GAME 1: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | GAME NOTES
GAME 2: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | GAME NOTES
PENSACOLA, Fla. – UWF baseball (0-3) will open its 2018 home schedule Friday vs. Rollins. The Argos take on the Tars (3-0) in a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.
University of West Florida baseball dropped its season opener Friday in Lakeland, falling to No. 19 Florida Southern 4-2. Nic Strasser led UWF with two hits and a walk, Matt Sullivan hit his first home run of the season, and three Argo hurlers combined to strike out 14 Mocs in what ultimately proved to be a narrow defeat. The 14 strikeouts were the most for the UWF staff since Feb. 24, 2016 when the corps struck out the same number against Spring Hill.
The Argos dropped a doubleheader to complete its series at No. 19 Florida Southern (3-0) Saturday, falling by finals of 7-5 and 4-1. The Argos combined for just 11 hits in the two games. Nick Kerkmann finished the day with two hits, including a home run, and three RBIs. Nic Strasser scored twice, and, like Kerkmann, also hit his first home run of the season. Strasser and Matthew Estrada combined to score four of the team's five runs in the first game of the doubleheader.
SCHEDULE CHANGES
* The threat of inclement weather this weekend has caused scheduling changes for UWF baseball's home-opening series vs. Rollins. The teams will now play a doubleheader beginning on Friday at 1:00 p.m. There will be no game on Saturday. UWF and Rollins were originally scheduled to meet in a 5:00 p.m. game on Friday and a doubleheader starting at noon Saturday.
HOME OPENER
* UWF is 252-99 at home since 2006. The Argos enjoyed eight consecutive 20+ win seasons at home from 2009-2016. West Florida dipped to 13 home wins vs. 14 home losses in 2017, falling below .500 at Jim Spooner Field for the first time in Jeffcoat's tenure.
* UWF finished 2017 3-6 at home vs. non-conference opponents. The Argos are 11-5 at home vs. the Tars since 2008.
* The Argos have a track record of success in series to open the home schedule, going 23-13 and earning a win or split in nine of twelve home-opening series since 2006.
Year-by-year at home
2006: 12-9
2007: 13-6
2008: 11-0
2009: 24-12
2010: 24-15
2011: 40-4
2012: 23-12
2013: 25-4
2014: 22-5
2015: 21-11
2016: 24-7
2017: 13-14
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES
* The Argos are 17-8 vs. the Tars since 1991 and 17-4 vs. the Tars since 2008. Last year, the Argos dropped the first game of a three-game series vs. the Tars 4-1 before rebounding to win 5-1 and 20-15. The Argos racked up 34 hits over the final two games vs. Rollins last year.
* The 20 runs UWF scored in the finale last year vs. Rollins were a season-high. The game was one of just four (Mar. 23, 2011 vs. Columbus State, W, 24-12; Apr. 2, 2011 vs. Lambuth, W, 22-6; Feb. 20, 2016 vs. Mississippi College, W, 22-6) this decade in which the Argos have scored 20 runs. Rollins built an 11-2 lead after an eight-run, eight-hit third inning. After a scoreless fourth inning, UWF kept the bats awake for the rest of the contest by scoring at least two runs in every inning for the final five frames. The Argos and Tars combined for a total of 35 runs, 38 hits, and 428 pitches.
* Brandon Harmon posted five hits and four runs in last year's series against the Tars. Nic Strasser finished last year's series with five hits, three runs scored and two RBIs. Trevor Payne posted four hits.
Year-by-year vs. Rollins (since 2008)
2008: 2-1
2009: 1-1
2010: 1-2
2011: 2-0
2012: 3-0
2013: 3-0
2014: 2-1
2015: 1-0
2016: N/A
2017: 2-1
REACHING BASE
* Robert Lopez, Matthew Jones, Mason Dinesen, Matthew Estrada and Nick Kerkmann were the five Argos who reached in all three games at FSC. Estrada, Strasser, Kerkmann, and Dinesen finished the series hitting safely in back-to-back games.
* While the Argos were not able to rack up more than six hits in any game at Florida Southern, the team did find other ways to get on. The Argos drew eight walks in Game 1. The team also drew five walks in seven innings in Game 3.
* Runners left aboard were a problem in the sweep at FSC. The team stranded exactly eight runners in each game in Lakeland.
EAST MISSISSIPPI CC TRANSFERS SHINE IN RELIEF
* The Argos enjoyed solid relief performances by Alex Knight and Whitt Davis at Florida Southern. The two transfers combined to fire 4 ? innings vs. the Mocs, allowing zero walks and one hit while striking out four.
* Knight proved to be the Argos' most reliable bullpen contributor in Lakeland, firing 1 ? scoreless innings while striking out four on Friday. He struck out the side in the eighth inning. He added another scoreless appearance in Game 3.
* A native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Knight was a pitcher/infielder for the Lions in 2016 and 2017. As a sophomore, he made 17 appearances and 7 starts on the mound at East Mississippi, going 3-1 with a 4.56 ERA. He struck out 39 and walked 26.
* Davis, a Huntsville, Ala. native, also got a start at DH in Game 3 vs. the Mocs. He made three plate appearances and drew one walk. Davis hit .296 as a freshman at EMCC in 2016 and hit .286 as a sophomore in 2017.
