Hill as he is batting .300 to go along with a .411 on-base percentage, a .411 slugging percentage, and an .822 on-base plus slugging percentage. He has tallied 27 hits, three doubles, two triples, one homerun, 14 RBI, and 14 runs scored this season. He has recorded a hit in five of his last six games played. On the base paths he is 3-for-4 on stolen base attempts.
  • The Hilltoppers' pitching staff recorded an ERA of 9.34, allowing 316 hits and 177 walks, while throwing 135 strikeouts. Opponents have held a .351 batting average against WLU pitchers.
  • Tanner Pelaez is 3-4 in his seven starts and appearances in 2024, holding an ERA of 7.09, a WHIP of 1.97, and has limited opponents to a batting average of .315. In 33.0 innings pitched he has thrown 15 strikeouts.
  • Ethan Conley has made three starts and appearances this year, pitching 11.1 innings as he has recorded a 3.09 ERA and adds a 1.85 WHIP. He has struck out six batters.
  • Jacob Watson is 1-1 in 2024 and holds an ERA of 5.46, a WHIP of 1.96, and has held opponents to a .323 batting average in 29.2 innings of work on the mound. He has struck out 13 batters this year.
  • Eric Burkle is in his 12th season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 228-305 during his time with the Hilltoppers.
SALEM STORYLINES
  • Salem enters the 4-game series with a record of 21-12 after going 3-1 against Fairmont State this past weekend. After dropping the opening game of the series by a score of 2-0, the Tigers went on to win the remainder of the games by scores of 4-3, 8-4, and 7-6.
  • As a team, SU has hit .322 with 289 hits, 49 doubles, eight triples, 24 homeruns, 205 RBI, and 226 runs scored through 33 games played.
  • Jose Lojo leads the team at the plate with a .421 batting average, a .530 on-base percentage, a .523 slugging percentage, and a 1.053 on-base plus slugging percentage. He has tallied 45 hits, five doubles, three triples, 19 RBI, and 35 runs scored. He has recorded a hit in 12 of the last 15 games he has played in, with multiple hits in eight of those contests. On the base paths he is 16-of-20 on stolen base attempts this season.
  • Another player batting above .400 is Mackenzie Wainwright who is hitting .402, with an on-base percentage of .509, a slugging percentage of .655, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.164. He has tallied 35 hits, four doubles, six homeruns, 28 RBI, and 27 runs scored. He has recorded a hit in 16 of the last 19 games he has played in, with multiple hits in four contests. On the base paths he is 15-of-19 on stolen base attempts this season.
  • Brett Ehr (.326), Aaron Forbes (.324), Luis Angarita (.320), and Tyler Shinn (.314) round out the six players who are currently hitting above .300 on the year.
  • The Tigers' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 5.30, allowing 272 hits and 105 walks, while throwing 233 strikeouts. Opponents have held a .290 batting average against SU pitchers.
  • With a record of 2-2 in nine starts and appearances, Sam Schmitt holds the best ERA by a starting pitcher at 4.32. He also holds a WHIP of 1.40, an opponent's batting average of .268, and has struck out a team-high 59 batters. He has collected six or more strikeouts on five occasions, including reaching double digits twice. He has thrown 50.0 innings this year and has pitched one complete game.
  • Another starting pitcher to watch is Frankie Gulko who is 5-3 in seven starts and nine appearances this season for the Tigers. He holds a 4.81 ERA with a WHIP of 1.44, an opponent's batting average of .275, and has struck out 44 batters. He has collected seven or more strikeouts on four occasions and reached double digits once. He has thrown 48.2 innings this year and has pitched four complete games.
  • A key relief pitcher to watch is Travis Lavendier who is 4-0 in two starts and ten appearances, totaling 27.0 innings pitched for Salem this season. He holds a 2.33 ERA with a WHIP of 1.22, an opponent's batting average of .260, and has struck out 30 batters. He has collected four or more strikeouts on four occasions.
  • Kassidy Gaines is in his first season as the interim head coach at Salem with a career record of 21-12 during his time with the Tigers.
SERIES HISTORY
  • Since the 2011 season West Liberty holds a 2-1 record against Salem.
  • The Hilltoppers swept the most recent doubleheader match-up between the two teams on April 30, 2015, at Kovalick Field, winning by scores of 8-1 and 6-5.
SETON HILL STORYLINES
  • Seton Hill enters the week with a record of 22-11 (8-6 PSAC) after being swept by scores of 13-3 and 5-4 in a home doubleheader against Indiana (PA) on Saturday afternoon. They will conclude a 4-game game series with a road doubleheader at IUP on Sunday before they visit West Liberty.
  • The Griffins are currently in fifth place in the PSAC West Division standings.
  • As a team, SHU has hit .285 with 285 hits, 72 doubles, seven triples, 24 homeruns, 178 RBI, and 190 runs scored through 33 games played.
  • Jack Oberdorf leads the team with a batting average of .356 while adding an on-base percentage of .432, a slugging percentage of .534, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .966. He has tallied 42 hits, five double two triples, four homeruns, 26 RBI, and 17 runs scored. He has recorded a hit in six of the last eight games he has appeared in. On the base paths he is 7-of-11 on stolen base attempts this year.
  • Another key player to watch at the plate is Max Mandler who is batting .320 with an on-base percentage of .411, a slugging percentage of .524, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .935. He has tallied 33 hits, four doubles, one triple, five homeruns, 16 RBI, and 31 runs scored. He has recorded a hit in ten of the last 13 games he has appeared in. On the base paths he is 17-of-19 on stolen base attempts this year.
  • Rounding out the four batters who are hitting over .300 this season are Matt Frazetta (.318) and Owen Mandler (.304).
  • The Griffins' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 3.91, allowing 233 hits and 89 walks, while throwing 270 strikeouts. Opponents have held a .238 batting average against SHU pitchers.
  • Leading the way with a record of 4-1 in eight starts and appearances is Aidan Layton. He holds averages of 2.31 ERA, .99 WHIP, and .213 batting average while pitching a pair of complete games in 46.2 innings pitched. He has totaled 49 strikeouts and has thrown five or more in five games, including once reaching double digits.
  • A key relief pitcher to watch is Christian Zill who is 2-0 with four saves in ten appearances and 13.2 innings pitched. He holds averages of a 1.32 ERA, .66 WHIP, and an opponent's batting average of .167. He has thrown 16 strikeouts and has recorded multiple strikeouts in six contests.
  • Marc Marizzwaldi is in his 21st season as the head coach at Seton Hill with a career record of 713-359-1 during his time with the Griffins.
SERIES HISTORY
  • Since the 2011 season Seton Hill holds a 3-0 advantage in the series.
  • In the most recent match-up on March 28, 2023, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, the Griffins recorded a 6-5 win to secure their third straight win over the Hilltoppers.
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