CLINTON, S.C. – Coming off of a 16-3 win on Wednesday night over ETSU, the Presbyterian College baseball team looks to carry the same momentum into Big South play on Friday with a conference battle against Gardner-Webb set for 6 p.m. from the PC Baseball Complex on ESPN+. The same two teams square off at 3 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday with both games being shown on ESPN+ as well.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Gardner-Webb (24-12, 10-5 Big South) vs Presbyterian (15-23, 7-8 Big South)
WHERE: PC Baseball Complex (Clinton, S.C.)
WHEN: 6 p.m. (Fri.) | 3 p.m. (Sat.) | 1 p.m. (Sun.)
THE SERIES (Since 2008): Gardner-Webb Leads 30-15
FOLLOW THE ACTION
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast (Fri.) | Stat Broadcast (Sat.) | Stat Broadcast (Sun.)
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ (Fri.) | ESPN+ (Sat.) | ESPN+ (Sun.)
TWITTER: @PresbyterianBSB
GAME NOTES
ON THE MOUND
Friday
GWU – RHP Bobby Alcock (5-1, 2.47 ERA, 70 K)
PC – RHP Duncan Howard (2-2, 5.50 ERA, 39 K)
Saturday
GWU – LHP Tyler Switalski (7-1, 3.42 ERA, 61 K)
PC – LHP Charlie McDaniel (2-6, 6.47 ERA, 39 K)
Sunday
GWU – LHP Reid Bertram (1-3, 3.60 ERA, 30 K)
PC – TBA
About the Blue Hose
• The Blue Hose continue their five-game homestand beginning on Friday night with a Big South series against Gardner-Webb. PC comes off of a 16-3 midweek victory as the Runnin' Bulldogs earned wins on Tuesday at UNCG (9-3) and Wednesday at Elon (12-2).
Scouting Gardner-Webb
• Gardner-Webb comes into the weekend with a 24-12 record including a 10-5 mark in conference action thus far in the 2023 season. Curtis Robison leads the Runnin' Bulldogs with a .343 average totaling 11 doubles, three triples and a pair of home runs with 30 runs knocked in. Nate Anderson comes into the weekend with a .325 average with 11 doubles, five homers and 28 runs knocked in along with a team-high 15 stolen bases. Peter Capobianco leads Gardner-Webb with nine homers. On the mound, Luke Goodyear has allowed three earned runs over 12 outings with a 2-2 record. Bobby Alcock leads the Runnin' Bulldogs starters with a 5-1 record and a 2.47 ERA in 54.2 innings Alcock has totaled a team-high 70 strikeouts. Tyler Switalski sits inside the top five in wins in the NCAA with seven victories as he's 7-1 on the season with a 3.42 ERA totaling 61 strikeouts over 52.2 innings.
Head to Head vs Gardner-Webb
• Gardner-Webb leads the all-time series over the Blue Hose 30-15 with the Runnin' Bulldogs taking all three games in Boiling Springs a season ago. The two teams split the 2021 season series which included PC defeating Gardner-Webb in the Big South Championship en route to the 2021 title.
Blue Hose in the Ranks
• Brody Fahr is tied for second in the league with three triples on the season. He's tied for the top spot in league play with a pair of triples.
• Tanner Smith is atop the league in saves with six. Luke Gibson is ninth in the league with a pair of saves.
• Charlie McDaniel is tops in the Big South with a 4.88 strikeout-to-walk ratio. McDaniel is tops in the conference with 1.48 walks allowed per nine innings. He sits among the top 10 nationally in games started with a team-high 10 starts this season.
• Colbey Klepper is third in the league and 11th in the nation in appearances with 21 on the season.
• Freshman Kyle Mueller is tied for the top spot in league play with four victories. He also leads the team and is inside the top 10 in the league with five overall wins.
• As a team, PC leads the conference with nine saves led by Smith with six saves.
Early Offense Carries PC Past Bucs
• The Blue Hose used the power of a six-run first to carry the Presbyterian College baseball team past ETSU on Wednesday night by the score of 16-3 at the PC Baseball Complex. Joel Dragoo connected on a team-high three hits as Trey Fenderson, Noah Lebron and Amman Dewberry each hit homers in the victory.