* Davis made 12 appearances and 11 starts on the mound at East Mississippi as a sophomore in 2017. He finished the year with a 5-2 record and a 7.68 ERA, striking out 55 and walking 32.
ARGO ROTATION
* UWF is expected to start LHP Tony Kucera in Game 1 of the doubleheader and LHP Kirk Maddox in Game 2. Both starters threw at Florida Southern.
* Kucera started Game 1 of the series at Fla. Southern, going five innings while surrendering two runs (one earned) and striking out seven. He allowed one walk, one hit-by-pitch, and five hits. He faced 22 batters overall. He induced five groundouts.
* Kucera's solid performance at FSC confirmed head coach Mike Jeffcoat's preseason: "He's been our most consistent guy through the fall and in January, filling the zone up and mixing speeds and being efficient with his pitches. We feel like he's going to give us a great chance to be in the ballgame through five, six innings."
* Kucera spent the 2017 season at Lurleen B. Wallace Community College. As a sophomore, he posted a 5-3 record and a 2.61 ERA across 14 appearances and 7 starts. He also recorded two saves and struck out 38 in just over 50 innings.
* Maddox started Game 3 at Florida Southern. He went 3 2/3 innings while allowing four hits, two runs (two earned), two walks and striking out four. He suffered his first loss of the season.
* A transfer who spent 2017 at Auburn, Maddox previously attended Wallace-Dothan CC, where he posted a 6-4 record and a 3.91 ERA as a sophomore.
STRASSER RETURNS
* UWF will certainly benefit from the return of infielder Nic Strasser in 2018. Strasser suffered a season-ending injury last March 26 in a contest vs. Christian Brothers. He hit .306 for the season and was riding an eight-game hitting streak before his season came to an abrupt end. He has made 130 starts over three-plus seasons at UWF.
* In his first starts since suffering the season-ending injury, Strasser went 3 for 11 at FSC, posting a home run, a double, two runs scored and an RBI. He reached base in all three games.
* Strasser was particularly effective in conference play last year. He hit .340 vs. conference opponents.
* Strasser has enjoyed a decorated career so far at West Florida. He was a 2015 American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings South Region Gold Glove Team. His sophomore year, he was named a 2016 All-Gulf South Conference Second Team and 2016 NCAA South Regional All-Tournament Team.
POWER SURGE FOR SULLIVAN
* Matthew Sullivan went deep in Game 1 at FSC, tying the contest at 1-1. The clutch swing was his fourth homer in his last 11 at-bats, dating back to last year's GSC Tournament. Prior to the tournament, Sullivan had not gone deep in his UWF career. Sullivan was a 20017 All-GSC Tournament selection.
SCOUTING ROLLINS
* The Tars finished last year 27-23 overall and finished seventh in the Sunshine State Conference. Rollins is managed by Jon Sjogren, who is in his 13th season. He is 324-299-3 in his career with the Tars.
* This year's Rollins team returns 21 players from a season ago, including 11 pitchers. The Tars also feature 11 newcomers.
* Among key returners are Grant Ashline, a second team All-SSC selection from 2016, as well as Brad Case and Caleb Jakes, both of whom were named National College Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-South Region Team selections.
* Rollins opened its season Feb. 2-4 with a three-game sweep of Young Harris at Alfond Stadium. The series featured a walkoff 5-4 win in Game 1. It concluded with a dominant performance in the final two games. Rollins downed Young Harris 6-0 in Game 2 and 16-4 in Game 3.
* The Tars hit .340 in the season-opening series and reached base at a .463 clip. Ashline hit .462 for the series. He and Brian Booker each scored four runs. Ashline had six hits. Nick Breen and Billy Lamm each had five.
ARGOS PICKED TO FINISH FOURTH IN GULF SOUTH
* The University of West Florida baseball team was selected to finish fourth in the GSC in a preseason poll of conference coaches. The Argos are coming off a 28-23 2017 campaign. The team received 133 total points in the preseason poll.
* Delta State, which earned a national No. 1 ranking from the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper earlier this month, tops the preseason coaches' poll, receiving 169 total points and 13 first place votes. West Alabama checks in with 146 total points and one first place vote to finish second. North Alabama received 141 total points to rank one spot ahead of UWF.
* "I think it's appropriate, considering how many new guys we have and the depth of the league," said Jeffcoat of UWF's fourth-place ranking. "I think the three teams in front certainly are deserving and certainly have a shot to win the GSC along with two or three other teams behind us. You just never know in our league because of the turnover with junior college players, injuries and guys coming back, there's a lot of unknowns."
ARGOS CHECK IN AT NO. 7 IN SOUTH REGION POLL
* The University of West Florida baseball team was ranked seventh in the first preseason National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II South Region poll released Jan. 24. The Argos garnered 29 points in the poll and earned the fourth-highest ranking among GSC teams.
* "I just think that it's nice to see that people think we're in the mix for it this year," said Jeffcoat. "We hope we are. The region is good. The top seven teams go [to the South Region tournament], and we hope we can be in those top seven. It starts with Game One, and hopefully we can play consistently throughout the year to get there."
* Delta State topped the initial preseason poll, garnering six first-place votes and 87 points overall to narrowly edge Tampa, which received three first-place votes and 82 points. Nova Southeastern entered the poll at third (71 points). West Alabama (59 points) came in at fourth, Florida Southern (51 points) checked in at fifth, and North Alabama (50 points) entered the poll in the sixth place position.
#ARGOS#
