Baseball 2/13/2014 9:44:00 AM

Diamond Notes: Baseball Set To Open Season In Arkansas Saturday

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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Bulldog Baseball team will open up their 2014 season this weekend when they travel to Searcy, Ark. to face Harding University in a three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.

Truman vs. Harding (Ark.)
Series Format: The teams will start with a doubleheader on Saturday and a single nine-inning game on Sunday. The Saturday format will be a nine-inning game first followed by a seven-inning contest.

Series History: The two teams have met just once prior on the diamond with Harding winning 11-2 back on March 4, 1986. The teams were slated for a four-game series in February 2010 but it was washed out due to weather.

Harding Last Time Out: The Bison enter the week with a 2-0 record after sweeping a doubleheader against Lyon (Ark.) College on February 9. Scores were 1-0 and 3-2. Harding is slated to host Northeastern (Okla.) State on Thursday prior to the Bulldogs visit this weekend. The Bison have lost six games already this winter/spring due to weather, including a four-game series to Missouri Western and a doubleheader to Lindenwood (Mo.).

Common Opponents: The Bulldogs and Harding do not have any common opponents this season and did not have any last season.

About the Bison: Finished 2013 with a 29-22 overall record, 16-14 in the Great American Conference and 20-9 at home…senior utility player Matt Calhoun was a second team preseason all-Central region selection by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association…Calhoun hit .276 last season with four home runs and 31 RBIs…was picked sixth in the GAC preseason coaches' poll…in doubleheader sweep over Lyon, team hit .196 with three extra base hits (one home run by Calhoun)…the pitching staff posted a 1.12 ERA in the series with Walker Cameron tossing a complete-game seven-inning shutout, he struck out 10 while walking two…last year, Harding hit .281 as a team and posted a 4.08 ERA…Patrick McGaha is in his ninth season as manager for the Bison.

Bulldog Notebook:

Truman returns 11 position players and 10 pitchers that played last season, including four of the top five leading hitters. Junior Paul Trenhaile had the highest single-season batting average for a Bulldog in seven years with a .371 mark and tied for third all-time in single-season hits with 59, four off the Truman record of 63.

Four starters, with more than 70 at bats last season, hit over .320 while the team hit .279 with 66 doubles, 14 home runs and 184 RBIs.

Swiper No Swiping:
The Bulldogs tied a school record last season with 77 stolen bases. Four players, three returning in 2014, had over 10 steals led by Zak Larkin's 15. As a team, Truman was 77-of-108 (71.2%) nearly matching the 99 total of 77 steals in 105 attempts (73.3%). Opponents had 52 stolen bases in 68 attempts (76.4%).

Career Milestones:
Paul Trenhaile enters the 2014 season seventh on the Truman career batting average list. The junior has a .331 batting average (83-of-251) to place ahead of Tony Vandemore (.330 – 1996-1999). Aaron Royster (1991-94) has the all-time career mark with a minimum of 200 at bats with a .370 average.

Trenhaile is currently 10th in career on-base percentage (.405), seventh in total chances (693) and third in putouts (645).

Toen' the Rubber:
Senior Tim Lee and sophomore Mark Roberts return with the most starting experience for the Bulldog pitching staff. Lee was 2-4 last season with a 5.46 ERA in 12 starts while Roberts was 2-5 with a 6.85 ERA in 14 starts.

New Digs This Season:
The Bulldogs join the Great Lakes Valley Conference this season after spending the previous seasons as a member of the Mid-America (former Missouri) Intercollegiate Athletics Association. Truman was picked eighth in the GLVC West Division Coaches' poll.

Truman will play four games against each member of the GLVC West Division and eight total games against two members of the GLVC East Division. The top eight teams, four from each division will qualify for the GLVC Postseason Tournament, beginning May 8 in Evansville, Ind.

Lewis (Ill.) in the east and Drury (Mo.) in the west were picked to win and repeat in their respective divisions this season. While the Flyers, Indianapolis (Ind.) and Saint Joseph's (Ind.) have won the most GLVC titles with five apiece. Nine current GLVC schools have won at least one GLVC championship.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs are schedule to open up the home season with a non-conference, four-game series with the University of Illinois Springfield on March 1-2. The Prairie Stars are also members of the GLVC with the Bulldogs but the series will count solely as non-conference, regional games and not toward the league standings.

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