Golden Tigers return to Paterson for Georgia Southwestern Tuesday

by

TUSKEGEE, Ala. (goldentigersports.com) —  With just 12 games remaining on their schedule in the regular season, the Tuskegee University baseball team finds itself in a battle for tournament seeding in the upcoming Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Tournament.

However, before they begin thinking about the tournament, they will play their last regular season home non-conference game against Georgia Southwestern Tuesday afternoon at Paterson Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4 pm.

The meeting will be the second this season between Tuskegee (9-20, 5-7 SIAC) and Georgia Southwestern (18-20, 3-18 PBC), with the ‘Canes winning the first contest 9-5 back on March 15. In that contest Georgia Southwestern was able to get Tuskegee starter Joseph Mauldin early in the first, before the Golden Tigers roared back to close to within 6-4. However, Georgia Southwestern was able to put the game away with a pair of runs late.

Since that meeting, Tuskegee has gone 6-5, which includes this weekend’s conference sweep at the hands of Miles College. Currently, Tuskegee sits in third place among tournament-eligible teams in the SIAC West Division with three series remaining. They can do their part by sweeping LeMoyne-Owen next week, and all but secure their spot in the tournament with a little help from Miles and Claflin (vs. Kentucky State).

But, first things first.

Tuskegee must contend with Georgia Southwestern on Tuesday. Ricky Green leads the Golden Tigers offensively, hitting .347 this season with a homerun (his first against Miles) and 10 runs batted in. He leads the team in on-base percentage at .473, while Ryan Green has come on strong down the stretch and is hitting .308 with a pair of extra base hits and 10 runs batted.

A trio of freshman has supplied the power. Jalen Luter leads the team with three homeruns, while Elgin Woodside and Matthew Reed each have two; while Woodside leads the team with 19 runs batted in.

Alexander Henderson has come on strong since returning from injury, hitting .296 with a pair of doubles and five runs batted in. The same can be said for Evan Kearse in the outfield, hitting .246 with 15 runs batted in since his return. Junior third baseman Gemini Jackson finds himself in the midst of an 11-game on-base streak for the Golden Tigers, which included his first homerun of the season against Concordia last week.

On the mound, Trey Nelson (3-2, 4.57 ERA) leads the Golden Tigers in wins, while Jordyn Thomas (2-1, 4.37 ERA) leads the team in earned run average. Joseph Mauldin (2-5, 8.02 ERA) leads the team with 44 strikeouts in 33.2 innings pitched thus far this season.