ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Ouachita Tigers (1-2) will play their first home series of the 2020 season Friday through Sunday in a three-game series for the OBU/HSU Invitational. The series begins with an 11:00 a.m. game against the University of Central Oklahoma (2-1) at Henderson State's baseball field on Friday. For the next two games, Ouachita will take on Northwest Missouri State University (2-2) at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and then Newman University (2-2) at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
 
Game One: Feb. 7 at 11:00 a.m. – Ouachita vs. Central Oklahoma
The game on Friday will be the first time that either school has faced-off against the other in baseball. In their first three games, the Bronchos traveled to Edmond, Oklahoma. They defeated Ouachita rival Henderson State University 10-4 in game one, took down Northwestern Oklahoma State University 16-3 in game two, and lost to Missouri Southern 3-6 in game three for a 2-1 start to the 2020 season. In 2019, the Bronchos went 38-20 overall, 22-11 (third-place) in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, and earned a bid to a Regional where they lost in the Championship game to Central Missouri.
 
Scouting the Bronchos
The Tigers will likely face Virginia Tech transfer Dylan Hall (1-0), who pitched five innings of one-run two-hit baseball in the win against Henderson State this past weekend. Hall struck out 10 batters, and gave up two walks and two hits in the outing. As the junior in 2019, he set the school record with 123 strikeouts in a single season, as well as threw 106 1/3 innings, went 8-4 and finished with a 3.22 ERA.
 
The Broncho offense holds three players with an above .400 batting average after a weekend of play. Freshman Colton Bertus leads UCO with a .455 average and went 5 for 11 with three singles, a double, a homerun, two runs scored, and three RBI's in 12 plate appearances. Just behind him is junior Brett Hopkins, who hit .444 with a double, a triple, and four RBI's in his nine at bats. The final hitter with an above .400 average is Senior Philip Scott, who hit .417 after finishing 5 for 12 with five RBI's, three runs scored, a double, and a homerun.
 
Final Team Stats
Hitting Avg. – .323
Opponent Avg. – .206
Runs per game – 9.66 (29 total)
Hits per game – 10.66 (32 total)
Slugging Percentage – .576
On Base Percentage – .444
Stolen Bases/Attempts – 2-2
Opponent SB/Attempts – 5-7
Team ERA – 3.46
 
Game Two: Feb. 8 at 1:00 p.m. – Ouachita vs. Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State University and the Ouachita Tigers have met on the diamond for three games in the last three years. The Tigers won the 2019 matchup 8-6, but lost the others 1-2 and 2-7 in 2018 and 2017 respectively. In last year's game, the Tigers worked 11 walks and seven hits, which helped lead them to their first win against NMSU. This past week, the Bearcats split a four-game series with Southeastern Oklahoma State University (2-2). They lost the first game 1-8, won the next 16-3, lost the third 1-2, and won the final game 16-5. In 2019, the Bearcats finished seventh in the MIAA with an 18-15 conference record, 23-27 overall.
 
Scouting the Bearcats
The Bearcats have three frequent starters hitting above .400 in Jordan Peck, Peter Carlson, and Matt Gastner. Peck holds the highest average on the team at .556 and started two of three games he has played in. This past week, he went 5 for 9 with a double, two runs scored, and two RBI's. Carlson has started all four games and is hitting an even .500. He went 6 for 12 with five runs scored, a double, two homeruns, and four RBI's, while also slugging 1.083 last weekend. Gastner was named MIAA player of the week for opening weekend, leads the team in RBI's with 11 and homeruns with three, and has started all four games for the Bearcats. He is currently hitting .438 with seven hits in 16 at bats, five runs scored, and a double.
 
Final Team Stats
Hitting Avg. – .293
Opponent Avg. – .266
Runs per game – 8.5 (34 total)
Hits per game – 9.75 (39 total)
Slugging Percentage – .466
On Base Percentage – .444
Stolen Bases/Attempts – 4-5
Opponent SB/Attempts – 4-5
Team ERA – 4.80
 
Game Three: Feb. 9 at 1:00 p.m. – Ouachita vs. Newman University
The Ouachita Tigers and Newman University Jets have never crossed paths in a baseball game in either school's history. This past weekend, the Jets journeyed to Cleburne, Texas, for the 4-Him Baseball Classic. Newman started out with a 6-8 loss to Wayne State, rebounded with a 7-5 win against Oklahoma Panhandle State, fell short to Southern Arkansas 1-3, and capitalized against Rogers State 12-3 to finish 2-2 for the opening series of 2020. In 2019, the Jets finished last in the Heartland Conference at 3-18, 16-30 overall. They have joined the MIAA and replaced Southwest Baptist University for the 2020 season.
 
Scouting the Jets
Newman hitting has three players with a .300 batting average or higher through four games. Freshman Hayden VanDePol started all four games for the Jets and ended with a .500 average, going 6 for 12 with two runs scored, two doubles, a triple, and six RBI's. Senior Will Jordan is hitting .444 at the plate after a 7 for 16 weekend in Texas. He recorded a double, scored two runs, and racked up five RBI's in his four starts. The final Jet to mention is senior Kyle Koch, who hit .353 after a 6 for 17 performance. He also hit a double, scored four runs, and plated seven runners.
 
Final Team Stats
Hitting Avg. – .261
Opponent Avg. – .227
Runs per game – 6.5 (26 total)
Hits per game – 9.25 (37 total)
Slugging Percentage – .380
On Base Percentage – .374
Stolen Bases/Attempts – 4-7
Opponent SB/Attempts – 5-9
Team ERA – 3.31
 
For more information on Ouachita Baseball, go to https://obutigers.com/sports/baseball and keep in touch with the Ouachita Baseball twitter (@OuachitaBSB) for weather updates this weekend.