UAFS Lions Close Out Regular Season Tonight

FORT SMITH, Ark. – The UAFS Lions baseball team will host the Ecclesia College Royals at 6 p.m. on tonight in the regular-season home finale at Crowder Field.

It also will be Senior Night during which the Diamond Lions will honor second baseman Ryan Gros, pitcher Tyler Davis, right fielder Koby Chadick, pitcher Eric Tiefenthaler, center fielder Curtis Clark and infielder Jake Bunch.

It will be the second meeting of the season between UAFS and Ecclesia. The Diamond Lions beat the Royals 6-4 at Crowder Field on Feb. 12.

Live statistics and webcast will be available at Fan Central on the UAFS athletics website (www.uafortsmithlions.com).

The UAFS Lions (23-22) has won seven of its past eight games and is coming off a 2-1 Heartland Conference series win against McMurry this past weekend. The Diamond Lions won the first two games of the series 1-0 and 3-1, respectively, but lost the finale 2-1.

The Diamond Lions bat 0.259 as a team with 49 extra-base hits, including 40 doubles, four triples and five home runs.

Center fielder Curtis Clark leads all starters with a 0.331 batting average and is tied for the team lead with 43 hits, including three doubles and one triple. He is second with 22 RBI and leads the team with 15 stolen bases. First baseman Brennan Rogers is tied for the team lead with 43 hits, including four doubles, one triple and one home run. He leads the team with 25 RBI.

The Diamond Lions pitching staff has compiled a 4.33 ERA with 144 walks and 252 strikeouts over 353 1/3 innings.

Right-hander Jordan Cordray leads all starters with a 3.53 ERA. He’s tied for the team lead in wins with a 4-5 record in 12 starts, including two complete games. He has allowed 13 walks and has struck out 28 over 66 1/3 innings. Right-hander Wayde Roth (3-7) leads the team with 58 strikeouts.

Ecclesia (25-24) is ranked No. 20 in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association’s Top 25. The Royals haven’t played since Wednesday, when they split a doubleheader against Baker University.