Box Score by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-The Barton College baseball team will be holding its annual Chicken Plate Sale over the weekend while hosting Conference Carolinas foe Limestone College in a three-game series.
The Bulldogs and Saints will play a single game at Fleming Stadium (Wilson Tobs) on Friday at 5 p.m., before completing the series with a doubleheader at Nixon Field on Saturday beginning at Noon.
The BBQ chicken plate sale is available for purchase from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. both days at the Barton Outdoor Athletic Complex for $8. Proceeds benefit the Barton baseball program.
Barton sports information be providing Live Stats for the weekend's games.
Barton baseball fans can follow the Bulldogs throughout the season on www.BartonBulldogs.com and via social media including Twitter and Facebook.
Barton College Baseball
The Bulldogs return to action after having a pair of midweek games cancelled due to inclement weather. Barton (7-18 overall, 2-4 conf.) was swept in its last series at current No. 15 ranked Erskine College last weekend.
Barton maintains the third best ERA in the conference at 4.32 with sophomore Ricky Jernigan's ERA of 2.20 ranking second individually but is 0-3 in four starts with limited run support. A trio of juniors have been given the ball in for most of the Bulldogs other starts including Kyle Rufer (2-2, 4.20 ERA), Brandon Warren (0-2, 3.63) and Duncan Everett (1-4, 4.89).
Junior catcher/closer Snooter Merryman highlights the Bulldogs bullpen having not allowed a run in five appearance. Merryman has four saves on the season that is second best in the conference. Other top relievers for BC are juniors Mike Brienza (1-3, 2.41 ERA) and Zach Breen (3-1, 6.00 ERA).
Offensively, junior designated hitter Mitchell Wheeler (.390) and freshman third baseman Andrew Webster (.323) are the only two Bulldogs batting over .300. Senior shortstop Dillon Rudio (.264) leads BC with 12 RBI, 10 runs, six doubles, two and two home runs. Freshman outfielder Tyler Garrett (.174) paces the Royal Blue and White on the base paths with six stolen bases.
Barton is only scoring 2.3 runs per game (253rd out of 259 NCAA Division II teams) and has a fielding percentage of .942 (224th).
The Bulldogs took 2 of 3 games from Limestone in Gaffney, S.C., last season. BC won the first two games 2-1 and 7-3 before the Saints prevented the sweep with a 10-1 victory in the series finale.
Limestone College Baseball
The Saints picked up a 6-4 home win against Lenoir-Rhyne University in their last game Thursday. Limestone (11-16 overall, 2-4 conf.) was swept in its first league series by favorite University of Mount Olive but then took 2 of 3 from Belmont Abbey College last weekend.
Senior outfielder Chad Balderman – a two-time All-Conference honoree – highlights the Saints lineup with a .324 average and 24 RBI, 19 runs, six doubles and seven home runs. Balderman's seven homers are tied for second most in the league.
Limestone is batting over .300 as a team with a veteran lineup that includes junior Kyle Booth (.383), senior KJ McAllister (.350), senior Avi Ahlzadeh (.339), senior Cooper Gunter (.326) and senior Tyler Wood (.310).
McAllister, a second team All-Conference selection last season at second base, boasts team-high totals of 25 runs, 17 walks and 10 doubles while adding 21 RBI and four stolen bases.
Three juniors and a freshman have accounted for 24 of 27 starts on the mound for LC. Rookie Kyle Cliff (2-2, 3.94) leads the group in ERA; Jose Rondon (3-4, 5.08) leads in wins and has two complete games; Kaleb Earls (1-6, 5.31) has a team-high 39 strikeouts (9.00 K/game); and James McGrane (1-3, 6.46) follows Earls with 7.63 strikeouts per game.
