Sunday, April 23, 2023

Midweek Baseball: Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs



Who: Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
When: Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Time: 5:00 pm
Where: Childress Field, Cullowhee, NC


TV/video: ESPN+
    -announcer: Daniel Hooker (PxP)
Radio: none
Live Stats: Live Stats
Conference: Big South
Nickname: Runnin' Bulldogs
Location: Boiling Springs, NC
Colors: Scarlet & Black
Mascot: Mac and Lulu
Message Board: none

This season's record: 26-13 overall, 19-6 home, 7-7 away, 0-0 neutral, 12-6 Conference

The Series: The Cats are 18-11 overall vs. the dogs, having won 4 of the last 6 games between the two teams, but does enter the game having lost the last two games played between the two teams. Western is 9-5-1 in games played in Cullowhee. This game completes a home-and-home series this season with the Runnin' Bulldogs, having lost to the Bulldogs in Boiling Springs on March 1, by a final score of 14-4.

Head Coach: Jim Chester is in his third year as the head coach of the Gardner-Webb baseball team after taking over the program in June 2019.

Gardner-Webb baseball was tabbed fourth in the 2023 Big South Conference baseball poll, as head coach Jim Chester returns the bulk of his offensive talent from the 2022 season, paced by All-Big South selections Alec Burns, Jacob Marcos and Curtis Robison. The Bulldogs are coming off a series win in Clinton, SC where they took two of three over the Presbyterian Blue Hose.

Gardner-Webb is currently hitting .288 as a team, and the Runnin' dogs have five players that are currently hitting above .300, with Curtis Robison leading all hitters with a .357 average. Followed by Nate Anderson hitting .325, Jacob Marcos hitting .314, Alec Burns hitting .313, and Mark Black with a .303 average.  

GWU's Curtis Robison was dubbed the Big South Baseball Player of the Week after batting .417 (10-of-24) with five doubles, a triple, and four RBI.  

WCU is expected to start junior RHP Dawson Elder who will climb the mound for his second start of the season and the fifth of his collegiate career. He is coming off a season-long 3.2 innings of hitless relief with four strikeouts last Tuesday at USC Upstate.





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