Baseball Ready to Open Season at Central Arkansas

Friday, February 15

Conway, Ark.

6 p.m.

Murray State

Central Arkansas

Photo by: Samantha Mohr

2/14/2013 8:59:00 AM | Baseball

GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | LIVE AUDIO (Friday and Sunday only)

GAMES 1-3

MURRAY STATE vs. CENTRAL ARKANSAS
Feb. 15-17, 2013 • Conway, Ark.

First Pitch
Friday: 6 p.m.; Saturday:4 p.m.; Sundlay: 1 p.m.
Series History: MUR leads 4-3-0
Last Meeting: UCA 16, MUR 6 (3/4/12)
Stadium: Bears Stadum (Capacity: 1,000)
Dimensions: 330 (LF), 415 (CF), 340 (RF)
Live Stats: www.GoRacers.com

MURRAY STATE THOROUGHBREDS
Overall Record: 0-0-0
Conference Record: 0-0-0
Last 5/Last 10: -/-
Streak: -
Website: www.GoRacers.com
Head Coach: Rob McDonald
Career Record: 203-285-2 (10th year)
Record at MSU: 203-285-2 (10th year)

CENTRAL ARKANSAS BEARS
Overall Record: 0-0-0
Conference Record: 0-0-0
Last 5/Last 10: -/-
Streak: -
Website: www.ucasports.com
Head Coach: Allen Gum
Career Record: 275-127-0 (8th year)
Record at UCA: 49-59-0 (3rd year)

FIRST PITCH
The Breds open the 2013 baseball season on the road as they travel to face Central Arkansas in a three-game series. The series is set to get unerdway Friday at 6 p.m., and be followed by a 4 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and a 1 p.m. matinee on Sunday.

INSIDE THE SERIES
The Breds and Bears are meeting for the second-straight season and just the fourth time in history. MSU holds a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series after winning two-of-three a season ago. The Breds outlasted the Bears in 17 innings in the series opener, before rallying to take game two.

Probable Pitching Matchups
FRIDAY, FEB. 15
Pitcher   W-L   ERA   K/BB
Will Handlin (R)   5-3   3.56   35/12
Caleb McClanahan (R)   6-5   4.32   79/26

SATURDAY, FEB. 16
Pitcher   W-L   ERA   K/BB
Cameron Finch (R)   4-3   5.89   32/25
Jeffery Enloe (L)   5-8   5.44   83/58

SUNDAY, FEB. 17
Pitcher   W-L   ERA   K/BB
Cashtyn DeLeeuw (R)   0-0   0.00   0/0
Bryce Biggerstaff (R)   1-4   3.50   25/10

Weekend Baseball
The Breds open the 2013 season on the road as they travel to face Central Arkansas in a three-game series at Bears Stadium. The series gets underway Friday at 6 p.m., and continues with a 4 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and a 1 p.m. start on Sunday.

Weekend Weather
The weather will be a little chilly for the opening weekend as temps are supposed to reach the low 50s on Friday afternoon, dropping into the 40s for first pitch. Saturday will be the coldest day as temperatures are expected to barely get out of the 30s all day, before rebounding for mid-50s temps on Sunday.

vs. Central Arkansas
The Breds and Bears are meeting for the second year in a row in Conway. MSU took the series a season ago and lead 4-3 all-time between the two schools. The teams played a midweek two-game series in Conway in 2009, and at Reagan Field in 2008, splitting both two-game series.

Season Openers
The Breds enter the weekend with an overall record of 29-38-1 on opening day, and are just 3-6 under head coach Rob McDonald.

Opening Season on Road
This season marks the third time in the last four seasons the Breds will open the season on the road. They have had mixed results in their previous two encounters, sweeping a three-game series at Lipscomb in 2010, and being swept in three games at UNC Asheville in 2011.

Opening Under The Lights
The Breds will be playing their first season-opening game under the lights since they opened the 2004 season at UAB at 6 p.m. MSU fell 15-8 to the Blazers in that series.

Last Trip to Conway, Ark.
The last trip to Bears Stadium was memorable for the Breds as they began the weekend with a 17-inning victory in the series opener, a game that took 4:33 after a five-and-a-half hour drive from campus. MSU came back the next day and got a two-run double from Brandon Elliott in the top of the ninth inning for a 5-4 victory. UCA came back and took the series finale on Sunday.

Handlin Moves Into Rotation
Senior Will Handlin made 26 appearances out of the bullpen in 2012. This season, the Texan will move into the starting rotation and take the ball on opening day. Handlin has made one previous start in his career, going two innings at Southern Illinois in 2010.

Sunday Pitching Duo
The duo of right handers Alex Gordon and Cashtyn DeLeeuw will team up to throw the final game of the Central Arkansas. The two will continue to team up the first couple of weekends as they work their way back after not throwing in the Fall.

Infield Intact
The Murray State infield will look familiar on opening day as all four members will have seen significant time a season ago. Mike Kozlowski started 55 games at first base, Dylan Wheeler made 49 starts at second, Noah Zipko made 32 starts at shortstop and Brandon Elliott started 10 games at third last season.

MAC-Stand
The Breds opening homestand will feature four games against the Mid-American Conference. MSU will play host to Central Michigan (Feb. 21), before welcoming Bowling Green (Feb. 22-24) for a three-game series. MSU will also host Northern Illinois on March 12-13.

The Directions of Illinois
Murray State will see plenty of teams from around the state of Illinois this season as they will play seven games against directional schools in the state. The Breds will travel to face conference foe Eastern Illinois, host a pair of games with Northern Illinois and play a home-and-home with Southern Illinois.

Two-Sport Pokey
Freshman Pokey Harris will be on the diamond this spring after spending the fall as a member of the Racer football team. Harris saw action in all 11 games as a true freshman, playing mainly on special teams. He carried the ball 18 times for 74 yards on the season, including leading the team with 27 yards against Florida State.

Eggo Preseason All-OVC
Junior Brandon Eggenschwiler was selected to the 2013 Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference team as the designated hitter. Eggo was honored after earned second-team all-conference honors after the 2012 season.

On Deck
The Breds open the 2013 home season as they play host to Mid-Continent on Feb. 19. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.