MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois baseball team begins a five game stretch versus a nationally-ranked opponent to open the Spring Break week. The Leathernecks travel to 14th-ranked Arkansas for a three-game series then face #12 Missouri State next Tuesday and Wednesday... Western returns to Alfred D. Boyer Stadium next weekend, playing host to North Dakota State in the Summit League opener.
BROWNLEE'S FOURTH YEAR: Head coach Ryan Brownlee is in his fourth year in charge of Leatherneck Baseball. His 57 wins are second-most by a WIU head coach in their first three years, behind only Stan Hyman (66 from 2002-04)... Brownlee has coached 11 All-Summit League selections, seven All-Tournament picks and seen four of his WIU players move on to play professional baseball (3 MLB Draft picks, 1 Free Agent)... He made an immediate impact for the program during his collegiate head coaching debut series in 2013 when the Leathernecks knocked off preseason ranked #1 Arkansas.
TEAM NOTES:
• Five new Western Illinois relief pitchers have combined for 11 earned runs in a combined 25.2 innings (3.86 ERA)... Freshmen Jimmy Perkins (5.0 IP/2 earned runs) and Ian Koch (7.2 IP/3 ER), sophomore Ricky Digrugilliers (6.0 IP/3 ER) and juniors Nate Westfahl (3.1 IP/1 ER) and Matthew Sturchio (3.2 IP/2 ER) have combined for 12 relief appearances.
• Jordan Pannell leads the relief corps with a 1.42 ERA... The senior right-hander allowed one run on six hits in 6.1 innings. He enters this weekend with 12 strikeouts and one walk with a .250 opponent batting average.
• Connor Currier led Western with a .533 batting average last weekend against Northern Kentucky... He walked four times, played errorless ball in the field, and posted a .632 on-base percentage.
• Colton Pogue recorded 16 total bases on the weekend, finishing with a .941 slugging percentage (2 doubles/2 home runs)... The sophomore leads WIU in doubles (3), home runs (3), slugging percentage (.730), and runs scored (7), while ranking second in RBI (7) and batting average (.351).
• Nate Westfahl picked up his first WIU save in game four of the NKU series... The junior transfer allowed one run on two hits in 3.0 innings.
• Western's pitching staff logged 34 strikeouts to 14 walks against NKU... The defense committed just one error in the field (2 total) for a .986 fielding percentage.
• Of the seven position players that started all four games against Northern Kentucky, four were newcomers - junior Connor Currier and freshmen Justin Fitzpatrick, Drue Galassi and Nick Schrader... Currier (.600), Fitzpatrick (.615) and Galassi (.533) all posted a slugging percentage above .500 on the weekend.
• Western begins a stretch of playing five consecutive games against a nationally-ranked opponent - three at Arkansas and two at Missouri State... That leads into the home and Summit League opener versus North Dakota State (March 18-20).
• Every batter with a minimum of eight at-bats has drawn at least one walk.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: Western enters this weekend ranked 18th in triples (Summit League leading 6), 48th in home runs (9), and 39th in strikeouts per nine innings (League best 9.2)... Connor Currier stands 41st with 1.00 walks p/g and 36th in on-base percentage (League leading .567)... Colton Pogue is 55th in home runs (3), 34th in sacrifice flies (League leading 2), and 69th in slugging percentage (League leading .730).
CHURCH STARTS YEAR WITH NEW CAREER-HIGH: Junior Preston Church started off the 2016 campaign with a rough first inning but rebounded to strike out a career-high nine Tennessee Tech batters in the no-decision… After allowing a first inning grand slam, Church gave up a leadoff single in the second inning then not another hit until a leadoff single in the seventh… Church left the game with the lead, and three of his seven runs allowed were tallied after he left the game throwing 6.1 innings… Church was tabbed by Baseball America as the Summit League 'Preseason Pitcher of the Year'... Church ranks sixth among The Summit League innings pitched leaders (16.1) and fifth in strikeouts (14).
