TIFFIN,Ohio—The No. 24 Heidelberg University baseball team (D3baseball.com) will open the northern portion of its 2012 season Friday, March 16 as the Student Princes open a three-game series at Manchester (Ind.) College in North Manchester, Ind. The first pitch from James Gratz Baseball Field is slated for 4:15 p.m. on Friday. Saturday’s doubleheader begins at noon.
Live stats for all three games will be available at here.
Heidelberg returns north after going 5-5 in eight games at the Snowbird Baseball Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. and two more at the Gene Cusic Classic in Ft. Myers. Through 10 games, three Student Princes are hitting better than .300, led by senior pitcher/outfielder Ross Pruitt (Elletsville, Ind./Edgewood), who is fourth in the Ohio Athletic Conference hitting .458 (11-for-24) and leads the team with seven runs batted-in in six games. Pruitt has also made three appearances on the mound in a relief role, recording one save, without giving up a run and surrendering three hits while striking out four batters over 3.2 innings.
Freshman third baseman Steve Kisan (North Royalton/Lakewood St. Edward) has started the first 10 games of his collegiate career and is pacing at a .333 clip (12-for-36), is tied for seventh in the OAC with 12 hits and tied for third with four doubles, leads the team with five extra base hits, and has driven in three runs and scored a team-leading eight.
In eight games, including four starts, freshman first baseman Eric Monroe (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) is hitting .313 (5-for-16) with one double, one RBI and two runs scored.
Junior righty Teddy Lowe (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) has anchored the pitching staff in a reliever’s role, going 3-1 in six appearances with a 3.48 earned run average. Lowe has allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits while striking out six and walking just one over 10.1 innings, and is holding opposing batters to a .194 average. His three wins are tied for the league lead.
Junior right hander Tyler Fruhwirth (Beavercreak) is 1-1 over two starts, including a complete game, with a 4.02 ERA. In 15.2 innings pitched, which is tied for third in the conference, he has surrendered 10 runs (seven earned) on 20 hits while striking out 13 and walking three.
Manchester (5-4) has lost three of its last five games after starting the season 3-1, but is coming off an 11-5 win over Taylor (Ind.) University yesterday. Four Spartan regulars—Corey Marchant (.406), Dan Maringer (.391), Bryce Murphy (.379) and Trevor Kimm (.333)—are hitting above .300. Marchant’s three doubles, two home runs and seven RBI are all team-bests.
Staff ace Dylan Padgett is 1-0 in two starts with a shutout and a 1.76 ERA. He has four runs (three earned) on 10 hits over a team-high 15.1 innings and has fanned six batters. Justin Scott is 1-1 in two starts with a 6.00 ERA, having allowed 10 runs on 21 hits over 15.0 innings while striking out nine and walking two. Beau Shenefield is also 1-1 in two starts with a 6.75 ERA, allowing 11 runs (10 earned) on 19 hits in 13.1 innings. He has registered nine strikeouts.
Following this weekend’s series at Manchester, the Berg will face Denison University on Tuesday, March 20 at 6 p.m. in Granville, Ohio before playing its home opener on Wednesday, March 21 against Ohio Wesleyan University at 4 p.m.