Baseball Hosts Wofford In Three-Game Series Starting Friday at 7 p.m.

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Davidson will look to earn a crucial Southern Conference series victory over Wofford this weekend, starting with the first of three games Friday at 7 p.m. at Wilson Field.

Davidson (11-19, 3-12 SoCon) freshman LHP Henry Sisson (4.84, 1-1) will face the reigning SoCon Pitcher of the Week, RHP Brandon Yarusi (3.50, 3-3) in the series opener. Senior RHP Ryan Overcash (5.66, 2-5) will take on Wofford's RHP Jessie Morris (4.42, 2-3) Saturday at 2 p.m, while Davidson's Sunday (1 p.m.) starter remains to be announced. Wofford (14-19, 3-9 SoCon) will throw LHP Cash Collins (5.86, 3-4).

Leading Off

Davidson will look to snap a four-game losing streak.
The Wildcats have played in five SoCon series, and the five teams they have played presently occupy five of the top six places in the SoCon standings. Davidson enters the weekend with a 3-12 SoCon record, trailing UNCG (4-8), The Citadel (4-8) and Wofford (3-9) for eighth place.
Davidson will face the reigning pitcher of the week in RHP Brandon Yarusi. Yarusi threw a complete game shutout against Western Carolina last weekend.
CF Drew Gadaire leads the team in hitting (.302) and RBIs (21.)
Wear red, get fed! The first 75 students wearing red to the game get free Tenders.

The Series
Davidson leads the all-time series, 48-37, which dates back to 1903. Wofford swept last year's series in Spartanburg with three one-run victories, but Davidson took two of three in 2010 when the teams played at Wilson Field.

Last Time Out
CLINTON, S.C. – Presbyterian hitters hit three home runs, including a grand slam by first baseman Kenny Bryant, en route to a 13-5 victory over Davidson in non-conference baseball action Tuesday at PC Baseball Complex.

Davidson stole a team-record 10 bases and junior shortstop matched a team record with four walks, but it was not enough as the Blue Hose scored six runs in the sixth inning, capped by the grand slam, to take a decisive 12-5 lead.

Over the weekend, Davidson was swept in a three-game SoCon series against Georgia Southern at home. The Eagles used late-inning runs in each game to prevail.

About Wofford
On Wednesday, Wofford hosted USC Upstate in a non-conference contest, which was won 9-4 by the Terriers. Wofford is 14-19 overall and 3-9 in the Southern Conference. Last weekend the Terriers took two of three games to win the home series against Western Carolina. Mac Doyle is leading the team with a .392 batting average and also is the team leader in hits, RBIs, doubles, and home runs. On the mound, Brandon Yarusi leads the team with 58 strikeouts and a 3-3 record in 54.0 innings pitched. Eric Eck has six saves and a 3-1 record with 43 strikeouts in 30.2 innings.

Record Breaking Game
Davidson set a new team record for stolen bases in a game with 10 at Presbyterian (4/10). James Cerbie stole three, Forrest Brandt stole two, and Andrew Barna, Jake Berman, Michael Zeblo, Calvin Sigelbaum and Seth Freeman each stole one in the game. The old record was nine set against Holy Cross on Mar. 4, 1997. Zeblo also matched the team's individual record for most walks in a game after drawing four bases on balls. The feat was last accomplished by Zach Kayne vs. Yale, Mar. 14, 2007.

Elite Eight
RHP Ryan Overcash and LHP Henry Sisson both had career-high, eight-inning starts in a doubleheader against Georgia Southern (4/6), but Overcash suffered the loss and Sisson took a no-decision after leaving the game with the lead.

Home Sweet Home
Davidson is 8-8 at Wilson Field. On the road, Davidson is 3-3 against teams that have not been nationally ranked this season, and 0-8 against teams that have been ranked at some point in the season.

Streaks End
OF Drew Gadaire saw his 27-game reached base streak, which dated back to last season come to an end vs. Duke (3/27) with an 0-for-4 night. It also ended an eight-game hitting streak. 1B Calvin Sigelbaum reached base in 15-straight games after moving into the starting lineup, but failed to reach base in the series finale at Coll. of Charleston (3/25). Sigelbaum and Gadaire are tied for the longest hiting streaks of the season, as Sigelbaum had a hit in each of his first eight starts.

