LAKELAND, Fla.—Playing Top 25 teams has almost been the norm at the beginning of the 2023 season for the top-ranked Fire baseball team.
The defending national champions have played four of their first nine games against ranked teams, winning all of them by at least four runs.
As a team, the Fire are hitting .331 with a .669 slugging percentage having already belted 27 home runs through nine games. Thirteen of the 15 players with an at-bat this season have at least one home run. Catcher
Pablo Lanzarote leads the team with four home runs in 28 at bats.
Almost 45% of the hits so far have gone for extra bases.
On the mound,
Robb Adams is coming off of a 12-strikeout no-decision against Loyola (La.) on Friday night to drop his ERA to 1.64 through two starts.
Darien Smith and
Danny Batcher have two wins each. Batcher has held opposing bats to a success rate of just .143 in 6.2 innings of work, posting nine strikeouts. Smith has 15 strikeouts through 10.2 innings of work this season.
Oklahoma Wesleyan comes into the three-game series at Ted A. Broer Stadium also sporting a 9-0 record, and have had few issues scoring with six games ending via run rule.
The numbers are gaudy thus far for the Eagles, hitting .369 as a team with a .716 slugging percentage, combined with a 1.88 team ERA on the mound. The pitching staff has limited opposing hitters to a batting average of just .181.
First baseman Jordyn Smith is off to a torrid start for OKWU, hitting .467 in 30 at bats with four home runs, 15 RBIs, and a 1.067 slugging percentage. Kellen Brothers has won his first three starts without allowing a run in 18 innings of work. The righty from California has struck out 22 and has walked just two this season.
Thursday and Friday's games will start at 6 p.m. with Saturday's game slated for a noon first pitch. Tickets are available at
fire.seu.edu/tickets.
