Baseball Looks to Bounce Back with Busy Week Ahead

LAKELAND, Fla.- The No. 1 Southeastern University baseball team was competing through Sun Conference play with dominance. However SEU endured a tough slate in Miami Gardens this past weekend, dropping all three games to then No. 10 St. Thomas for their first TSC losses of 2019. Despite the tough series, the Fire are still in the driver's seat of the race for the regular season conference title, holding a 15-3 Sun Conference record with six TSC contests remaining. Southeastern looks to bounce back with a one-game non-conference set at No. 19 Webber International before hosting RV Keiser in a weekend series.

GAMES:
No. 1 Southeastern (39-7, 15-3 TSC) at No. 19 Webber International (31-16, 12-9 TSC)
Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. at Heart of Florida Field, Babson Park, Fla.
No. 1 Southeastern (39-7, 15-3 TSC) vs. RV Keiser (30-15, 12-9 TSC)
Friday, 3:00 p.m. Saturday 12:00/3:00 p.m. at Ted A. Broer Stadium, Lakeland, Fla.

COVERAGE:
WATCH/LIVE STATS

FIRE FOCUS:

• After topping the NAIA in 11 statistical categories at the beginning of last week, the Fire have seen that number fall to five. The Fire still lead the NAIA in Runs Scored per Game (10.1), Team Batting Average (.365), Total Runs Scored (463), Total Runs Batted In (408), and Team Slugging Percentage (.618).
• Last weekend marked the first time in 16 straight Sun Conference series that the Fire failed to earn a victory in a three-game TSC set.
• The Fire feature three bats with 140 at-bats or more on the season who are hitting over .400.
• One of those individuals is senior outfielder Manuel Mesa, who is currently riding a 25 game hit streak. Mesa has recorded 21 extra-base hits during that stretch.
• On the mound, the Fire rank third in Total Batters Struck Out (398) and seventh in Team ERA (3.19).
• Senior righty Kyle Wilson has allowed just two earned runs, walked one, and struck out 15 in his last 14 innings pitched in relief.

SOAK UP THE SUN:

• The Fire are 55-11 all time in Sun Conference play under head coach Adrian Dinkel.
• Southeastern has outscored TSC opponents 178-67 this season.
• As an offensive unit, SEU is hitting .367 at the plate with an average of 4.4 extra-base hits per conference contest.
• On the mound in 2019, Fire arms have compiled a 3.21 ERA with 152 strikeouts in 146 innings pitched against TSC opponents.

 
ALL-TIME SERIES:

• The Fire swept the regular season series earlier in the year against the Warriors at Ted A. Broer Stadium after trailing in each contest and earning walk-off wins in the opening two games of the series.
• Southeastern leads the all-time series against Webber International 29-22.
• The Fire trail the all-time series versus the Seahawks 19-14. However, SEU has won four straight in the rivalry, including a sweep over KU last season on the road in which Southeastern outscored Keiser 44-15.

 
THE WARRIORS:

• Webber International has won five of its last six contests entering tomorrow night's non-conference bout.
• WIU is 3-9 versus NAIA-ranked opponents this season.
• At the plate, the Warriors rank 15^th in the NAIA in Home Runs per Game (1.1), 17^th in Team Slugging Percentage (.487), 18^th in Hits per Game (10.3), and 19^th in Runs Scored per Game (8.1).
• The catalyst for the WIU power has been junior outfielder Willie Carter, who has already belted a single-season program record 17 home runs.
• Not far behind Carter is senior infielder Marcus Begg, who has launched 14 long balls himself on the season.
• The Warriors typically hand the ball to junior right-handed pitcher Tyler Buchanan as their mid-week starter. In seven starts, Buchanan is 3-0 with a 3.90 Earned Run Average and 31 strikeouts in 32.1 innings tossed.

 
THE SEAHAWKS:

• Keiser has been on a roll as of late, winning nine of its last 10 games played. The Seahawks have outscored opponents 118-25.
• KU ranks NAIA Top-10 in seven offensive statistical categories, including third in Team Batting Average (.340), fourth in Total Hits (507), and sixth in Total Doubles (103).
• Junior infielder Garrett Hall has helped elevate the Seahawk's average at the plate, belting .440 (59-134) which ranks eighth in the NAIA. Hall also leads the team with nine home runs.
• Senior catcher Juan De La Cruz brings a 13-game hit streak into the weekend series.
• The Seahawks pitching staff has posted a 4.81 Earned Run Average and struck out 138 batters in 176 innings pitched in Sun Conference action.
• Senior right-handed pitcher and Polk State product Chad Tworek is 3-1 in TSC play this season, having compiled a 3.22 ERA and 41 batters fanned in seven conference starts.

 
TALE OF THE TAPE:

SEU
Runs per Game: 10.1
Team Batting Average: .365
Hits per Game: 11.8
Home Runs per Game: 1.8
Stolen Bases per Game: 1.98
Batters Struck Out per Game: 8.7
Team ERA: 3.19
Opponent Batting Average: .232
Individual Hits Leader: Manuel Mesa (78)
Individual RBI Leader:  Ivan Nunez (53)
Individual Home Run Leader: Abdel Guadalupe (13)
Individual Stolen Bases Leader: Manuel Mesa (24)
Individual Batters Struck Out Leader: Keven Long (60)
Individual Wins Leader: Keven Long (7)
Individual Saves Leader: Heibert Romero (4)
 
WIU
Runs per Game: 8.1
Team Batting Average: .309
Hits per Game: 10.3
Home Runs per Game: 1.1
Stolen Bases per Game: 1.1
Batters Struck Out per Game: 6.7
Team ERA: 4.52
Opponent Batting Average: .270
Individual Hits Leader: Willie Carter (74)
Individual RBI Leader: Marcus Begg (54)
Individual Home Run Leader: Willie Carter (17)
Individual Stolen Bases Leader: Norberto Navarro (18)
Individual Batters Struck Out Leader: Zak Spivy (74)
Individual Wins Leader: Zak Spivy (8)
Individual Saves Leader: Two Players (1)

KU
Runs per Game: 8.0
Team Batting Average: .340
Hits per Game: 11.3
Home Runs per Game: .93
Stolen Bases per Game: .64
Batters Struck Out per Game: 6.8
Team ERA: 4.61
Opponent Batting Average: .272
Individual Hits Leader: Peter Crocitto (68)
Individual RBI Leader: Peter Crocitto (50)
Individual Home Run Leader: Garrett Hall (9)
Individual Stolen Bases Leader: Nate Vankan (8)
Individual Batters Struck Out Leader: Chad Tworek (59)
Individual Wins Leader: Chad Tworek (6)
Individual Saves Leader: Two Players (2)

Be sure to follow @SEUFireBaseball on Twitter for all of the latest updates on Fire baseball!