Young Arms
Of the 13 relief pitchers Davidson has called upon this season, seven are freshmen (Ben Arkin, Rob Bain, Clark Beeker, Ryan Lowe, Nick Neitzel, Matt Saeta and Henry Sisson), two were originally exclusive position players (Bryan DaCanal and Michael Zeblo) and two (Justin Charles and Michael Loeb) did not appear in a game last season. Just one, sophomore Jip Richards, was regularly called into action last season. Brian Russell made his first releif appearance vs. Duke (3/27) after making six starts. One of the biggest adjustments Davidson is making in 2012 is adapting to the absence of bullpen stalwart Mike Frongello. The reliable, righty-reliever concluded his stellar four-year career by breaking the SoCon's all-time appearance record in the 2011 season finale, taking the ball for the 136th time. He appeared in 39 of 48 games last season, throwing 67.1 innings (second on the team) and posted a team low 2.54 ERA. Also missing from the bullpen is flamethrower Andy Bass, who graduated and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 18th round. Starter Chris Lamb elected to forego his senior season after the Oakland A's selected him in the 11th round last year, so combined with the departure of graduating seniors, Davidson lost nearly 68 percent of last year's innings pitched.

Closer By Committee
Four different pitchers have earned Davidson's six saves this season. Freshmen Clark Beeker and Matt Saeta lead the team with two each. Freshman Ryan Lowe earned his first save at USC Upstate (4/3) after Saeta ran into trouble in the ninth inning. Junior Michael Zeblo, who primarily plays shortstop, earned Davidson's first save of the season.

Home Run Paradox
After winning the first three games in which a Wildcat hit a home run, Davidson has lost its last five when homering.

Ironmen
3B Andrew Barna, LF Forrest Brandt, and CF Drew Gadaire have started each game this season.

Bonus Baseball
Four of Davidson's games this year have gone into extra innings, including three SoCon games. Davidson fell to Ohio and Appalachian State earlier in the year in games that went 10 innings and defeated Elon in back-to-back 11 inning contests. The Wildcats had just four extra inning games all of last season.

Team of the Week Honorable Mention
Davidson earned a “Team of the Week” honorable mention (Mar. 12-18) from CollegeBaseballInsider.com, after going 3-1 with a pair of dramatic wins over Elon. The Wildcats led off a list of 10 honorable mentions recognized by CollegeBaseballInsider.com, which also selects one “Team of the Week,” four regional teams of the week.

Cardiac 'Cats Take Series From Elon
Jake Berman's two-out, walk-off hit in the 11th inning gave Davidson its second consecutive come-from-behind, extra inning victory over Elon, 9-8 (3/18). Drew Gadaire had a two-out, walk-off base hit in the 11th inning in the second game of a doubleheader the previous day to give Davidson a 12-11 victory (3/17). In the 3/17 game, trailing 11-9 in the bottom of the 11th, the 'Cats were able to score three runs on a two-RBI double by Daniel Gerow and Gadaire's walk-off single. Gadaire completed the comeback by slapping a pitch into shallow right field to score Gerow and end the game. The following day, Davidson tied the game in the ninth inning and forced extras, but trailed 8-7 entering the bottom of the 11th inning after surrendering an RBI-single in the top half. Michael Zeblo drove in the tying run with a single to left field, and Berman, who went 3-for-6 on the day, stepped up to the plate with two outs and lifted a pitch just over the left fielder's glove to end the game. The Wildcats had lost seven-straight to Elon, the defending SoCon regular season champions, before the back-to-back wins. The three-game series victory over Elon wass Davidson's first since the Phoenix joined the Southern Conference beginning with the 2004 season. Davidson won the lone meeting between the two teams in 2009 as the final two games of the series were canceled due to rain.

They Fought Like Wildcats
No. 6 UNC needed a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning and NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List selection RHP Michael Morin to defeat Davidson on Mar. 6. Trailing 4-2 in the sixth inning, the Wildcats tied the game at 4-4 with a pair of runs, putting them in position to pull off the upset.

Thrown In the Fire
RHP Clark Beeker, LHP Henry Sisson and LHP Rob Bain all made their first career starts against ACC opponents. Beeker faced 10 batters in 3.0 innings against Duke (3/27), with just one reaching base due to a throwing error. Sisson and Bain started against No. 6 North Carolina (3/6) and NC State (3/7), respectively. Sisson lasted 5.0 innings, surrendering four runs on four hits and two walks while striking out five and took a no decision as the Wildcats threatened to win late. Bain lasted 2.2 innings allowing eight runs, but just one earned run, as his defenders made four errors behind him and the offense failed to generate a run, giving him the loss.

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