LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 1 Southeastern University baseball team launched Sun Conference play in thrilling fashion. The Fire earned a three-game sweep over the No. 18 Webber International University Warriors this past weekend to open up Sun Conference play. After conceding the opening score in all three contests, SEU battled back to victory each time, including a pair of walk-off wins in games one and two. The Fire now shift their attention to a midweek non-conference doubleheader versus Edward Waters before heading to South Carolina to continue TSC play.
GAMES:
No. 1 Southeastern (6-2) vs. Edward Waters (5-5) Tuesday 10:00 a.m./12:00 p.m.
No. 1 Southeastern (6-2) at USCB (4-4) Friday 1:00/4:00 p.m. Saturday 12:00 p.m.
LIVE COVERAGE: Edward Waters USCB
FIRE FOCUS:
- Southeastern has excelled in the latter frames of the season thus far, outscoring opponents 32-8 in the seventh inning or later, including 18-1 in the eighth inning alone.
- Senior infielder Adam De La Cruz finished this past weekend hitting .500 (5-10) with six runs batted in and two runs scored. On the season he is .438 at the plate and has played a part in a run scored in each game for SEU thus far.
- The Fire pitching staff overcame allowing an average of 1.13 walks per inning verses WIU.
- Junior right-handed pitcher Jayden Hartle is coming of tossing 4.1 innings of hitless relief against the Warriors where he struck out six. 10 innings of work this season, Hartle holds a 0.90 ERA and .143 opponent batting average.
- Opposing offenses have left a total of 67 runners on base against the Fire this season, an average of .985 per inning.
SOAK UP THE SUN:
- The Fire are 43-8 all time in Sun Conference play under head coach Adrian Dinkel.
- During that stretch SEU has outscored conference opponents on average of 8.7-4.8.
ALL-TIME SERIES:
- The Fire hold the edge over the Sand Sharks 19-15 in the all-time series. SEU has won five of the last six regular season series over USCB.
THE TIGERS:
- Edward Waters is looking to post its fifth-straight winning season in 2019.
- The Tigers are coming off a 3-0 sweep of Brewton-Parker at home this past weekend.
- EWC took one from No. 24 Keiser on the road earlier this season.
THE SAND SHARKS:
- USCB was swept in its Sun Conference-opening series at Keiser, being shutout in the first two contests versus the Seahawks.
- Through eight games played, the Sand Sharks rank 10th in the NAIA in total doubles (21), an average of 2.56 per contest.
- Senior outfielder Bobby Wenthe is continuing what has been a dynamic collegiate career for himself at USCB. Wenthe is batting .407 with 10 runs batted in and six extra-base hits to start off the season.
- The USCB pitching staff has a collective 5.64 ERA and has surrendered 17 extra-base hits to start 2019.
- The Sand Sharks are outscoring opponents 32-17 in the opening three frames.
Be sure to follow @SEUFireBaseball on Twitter for all the latest updates on Fire baseball!