TRIPLES MARK: Making just his fourth start as a Leatherneck, true-freshman Drue Galassi played a big role in Western's 8-6 win over Northern Kentucky... Galassi hit two triples in the series finale, the first time a Leatherneck accomplished that feat in two years (Neil DeCook, April 2014)... He tripled with one out in the fifth and scored, then in the eighth in a one-run game Galassi ripped a leadoff triple and scored during the next at-bat... Those two triples tie him for the Summit League lead, and along with Chris Tschida (2 in 2016, 2 in 2015) they both match Tschida's team-leading total from last year.
TSCHIDA MATCHES TRIPLE-HIGH: During his freshman and sophomore year, Chris Tschida hit two triples in his 50 games played… The junior already matched his season-high hitting two triples in the first 10 games (at Tennessee Tech, at Southern Illinois)… With six triples Tschida needs three more to join the WIU career 'Top 10' list… He's currently tied for 19th in the nation with his Summit League leading two triples (one off the national lead).
FOOTBALL/BASEBALL DUO: True-Freshmen outfielders Justin Fitzpatrick and Steve McShane are wrapping up their first season playing both football and baseball... Fitzgerald played in eight of the 13 football games at cornerback, recording 14 tackles, 1.0 for a loss and three pass break-ups... McShane played in 12 of the 13 games. He rushed for 232 yards, second-most on the squad, in 12 games played. McShane averaged 3.6 yards per carry and caught 12 passes for 87 yards... They helped Western advance to the NCAA FCS Playoffs second round with a 7-6 overall record and 5-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference (tied 3rd).
GARTON HONORED BY COLLEGE BASEBALL INSIDER: Mark Garton was honored as one of the recipients of CollegeBaseballInsider.com's fifth annual Tom Walter/Pete Frates College Baseball Inspiration Award. The senior was one of eight honored nationally among all of collegiate baseball... The award, started by CollegeBaseballInsider.com (CBI) in 2011, is named for Tom Walter, the head coach at Wake Forest who donated a kidney to freshman outfielder Kevin Jordan before the 2011 season, and Pete Frates, whose courageous battle with ALS captured the nation's attention with the Ice Bucket Challenge.
   Garton nearly lost his baseball career when he came back from Christmas break in 2014. He was diagnosed with a rare bacterial infection that led to a one-month hospital stay and doubts of whether he would return. "I never thought I would get back to where I was before I got sick, I thought I'd be half of what I was," Garton said for a feature for Inside the Summit League TV show. He returned in 2015 to start 46 games at catcher, third base, first base and DH, hitting .258 with two homers and 20 RBI for the Leathernecks.
SCOUTING THE RAZORBACKS: Arkansas had one game with Gonzaga washed out midweek then lost on Wednesday 15-10... The 14th-ranked Razorbacks threw 12 different pitchers in the game... Carson Shaddy, Rick Nomura and Cullen Gassaway each had two hits in the game... Nomura drove in five of the 10 runs while Eagan and Gassaway accounted for two RBI each... Arkansas allowed nine runs over the final three innings... Last weekend, UA took 2-of-3 from Eastern Illinois, and enters this weekend 7-3 at home... Jake Arledge leads the way with a .464 batting average... Eagan (.375) and Shaddy (.373) are the other two starters batting above .350... Shaddy leads the team with five home runs and Michael Bernal added four... Six Razorbacks have 10 or more RBI... Dominic Taccolini (3-0, 2.50 ERA) has fanned 14 batters in 18.0 innings, allowing a .164 opponent batting average... Zach Johnson (0-1, 2.89) has three saves in six relief appearances. He fanned 11 batters to four walks in 9.1 innings... James Teague owns a 2-1 record in four relief appearances, striking out 12 batters in 7.1 innings. He's given up one run on two hits as opponents are batting .087 against him... Western last faced Arkansas in the 2013 season-opener, taking the finale against the then preseason ranked #1 squad.
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