CLINTON, S.C. - The Presbyterian College baseball team (18-22, 6-9 Big South) wraps up a four-game homestand on Wednesday afternoon with a 3 p.m. contest against the Furman Paladins (18-24, 7-14 Southern). The Blue Hose have won four of their last five games and will look for a measure of revenge against the Paladins, as Furman handed PC a 7-5 loss in Greenville on February 21. The Blue Hose enter Wednesday after taking the first and final games of a home series against Charleston Southern.
Wednesday's game will be video streamed on the Big South Network while fans in attendance will be eligible for between-innings contests and prizes.
PC will face the Paladins in the 88th meeting between the two sides. The Blue Hose trail in the all-time series, 36-49-2, after dropping a 7-5 contest earlier this season. Brandon Paul went 2-for-4 in the effort while Andrew Williams, Tony Micklon, Robby Swab and Cam McRae each picked up an RBI. The result gave Furman its second straight win over PC for the first time since the 2009 season.
Furman fell to East Tennessee State on Tuesday night by a 14-2 margin. The Paladins have compiled an 18-24 record on the year with a 7-14 marker in the Southern Conference after Appalachian State swept the Paladins in a three-game series over the weekend. Furman grabbed a 5-4 road win over Georgia on Wednesday and are led by Will Owens' .344 average and Will Miller's eight home runs.
Matt Nodelman will make his second career start on Wednesday after rain washed out his projected start against NC Central last week. Nodelman, a senior, picked up his first career win on April 10 with four innings of onehit relief in which he allowed only one unearned run. Nodelman has apperaed in nine games this season, maintaining a 3.57 earned run average.
PC went 2-1 last week after rain washed out a Wednesday game against NC Central. The Blue Hose took the first and final games of a series against Charleston Southern (2-1, 6-3) and dropped the Saturday game in ten innings, 7-4. Gabe Grammer picked up a save and went .500 at the plate (6-for-12) with three RBI. Billy Motroni went 6-for-12 as well while Kenny Bryant hit his team-leading seventh home run of the season.
Over the last five games, Gabe Grammer leads the team with a .471 batting average (8-for17) and four RBI. Kenny Bryant has also posted four RBI with two home runs and a .400 average.
Since March 28, PC's team earned run average has improved by more than a full run, dropping from 6.04 to its current 4.98. The Blue Hose have boasted a 3.08 ERA in their last 14 games and held opponents to a .229 batting average while going 9-5 over that span.
After Wednesday, PC hits the road for a seven-game road stretch, its longest of the 2012 season. The Blue Hose head to Radford this weekend before taking a break from Big South play next weekend with a three-game series at Central Florida.
