2015 SLIAC Baseball Tournament Preview

Greenville College "PANTHERS"

Greenville is making their second straight SLIAC Tournament appearance after going 19-18 overall and 16-6 in SLIAC play this season. The Panthers come into the postseason off a double header split against Washington University-St. Louis. Greenville has won five of their last seven games after starting the year with a 1-8 record.

Greenville is hitting .285 as a team, sixth in the league, and finished seventh in the SLIAC in runs scored with 204. The Panthers offense is built upon the long ball, hitting 21 home runs this season which is third in the league this year. The Panthers team E.R.A. of 4.87 ranks fourth in the SLIAC. Greenville senior Dalton McFarland leads the team with a .367 batting average while driving in 21 runs this season. Tim Osborne, a junior, hit .276 with a team high eight home runs and 30 runs batted in while Jared Storment, a senior, hit .314 with two home runs and 13 RBI. The pitching staff is anchored by junior C.J. Opp who made 10 starts, notching four wins, while finishing with a 4.57 earned-run average. Ryan Strohm, a junior, threw a team high 54 innings this year, compiling a 3.50 earned-run average with four wins and 44 strikeouts.

Spalding University "GOLDEN EAGLES"

Spalding finished second in the SLIAC East Divisoin with a 15-7 conference record and come in with a 25-14 overall mark. Spalding is coming off a three game series against Blackburn in which the Golen Eagles won just one game as their offense went cold, scoring just seven runs during the series.

Spalding's offense was third in the league in scoring this year with 266 runs, but showed they are explosive as they led the SLIAC with 15 games in scoring nine runs or more this season. They hit .298 as a team, fifth in the league, and finished second in home runs with 27 and led the conference with 117 stolen bases. Their pitching staff has a 4.16 earned-run average, third in the league. Ryan Mosby, a senior, led the team with a .381 batting average with six home runs and 24 runs batted in. Mosby was also the team's go to pitcher, making eight starts and recording six wins with a 2.29 earned-run average. Blake Patterson, a sophomore, hit .296 and drove in 33 runs while tying for the team lead with six home runs. Kam Bruner led the team with 35 runs batted in this season, also hitting four home runs. Josh Exton, a freshman, and Kyle Olliges, a sophomore, combined to make 16 starts this season with each player notching five wins.

Webster University "GORLOKS"

Webster is in search of their sixth consecutive SLIAC title after finishing with the best record in the SLIAC this season at 18-4 and going 29-11 overall during the regular season. The #22 ranked Gorloks took two of three games against Fontbonne last weekend in their final regular season series.

Webster was the league's top hitting team this season, scoring 299 runs this year while hitting .335 as a team. They powered out 34 home runs and finished second in the conference in stolen bases with 89. Their pitching staff holds a 2.84 earned-run average, tops in the SLIAC while also recording eight shutouts. The Webster offense is deep with seven hitters having a .300 batting average or higher. Kyle Uhrich and Jeff Kammer provide the pop for the Gorloks with a combined 24 home runs this season. Uhrich, a sophomore, is hitting .359 with a conference high 55 runs batted while Kammer, a senior, is hitting .378 with 40 runs batted in. Charlie Gandolfi, a senior, sets the plate for the Gorloks hitting .333 while drawing a team high 19 walks and swiping 13 bases. He has a .446 on base percentage with 25 runs scored. Blake Thomas, a junior, is hitting .362 with a team high 38 runs scored and 17 doubles. The Gorlok pitching staff is a three man rotation featuring Isaac Behme, Josh Fleming, and C.J. Lee. Behme, a senior and the 2014 SLIAC Pitcher of the Year, went 6-4 this year with a 2.66 earned-run average. Fleming, a freshman, tied with Behme for the team lead with six wins while striking out 75 batters in just 65.1 innings pitched. Lee, a sophomore and the 2014 SLIAC Newcomer of the Year, picked up four wins this year and struck out 47 batters while holding a 3.19 earned-run average.

Westminster College "BLUE JAYS"Westminster makes a return to the postseason after a one year absence that snapped a streak of three straight postseason trips. The Blue Jays finished the regular season with a 21-10 overall record and a 16-6 record in conference play. Westminster split a double header against Greenville last week and have won 12 of their last 14 games coming into the tournament.

The Blue Jays are hitting .302 as a team, fourth best in the SLIAC, and finished with 238 runs scored this season, fifth most. Their team earned-run average of 3.33 is also second best. Blue Jay junior infielder Tyler Branneky has had a standout season, hitting .415 with six home runs and 44 runs batted in. Freshman Nick Bohlmann has had no trouble in adjusting to the collegiate game, hitting .350 with 20 runs batted in. Tim Chambliss, a senior, is hitting .339 with a team high 13 doubles while adding 29 runs batted in. On the mound Westminster features a strong 1-2 combination of Deion Hughes and Will Miller. Hughes, a junior, went 7-2 this year while leading the conference with a 1.11 earned-run average and striking out 64 batters in 56.2 innings pitched while throwing five complete games. Hughes is also dangerous with the bat, hitting .296 with 21 runs batted in and 31 runs scored this season. Miller, a junior, was 6-0 with a 1.32 earned-run average and 58 strikeouts in 61.1 innings pitched.