UWA Baseball Preview at No. 6/19 West Florida

Who
West Alabama and West Florida in a three-game Gulf South Conference series to end the regular season.

What and When
Single game Friday at 6 p.m. Doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m.

Where
Jim Spooner Field on the campus of the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida.

Live Stats and Video
Links for each game can be found HERE.

Radio
All three games are set to be carried on ESPN 104.9. Tiger fans outside the coverage area can go to www.grantellbroadcasting.com and click on Listen Live to hear the game. Also try the ESPN1049 App, available at your App Store for free.

West Alabama
West Alabama is 22-19 overall, 9-15 in GSC play.

West Florida
West Florida is 30-14 overall, 19-7 in league play.

Argos in the Polls
West Florida is ranked No. 6 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 19 by the National College Baseball Writers Association. The Argos are No. 2 in the first official NCAA South Region ranking announced earlier this week.

One Spot Left
Seven of the eight berths into the 2019 Gulf South Conference Tournament are filled. To qualify for the final spot West Alabama will need to sweep West Florida and have Lee lose two of three games at Auburn-Montgomery.

GSC Standings

School	Conf	CPct.	Overall	Pct.	Streak
Mississippi College *	19-5	0.792	27-13	0.675	W2
West Florida *	19-7	0.731	30-14	0.682	W2
Delta State *	18-8	0.692	32-10	0.762	W8
Alabama Huntsville *	15-10	0.600	25-17	0.595	L1
Montevallo *	15-12	0.556	20-25	0.444	W1
West Georgia *	14-12	0.538	25-21	0.543	W1
Valdosta State *	12-11	0.522	25-18	0.581	W1
Auburn Montgomery ^	12-14	0.462	25-21	0.543	W2
Shorter	11-14	0.440	20-19	0.513	W1
Lee	11-14	0.440	22-24	0.478	W1
West Alabama	9-15	0.375	22-19	0.537	L7
Christian Brothers	5-21	0.192	9-33	0.214	L2
Union	5-22	0.185	13-32	0.289	L1

* Clinched a GSC Championship berth
^ Results against Auburn Montgomery count towards the league standings, but AUM is not eligible for the postseason.

The Series
Friday's game will be the 48^th meeting between West Alabama and West Florida. The Argos hold a 26-21 advantage in the series.

UWA Coach Gary Rundles
Gary Rundles is 620-382 in his 20^th year at West Alabama, 992-659 in his 32^nd year as a college head coach.

UWF Coach Mike Jeffcoat
UWF head coach Mike Jeffcoat is 482-263 in his 14^th season as a collegiate head coach, all at West Florida.

Waites Nine Short of UWA Season Record for Strikeouts
Tiger junior righty Cole Waites need nine strikeouts in his start this weekend to tie the UWA single season record for strikeouts, 10 to break it. JT Salter, who is currently with the Everett AquaSox in the Seattle Mariners farm system, struck out 118 last season.

Taking a Look
Both West Alabama and West Florida are teams that see a lot of pitches when at the plate. West Florida is second in the GSC in walks with 198 and West Alabama is third with 187.

Career Record for Ks
Cole Waites already holds the UWA career record for strikeouts with 273.

Rathke Tied for GSC Lead in Saves
Tiger closer Nick Rathke is currently tied for first in the GSC in saves with Trevin Eubanks of Valdosta State.

Trevor in Top 10
Tiger shortstop Trevor Smeeton is tied for ninth in the GSC with 54 base hits and is 10^th in the league with 26 walks.

Team Stat Comparison, League Ranking
Hitting: UWF .299, 3^rd, UWA .279, 5^th
Pitching: UWF 3.40, 2^nd, UWA 5.15, 8^th
Fielding: UWF, .970, 2^nd, UWA .958, 8^th

Tiger Streaks
Longest Hitting Streak: 10, Taylor Clemmons
Longest Current Hitting Streak: 7, Jake Hartman
Longest Reached Base Streak: 24, Trevor Smeeton
Longest Current Reached Base Streak: 11, RJ Brown
Most Multi-Hit Games: 18, Trevor Smeeton
Most Multi-RBI Games: 9, Taylor Clemmons

Tiger Batting Leaders (Min. 2 plate appearances per game & played in 75% of team games)
Batting Average: .344, Trevor Smeeton
Hits: 54, Trevor Smeeton
RBI: 36, Taylor Clemmons
Runs: 32, Trevor Smeeton
Doubles: 10, Taylor Clemmons
Triples: 2, Trevor Smeeton
Home Runs: 7, Jake Hartman
Bases on Balls: 26, Trevor Smeeton
Strikeouts: 37, Wyatt Ball
Stolen Bases: 11, RJ Brown

Tiger Pitching Leaders
Appearances: 16, Nick Rathke
Starts: 12, Cole Waites
Wins: 4, Nick Rathke and Peyton Warren
Saves: 6, Nick Rathke
Innings Pitched: 65.1, Cole Waites
Strikeouts: 109, Cole Waites
Starters ERA: 4.27, Cole Waites
Relievers ERA: 2.57, Nick Rathke

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Players Mentioned

#13 JT Salter: RHP; 6' 8"; Junior; R/R

#20 Jake Hartman: OF/C; 6' 0"; Senior; R/R

#10 Nick Rathke: RHP; 6' 3"; Senior; R/R

#27 Trevor Smeeton: SS; 5' 10"; Junior; L/R

#35 Cole Waites: RHP; 6' 3"; Junior; R/R

#24 Peyton Warren: RHP; 6' 2"; Sophomore; R/R

#25 Taylor Clemmons: 1B; 6' 0"; Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

#13 JT Salter
: 6' 8"; Junior; R/R
: RHP

#20 Jake Hartman
: 6' 0"; Senior; R/R
: OF/C

#10 Nick Rathke
: 6' 3"; Senior; R/R
: RHP

#27 Trevor Smeeton
: 5' 10"; Junior; L/R
: SS

#35 Cole Waites
: 6' 3"; Junior; R/R
: RHP

#24 Peyton Warren
: 6' 2"; Sophomore; R/R
: RHP

#25 Taylor Clemmons
: 6' 0"; Junior; R/R
: 1B