by Cory Guinn
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College baseball team will begin a 17-game home stand when it hosts the Pioneers of Glenville State College in a four-game series beginning Saturday, February 7 at Nixon Field.
The Bulldogs and Pioneers will square off in a double header on Saturday with the first game set to begin at noon. Sunday's double header concludes the series with first pitch again scheduled for noon in Wilson.
Barton sports information will provide live stats for the four-game weekend series. Links will be available on the Barton athletic website.
Barton baseball fans can follow the Bulldogs all season on www.BartonBulldogs.com and via social media including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Barton College Baseball
After being ranked seventh overall in the 2015 Conference Carolinas Preseason Coaches' Poll, Barton is looking to improve upon a 2014 season that saw the team finish with a 16-32 overall record and a 7-14 record in league play. The Bulldogs did, however, make a late season push in the Conference Carolinas Tournament.
Among the returning players for Barton will be sophomore Andrew Webster, who earned Second Team All-Conference honors as a designated hitter following his freshman campaign.
Webster finished the 2014 season with a team-high .330 batting average and .486 slugging percentage in 48 games. Scattered throughout his 61 total hits were six doubles, four triples and five home runs as Webster drove in 31 runs and scored 16 more of his own.
Infielder Mitchell Wheeler returns for his senior season after batting .318 with 15 RBI and 15 runs scored last season, while sophomore Jacob Willis (.272, 11 runs scored) and senior Avery Harper (eight doubles, three home runs, 14 RBI) also return to the Bulldog lineup.
Barton will also return 11 pitchers from a staff that combined for a 5.48 ERA and almost 200 strikeouts. Senior Kyle Rufer is back for his final season in Royal Blue and White after compiling a 3-5 record over 65.1 innings pitched in 16 games, including 13 starts.
Senior Brandon Warren saw action in 13 games with nine starts, totaling 61.2 innings pitched and one complete game, while fellow senior Zach Breen was the team's primary reliever, having totaled 39.1 innings in 21 appearances with a 3.66 ERA.
The Bulldogs opened the 2015 season with a 6-3 loss to the Hawks of Chowan University on February 3 in Murfreesboro, N.C.
Breen got the season-opening start for Barton, allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts in three innings of work.
The left-handed Rufer pitched two innings of hitless relief, striking out four of the seven batters he faced, while Warren (0-1) suffered the loss after giving up five runs on six hits with three strikeouts in 1.1 innings on the mound. Redshirt junior Louis DeCarolis pitched the final 1.2 innings, striking out two batters in a perfect relief appearance.
Wheeler led the Bulldogs at the plate with a 2-for-4 performance, including a double and a run scored. Senior Spiers Miller was 1-for-3 on the day with a double of his own and an RBI, while Webster drove in a run and scored one more.
Glenville State College Baseball
The Pioneers were picked to finish 12th in the 2015 Mountain East Conference Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing the 2014 season 9-41 overall and 8-33 in conference play.
Junior outfielder Khalfani Mar'na is Glenville State's top returning offense performer after totaling 48 hits (.294 average), including six doubles, two triples and a home run, with 30 RBI and 24 runs scored last season.
Glenville State also returns junior infielders Alex Mace who compiled a .284 average with six doubles, 14 RBI and 13 runs scored in 43 games and Justin Lewis who posted a .271 average with eight doubles, nine RBI and 28 runs scored a year ago.
Senior Brock McClung returns as the ace of the pitching staff after a 2014 season in which he posted a 3-7 record in 11 starts, including two complete games, with 30 strikeouts and a .249 batting average against in 56.1 innings.
Juniors Josh Laramore (1-1, 2.77 ERA in eight games) and Justin Oney (5.85 ERA, 40 innings in 11 games) also return as the top returning performers for the Pioneer pitching staff.
