March 22, 2007

CANYON, Texas - After a big win on Tuesday afternoon at Panhandle State, the West Texas A&M baseball team will be back in action Friday and Saturday at Lone Star Conference crossover opponent Southwestern Oklahoma. The Buffs hold the all-time series advantage over the Bulldogs with a 10-7 record.

Southwestern comes into the contest on an 11 game losing streak, despite sweeping Eastern New Mexico in the March 2 and 3 series for its only wins of the year. The Bulldogs are 4-20 this season and are led by Lance Scales, who is hitting .368, while Dakota Streber has a team best 17 RBI.

On the hill for SWOSU, Jeff Keller has the team low in ERA amongst the starters with a 7.55 mark. Out of the bullpen Brian Wortham is the workhorse, as he has compiled 21 innings with 10 strikeouts in 13 appearances.

As a team however, the Bulldogs are last in the conference with a 10.16 ERA in 273 innings of work. On offense, SWOSU is ninth in the LSC with a .284 batting average and has scored just 119 runs.

For WTAMU, Brian Schupp leads the team with a .465 batting average, while holding the team lead with 22 RBI. Also hitting the baseball well is Coby Corley, who has a .403 batting average and is second with 13 base on balls.

Leading the Buffs on the hill is Jessie Rodriguez, who has a 4.12 ERA, which ranks 10th in the LSC. The southpaw's 32 strike outs also rank in the top half of the conference, as he is three shy from taking the fifth spot in the league.

As a team, WTAMU is hitting .301, which ranks sixth in the conference, while the pitching staff's 7.01 ERA is ninth in the LSC.

After the weekend series with SWOSU, WTAMU will host Wayland Baptist on March 27, with the first pitch set for 3 p.m.