Baseball 3/7/2019 11:46:00 AM

Truman Opens GLVC Slate On Road At Illinois Springfield

Live Stats

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman Baseball conference opener against Illinois Springfield has shifted sites and days due to Mother Nature. The Bulldogs will now play in Springfield, Illinois with a doubleheader starting at noon on Sunday followed by a single game on Monday.

Truman has not played since February 26 when they lost at the University of Central Missouri 12-5 to fall to 0-8 on the young year. Home weekend games with Lewis and Upper Iowa were cancelled due to weather conditions.

The Prairie Stars are 8-0-1 with a rare tie in their last outing with William Jewell on March 1 to end a doubleheader. UIS is ranked third in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America poll and 17^th in the Collegiate Baseball Division II Top 40 poll.

Not only is this the league opener for both teams but with the new scheduling format that removed the divisions from the league standings, Truman and UIS will play for their first Great Lakes Valley Conference games against one another. The two teams have played six games between 2015-17 that did not count in the league standings. The last was in 2017 when UIS won 6-2. The Prairie Stars won 4-1 in a single game in Kirksville in 2016 and Truman took three of four in an early March series played in Sauget, Illinois in 2015.

Jack Goodwin and Steven Bradbury have been the leaders on the offensive side this season for the Bulldogs. In five games, all starts, Goodwin is hitting .308 with a double and three RBIs while Bradbury has started all eight games and has seven hits, two doubles and a .280 batting average. The Bulldogs, as a team, have hit .173 with Adam Stolley and Evan Kayser having both team home runs this year.

On the base paths, Truman is 13-of-18 in stolen base attempts with seven players having at least one steal. Brian Edell leads the group with three steals out of three attempts.

Rian Markes has the most innings pitched for the staff thus far at 11 in two starts. Markes has struck out 10 hitters in 11 innings and has a 2.45 ERA with an opponent batting average of .262 against. Markes is 0-1 on the season. The other starts have come from Conner McKenna, Mason Hatch and Blake Bagenstos.

GLVC Review:
The Bulldogs were 6-22 in conference last season and finished eighth in the GLVC West Division. UIS went 23-1 and captured the East Division title. The Prairie Stars went 0-2 in the GLVC Tournament but hosted the NCAA Midwest Regional. They went 2-2 in the regional, losing both games by two runs each.

Up Next:
Truman is now scheduled to play at home against Missouri Western for a doubleheader on Tuesday, March, 12 and their next conference series is slated for March 16-17 against Missouri S&T.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#15 Blake Bagenstos: RHP; 6' 0"; Junior; R/R

#1 Brian Edell: C; 6' 2"; Sophomore; L/R

#19 Jack Goodwin: INF; 5' 9"; Redshirt Freshman; L/R

#24 Mason Hatch: RHP; 6' 6"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R

#14 Evan Kayser: SS/2B; 5' 10"; Junior; R/R

#18 Rian Markes: LHP; 6' 2"; Junior; L/L

#27 Adam Stolley: OF; 5' 8"; Junior; L/R

#10 Steven Bradbury: 2B/3B; 5' 10"; Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

#15 Blake Bagenstos
: 6' 0"; Junior; R/R
: RHP

#1 Brian Edell
: 6' 2"; Sophomore; L/R
: C

#19 Jack Goodwin
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Freshman; L/R
: INF

#24 Mason Hatch
: 6' 6"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R
: RHP

#14 Evan Kayser
: 5' 10"; Junior; R/R
: SS/2B

#18 Rian Markes
: 6' 2"; Junior; L/L
: LHP

#27 Adam Stolley
: 5' 8"; Junior; L/R
: OF

#10 Steven Bradbury
: 5' 10"; Junior; R/R
: 2B/3B