Courtesy University of Arkansas at Fort Smith Athletics Department
After opening the season with six consecutive road games, the UAFS baseball team will finally make its home debut on Saturday when it hosts the Texas A&M International Dustdevils in a three-game Heartland Conference series at Crowder Field.
The series will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday with one nine-inning game and conclude at 1 p.m. on Sunday with a doubleheader. Originally, the series was slated to be Friday-Saturday, but recent cold weather led UAFS to push the series back one day.
Live statistics and webcast will be available for Sunday’s games.
The Diamond Lions (3-3, 3-3), who had their Wednesday home game against Harding cancelled because of wet field conditions, are coming off perhaps their biggest weekend series as an NCAA Division II member, beating then No. 1 St. Mary’s University 2-1 in a three-game conference series at Wolff Stadium in San Antonio, Texas.
It was UAFS’ first win wins against a No. 1 nationally-ranked team since joining Division II in the fall of 2009 and its first series win against a No. 1 nationally-ranked team as a Division II member.
All six of the Diamond Lions’ games have been against a nationally-ranked opponent. UAFS opened the season with a 2-1 conference series loss to then No. 15-ranked St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
UAFS is batting .194 as a team with seven extra-base hits. Three starters are batting .250 or better – senior third baseman Adam Baker (.294), senior catcher Ben Smith (.263) and senior outfielder Madison Beard (.250).
The Diamond Lions’ pitching staff has compiled a 4.40 ERA and has allowed 50 hits over 45 innings with 23 walks and 24 strikeouts. Senior starter Neil Smith (1-1), a right-hander, has a 2.77 ERA with six walks and eight strikeouts over 13 innings. Senior starter Brandon Taylor (0-1), a left-hander, has a 6.75 ERA with five walks and one strikeout over 9 1/3 innings. Junior Koby Chadick (1-1) has a 7.20 ERA with seven walks and eight strikeouts over 10 innings.
Sophomore closer Hasten Freeman, a right-hander, has two saves in two save opportunities. He has not allowed an earned run and has one walk and four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.
TAMIU (8-0, 6-0) sits alone atop the conference standings as the only undefeated conference team. The Dustdevils swept the University of Texas of the Permian Basin and Oklahoma Panhandle State University during the first two weekends of the season and lead the conference by two games over No. 30 St. Edward’s University (5-2, 4-2) and St. Mary’s (5-2, 4-2), which fell from No. 1 to No. 15 in the latest poll.
The Dustdevils, who are coming off a home nonconference doubleheader sweep of Arlington Baptist College on Wednesday, will be making their first road trip of the season.
TAMIU is batting .325 as a team with 18 extra-base hits. Seven starters are batting .300 or better – catcher/first baseman/pitcher Alex McKeon (.414), center fielder Jeff Anderson (.387), infielder Alvaro Rondon (.375), catcher Sean Smedley (.364), infielder Hector Gonzalez (.353), third baseman Alex Salas (.333) and outfielder Ramon Sandoval (.300).
The Dustdevils’ pitching staff has compiled a 1.99 ERA with 18 walks and 45 strikeouts over 68 innings. Thirteen pitchers own an ERA of 4.00 or better.
Senior Manolo Mendoza (0-0), a right-hander, has a 1.12 ERA in two conference starts and three appearances and has walked four and struck out two in eight innings. Junior Abdel Rivera (2-0), a right-hander, owns a 1.50 ERA in two conference starts with two walks and nine strikeouts in 12 innings. Senior Jerry Hawkins (1-0), a right-hander, has a 1.64 ERA in two conference starts with two walks and six strikeouts in 11 innings.
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