• PC set a new season-high with 16 hits surpassing the previous best of 13 coming most recently against Western Michigan.The Blue Hose also finished with a season-high five doubles as five different players tallied a two-base hit. PC improved to 3-0 when scoring at least 10 or more runs after Wednesday's 16-run explosion. The Blue Hose also improved to 8-2 when out-hitting their opponents with a 16-10 advantage in the hit column.
Mueller's Fifth Win Nets Freshman of the Week Honors
• Following 4.1 shutout innings in the Blue Hose 10-3 victory over Winthrop, Presbyterian College baseball freshman Kyle Mueller (Winter Haven, Fla.) has been named Big South Freshman of the Week for games played April 10-16, as announced by the league office on Monday.
• Mueller entered with a 4-3 lead and two outs in the fourth and after recording a quick lineout to push to the fifth inning he was able to sit the Eagles down 1-2-3 in the inning.
• The Blue Hose freshman worked around a one-out single in the sixth without harm before a strikeout in the scoreless seventh inning. He worked around a two-out single in the eighth with a strikeout to tally the victory. Mueller was also pushed to a 10-3 lead during his outing with six runs of support on the offensive side of the ball.
• Mueller currently sits with a 5-1 record with a 4.66 ERA over 29 innings making 14 appearances with three starts on the season. The Winter Haven, Fla. native has 24 strikeouts compared to nine walks on the season. He's tied for the top spot in Big South play with four wins in his league outings this season
Late Offense & Solid Pitching Pushes PC to a DH Split with #14 Campbell
• Behind a three-run bottom of the eighth highlighted by a two-run double from Senior Kyle Merkle, the Presbyterian College baseball team was able to take game two by the score of 3-1 from #14 Campbell on Thursday night at the PC Baseball Complex. The Camels took game one by the score of 14-7 before the Blue Hose game two triumph. Merkle finished with five runs knocked in during the doubleheader highlighted by his game-winning two-run double in the late going on Thursday night.
• PC's victory in game two marks the first win over a ranked opponent since April 14, 2015, when the Blue & Garnet downed the #27 ranked South Carolina. It's the highest win over a ranked opponent since 2012 when the Blue Hose defeated UCF who was ranked #13 at the time of the win. The win is the second in eight tries for the Blue Hose in defeating a ranked opponent on their home field. PC's last home win over a ranked opponent was in April of 2009 when the Blue Hose downed #19, Coastal Carolina.
Smith Goes Back-to-Back with Big South Relief Pitcher of the Week Honors
• Following two Big South saves in the Blue Hose series win over Charleston Southern, Presbyterian College baseball senior Tanner Smith (Laurens, S.C.) has been Big South Relief Pitcher of the Week for the second straight week for games played March 20-26, as announced by the league office on Monday.
• Smith opened the week with three strikeouts over 1.1 scoreless frames at home against Davidson. He opened the outing with a walk before recording three strikeouts over the next five batters to earn the scoreless outing.
• He carried his momentum into Friday's outing with a scoreless inning totaling two strikeouts and facing one over the minimum in the ninth of the Blue Hose 6-3 win over CSU to earn his fourth save. He needed just 16 pitches to get out of the inning against the Bucs.
• He bounced back on Saturday he needed just 12 pitches and worked around a leadoff hit by pitch to record his second save in as many games as PC clinched the series with a 2-1 victory. Smith tallied a strikeout in the inning of work on Saturday.
• Smith has not allowed an earned run over his last 8.1 innings as the senior has totaled 12 strikeouts and allowed three hits in that stretch. He continues to lead the Blue Hose bullpen with a minuscule 1.12 ERA over his 16 innings of work this season. He is currently tied for 15th in the nation with his five saves
• He becomes the first Blue Hose player to earn back-to-back Big South Relief Pitcher of the Week honors since last April 4 & 11 when Logan Ymker earned two straight honors. His third save of the season and give PC the 7-6 league opening win.
