Sunday, May 06, 2007

This Week in A-Sun Baseball

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Matchup of the Week

May 10-11
Mercer at Gardner-Webb
Boiling Springs, N.C.

The Bulldogs enter this week two games back of Lipscomb and Jacksonville for the final spot in the A-Sun Tournament. Gardner-Webb has lost the tiebreaker to JU, but won the tiebreaker over Lipscomb. GWU has won two conference series in a row, but the winning ways will have to continue if the Bulldogs want to stay in contention. Mercer currently sits in second place in the standings, but holds the third seed for the tourney because of two losses to Belmont. One win by Mercer in Boiling Springs clinches their spot in the A-Sun Tourney.

A-Sun Player of the Week
Pete Clifford, Jacksonville (Sr. - OF - Jacksonville, Fla. - Business)
Clifford has gone off the charts in the last week as the senior is gearing for the final games of his Dolphin career. Against Bethune-Cookman, he went 3-for-4 with a double and a home run. After driving in a run with a base hit in game one against UNF, he followed that effort with a three-run homer in game two. In JU winner on Sunday, Clifford went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. For the week, Clifford batted .500 (8-for-16) with a double, three home runs, eight RBI, 18 total bases, 1.125 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage.

A-Sun Pitcher of the Week
Bubba Blalock (So. - RHP - Fort Valley, Ga. - Chemistry)
The Owls right-hander threw a four-hit, complete game shutout over Lipscomb to set the tone for the Owls three-game sweep of the Bisons. Blalock walked just one batter while striking out six. In his 128-pitch effort, he allowed only two runners past second base. Blalock threw the Owls first complete game of the season and KSU's first in 69 games. It was also the first KSU complete-game shutout since April 8, 2006 when Dan Dale blanked ETSU.

A-Sun Record Watch
- Only 34 batters have finished a season with a batting average over .400. Two conference members are hanging around the impressive mark. Kennesaw State's Jacob Robbins leads the A-Sun with a .383 average, while Stetson's Jeremy Cruzis right behind him at .380.
- Lipscomb's Caleb Joseph is currently tied for 11th on the single-season doubles list with 24. Joseph needs one double to move into the top ten. Stetson's Frank Corr set the record with 34 doubles in 2000.
- Fifteen pitchers have finished a season with a sub 2.00 ERA. Corey Kluber of Stetson enters the final two weeks of the season with an ERA of 2.07
- ETSU's Caleb Glafenhein has a conference-leading 13 wins. That total currently puts him tied for 8th place all-time in the A-Sun. Joey Hamilton of Georgia Southern set the record with 18 wins in 1990.
- Stetson's Robbie Elsemiller has 30 career saves which puts him in 2nd place for career saves in the Atlantic Sun.
- Elsemiller and Mercer's Cory Gearrin both sit at 11 saves for the season, which places them 17th in the A-Sun recordbook. Jamie Emiliano of Florida International set the single-season record with 16 saves in 1995.
- Stetson's Shane Jordan has 314 career hits, which puts him 2nd on the A-Sun all-time list. Belmont's Wilson Tucker currently sits 10th on the career hits list with 266 hits.
- Tucker's career batting average is currently .366, which ties him for 12th all-time.
- Stetson's Chris Ingoglia has 78 career appearances, which ties him for 7th on the all-time list

The Road to DeLand if the Championship Began Today
#1 Stetson
#2 Belmont (2-1 vs. Mercer)
#3 Mercer (1-2 vs. Belmont)
#4 ETSU(1-2 vs. Bel, 0-3 vs. Lip)
#5 Lipscomb (3-0 vs. ETSU, 2-1 vs. Mer, 1-2 vs. Bel)
#6 Jacksonville (2-1 vs. GWU)
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#7 Gardner-Webb (1-2 vs. JU, 2-1 vs. Lip)
#8 Campbell

UNF and Kennesaw State not eligible during reclassifying seasons.

A-Sun Standings

A-Sun Players of the Week

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League Leaders

Team-by-Team Notes

2007 ATLANTIC SUN CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY PROGRESS ENERGY
Melching Field at Conrad Park: One of the most picturesque, fan-friendly stadiums in the nation, Melching Field at Conrad Park will host the Atlantic Sun Championship for the sixth consecutive season. At a cost of $4.5 million, Melching Field was the result of a joint effort between Stetson University, DeLand Sports Redevelopment Association and the City of DeLand. Built on the same site as old Conrad Park, Melching Field opened on Feb. 12, 1999 as the Hatters defeated Louisville 4-3 before an overflow crowd of 2,874 fans.

2007 Atlantic Sun Championship Presented by Progress Energy