Our "Marquee Match-Up of the Week" this weekend is a sizable tilt down in the Gulf South Conference, with ramifications that should be seen come the end of year regional tournament rankings. We will preview the match-up as #6 Alabama-Huntsville (19-4-1, 11-4-1 GSC) travels to North Alabama (21-5, 10-4 GSC) in a battle that should put one team or the other in the driver's seat going in to the home stretch of the conference season.
The Chargers of Alabama-Huntsville have been a squad that have stayed in and around the top five all season long. Their impressive record, so far, has only taken a hit from their most recent GSC set of the season, when they dropped two of three to an always-talented Delta State squad last weekend, although they were all competitive games (4-3 W (10 inn.), 3-2 L, 9-5 L).
UAH has a host of impressive wins, including a two-of-three series victory on the road against West Florida, a 1-0-1 day against a ranked Lee team, and a series victory over West Georgia in their first GSC series of the season.
The Chargers are masters at getting on base in any way possible. The team is ranked 11th in Division II in hit by pitches, 27th in walks, 17th in sacrifice bunts and are holding their own when actually swinging the bat as well, ranking 43rd in batting average. All of this leads to a team that is ranked 10th in the country in on-base percentage
The lineup shows no real holes, led by Cody Burton and Ryan Barnes, who are both hitting .390, with Burton leading the team with 33 runs, eight doubles, three triples, 49 total bases, a .598 slugging percentage and a .536 on-base percentage that is buoyed by his ridiculous 2:1 BB:K ratio.
Barnes carries more of a power bat, tying for the team lead in both home runs (4) and RBI (24). The lineup is not just a two-man show, however, as Chandler Brock (.346, 4 HR, 22 RBI, .568 SLG, .458 OBP) and Brandon Lawing (.271, 4 HR, 24 RBI, .459 SLG) are driving in runners left and right, as well.
On the mound, the pitching staff has a lot of guys who have gotten the nod in the first inning, led by Daniel Koger, who is 6-0 with a 2.31 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 46.2 innings, with all seven of his appearances coming in starts. Also contributing to their team ERA under 4 is Mitchell Wright (2-0, 0.72 ERA, 1 CG SHO, 28 K, 25 IP, 9 app., 4 GS) and Chris Kilpatrick (1-1, 2.32 ERA, 26 K, 31 IP, 9 app., 4 GS).
The gem out of the bullpen for the Chargers, if they get to the end of the game with a lead, is Luke Mould, who is sitting batters down to the tune of a 3-0 record and a 0.39 ERA in 11 appearances with five saves, with 19 strikeouts in 23 innings to only one walk.
On the other side of the diamond, the Lions of North Alabama have put together yet another solid, but unheralded, season so far. UNA really doesn't have any glaring losses on their record outside of a 16-4 outlier to Stillman early in the season. UNA lost two of three at West Florida, but won a series at Valdosta State and have been on a roll lately, just completing a stretch where their pitching staff hadn't allowed an earned run in over 30 straight innings.
UNA's hitters attack opponents a little differently than UAH, having a couple table-setters that are getting on base for the big bat later in the lineup. Dylan Calhoun (.416, 18 RBI, .515 SLG, .455 OBP), Taylor Hayes (.406, .469 SLG, .565 OBP) and Jake Smith (.365, 16 RBI, .459 SLG, .484 OBP) are getting on base at obscene rates, waiting for Dylan Boston (.292, 12 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 32 RBI, .552 SLG) to bring them in, and he has done a fine job of that. Boston ranks in the top 50 in Division II in doubles per game (.46), doubles (12), RBI per game (1.23), and RBI (32).
The strength of UNA's game, however, comes on the mound, particularly out of the bullpen, where the Lions are dominating opposing hitters.
The starters are no slouches themselves, led by Brantley Claunch, who is 4-1 with a 2.76 ERA in seven starts, and Kyle Conkle, who is 2-2 with a 3.03 ERA in five starts, holding hitters to a .220 batting average. However, out of the shutdown bullpen comes Todd Gibson (2-0, 0.54 ERA, 22 K in 16.2 IP, .145 BAA), Jacob Westerhouse (4-0, 1.17 ERA, 23 K, 5 BB, 23 IP) and Austin Carpenter (0-0, 1.86 ERA, 9 K, 9.2 IP). Gibson got the start in the final game of UNA's last GSC series, so I would expect him to earn another start this weekend against the best opponent UNA will see this regular season. As a staff, the Lions are holding a spectacular ratio of 173 strikeouts to only 64 walks.
Below are projected pitching match-ups via my own research, as well as some links to follow along the action as the weekend progresses.
#6 Alabama-Huntsville (19-4-1, 11-4-1 GSC) @ North Alabama (21-5, 10-4 GSC)
UAH Preview
Game One: Saturday, March 28th, 1 PM CT (Live Stats | Live Video)
Daniel Koger (6-0, 2.31) vs Brantley Claunch (4-1, 2.76)
Game Two: Saturday, March 28th, 4 PM CT (Live Stats | Live Video)
Mitchell Wright (2-0, 0.72) vs Kyle Conkle (2-2, 3.03)
Game Three: Sunday, March 28th, 1 PM CT (Live Stats | Live Video)
Tyler Howell (1-3, 9.17) vs Todd Gibson (2-0, 0.54)
Note: Starting pitchers are projected based on past series' and subject to change.
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