No. 5 UAH (35-6-1, 21-6-1 GSC) at No. 10 West Alabama (33-9, 23-6 GSC)
Sunday, April 26 | 2 p.m. (DH) | STATS | AUDIOMonday, April 27 | 2 p.m. | STATS | AUDIOÂ
SCHEDULE SHUFFLED: Due to expected inclement weather in the region, the series has been pushed to Sunday and Monday at 2 p.m. The series will open with a doubleheader on Sunday.
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NATIONAL SEMIFINALIST: Senior
Colton Simbeck has been named one of 32 semifinalists for the Tino Martinez Award, which is given to the top position player in Division-II baseball. Simbeck ranks 13th in the NCAA with 14 homers and sixth with a .963 slugging percentage, while leading the GSC in both statistical categories. The senior is fourth in the conference with a .416 batting average, while ranking in the top 10 in the league in doubles (15), RBI (40), and on-base percentage (.489).
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PIVOTAL MATCHUP: The regular season GSC title is on the line this weekend, as second-place UAH (21-6-1) heads to conference-leading West Alabama (23-6 GSC). A series win or series sweep for the Chargers will secure the top spot in the conference. UAH last finished with the best regular season record in the GSC in 2000 with a 16-5 mark in league games.
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RECENT ACTION: The Chargers are coming off a series sweep of Union this past weekend by scores of 6-2, 4-1 and 16-4 in the final regular season home series of the season at Charger Park. UAH concludes the home slate with a 20-5 record, bringing the Blue and White's home winning percentage to .787 (79-21-2) over the past four seasons.
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FINISHING STRONG: Former First Team All-American and four-year Charger,
Chandler Brock, has had one of the strongest careers for UAH baseball in the program's tenure. Brock is second in program history with 194 career games played, while ranking in the top five in program lore in runs scored, hits, doubles, runs batted in, stolen bases and walks. He has not slowed this season, batting .395 with career-highs in homers (9), slugging percentage (.651) and RBI (47).
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POLLING PLACE: UAH came in at No. 5 in the national rankings by Perfect Game, D2 Baseball News and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, while the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association keeps the Chargers in seventh for the second consecutive weekend. This season, the Chargers rank first in the nation with a .449 on-base percentage and are third in scoring at 9.2 runs per game.
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REGIONAL UPDATE: Nova Southeastern (34-9) is in the top spot for the first regional baseball rankings this season, followed by UAH in second. Fellow Gulf South Conference member West Alabama (29-8) sits in third place, with Florida Tech (33-10) and Tampa (30-11) following in fourth and fifth, respectively.
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SUCCESS WITH SOUTHPAWS: For the majority of 2015, fifth-year head coach
Hunter Royer has utilized a trio of lefties –
Daniel Koger,
Mitchell Wright and
Tyler Howell – as his weekend rotation. This past weekend the UAH starting pitching combined for 17.1 innings pitched with four earned runs allowed, 20 strikeouts and zero walks.
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BULLPEN STRENGTH: Senior
Luke Mould is finishing off one of the most successful careers for a Charger out of the bullpen, as the right-hander is now the program's leader for career saves with 17. This season, the Athens, Alabama native owns a 4-1 record and nine saves, while totaling 34.2 innings pitched with three earned runs allowed, four walks and 36 strikeouts.
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MATCHUP HISTORY: UAH owns an all-time series record of 37-24 against West Alabama, after sweeping the Tigers in a doubleheader last season at Charger Park. The Chargers are 6-2 against UWA in the past three seasons.
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TIGERS PROFILE: West Alabama enters the weekend with a 33-9 overall record and 23-6 within the GSC, after topping Montevallo in a pair of midweek games and winning a three-game series at home against West Florida last weekend. UWA bats a collective .306, led by Tanner Rainey with a .364 average, 12 doubles, 13 homers and 48 RBI. The Tigers pitching staff boasts a 2.73 ERA with all three weekend starters owning sub-3.00 ERAs.
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