KIRKSVILLE, Mo.—The Truman Baseball team will return to the diamond this Friday and Saturday as they take on Upper Iowa and Pittsburg State in Pittsburg, Kan. The games were originally scheduled for Friday-Sunday but have since been moved to two games on Friday and then two on Saturday.
On Friday the Bulldogs will face Upper Iowa at 10 a.m. and then Pittsburg State at 4 p.m. Saturday they square off with Upper Iowa at 10 a.m. again and then PSU at 1 p.m.
So far this season Brendan Kelly has led the Bulldog offense with eight hits and seven runs scored. His average is a team high .364, and his three extra base hits (two doubles and a triple) are second to Holden Missey, who has four (two doubles and a homerun). Kelly leads the team with three stolen bases in five attempts, and recorded the team's first triple of the season in the game against Washburn.
Missey leads the team with 13 total bases and a .591 slugging percentage. He hit his first homerun of the season in the win over Northwest Oklahoma State and the second in the final game against Rogers State. He has five RBIs so far on the season to lead the Bulldogs.
Reid Wilson is second on the team in hits with seven and in RBIs with four, while Steven Bradbury is second with a .294 average and third with a .926 OPS.
On the mound, Missey and Connor McKenna have picked up the two victories for the Bulldogs this season. Both have records of 1-1 and each have thrown one complete game so far this season. McKenna picked up his win in the season opener at Northwest Oklahoma State, going five innings and allowing just two earned runs (four total) with five strikeouts. He threw a six inning complete game against Rogers State last weekend. Missey went five in the win over Rockhurst, allowing two earned runs (four total) and tallying four strikeouts.
The Opponents:
For Upper Iowa, this weekend will be their first action of the season. Last season they finished with a record of 12-28. A scheduled doubleheader with Truman last March was cancelled due to weather. Key returners from last year's team are A.J. Friedrich, who hit .357 last year with three homeruns and 29 RBIs with .415 on base percentage. Riley Braughton hit .316 with ten doubles, 12 extra base hits total, and 16 runs scored. He tied for third on the team with four stolen bases.
Key pitchers returning include Duncan Snider and Greg Glass. Snider went 3-5 with a 2.97 ERA in 2019 in ten starts. He threw 57.2 innings in 2019 and allowed 25 runs, 19 earned. He recorded a team high 68 strikeouts and only doled out 34 walks. Glass appeared in 11 games with a 2.61 ERA in 10.1 innings, allowing five runs—three earned.
For the Gorillas, they enter the weekend at 4-6. They got their first win of the season over Henderson State on February 1 6-2, defeated Winona State 10-9 on the 8th and then took two of three from Minnesota Crookston last weekend. So far this year Blain Ohlmeier leads the team with 12 hits, a .444 average, eight runs scored and is tied for the team lead with six RBIs. His 13 total bases and .481 slugging percentage are second on the team, trailing Greyson Pickett.
Chandler Mauldin and Tanner Lane have each made three starts for the Gorillas, with Lane at 1-1 and Mauldin at 0-2. Both have thrown 12.2 innings this season, allowed nine runs (eight earned). Mauldin has 15 strikeouts to five for Lane, and only four walks to Lane's seven. Nick Brown has thrown 8.1 innings as a reliever, with a 2.16 ERA and picked up one win.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will head to St. Charles for four non-conference games against Lindenwood on February 29 and March 1. Doubleheaders both days start at 1 p.m.
