HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker College baseball team finishes up conference play with a three-game series against the Tornados of Brevard College starting on Friday (April 17).
The Cobras come into the series with 21-20 record after a convincing 7-0 shutout victory at home over GRU Augusta on Wednesday. The victory improved their home record to an impressive 15-6 on the season.
The senior duo of T.J. Giczkowski and Ernie Kirkwood continue to be the offensive catalysts for the Navy and Yellow. Giczkowski is sporting a hefty .350 batting average to go along with 28 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. Kirkwood has been red hot at the plate batting .327, and has team highs in RBIs with 38, doubles at ten, triples with six and home runs with two. Senior first baseman Fico Kondla has been the main stealing threat for the Cobras with a team and conference high 26 stolen bases. As a team, Coker ranks near the top of Division II baseball with 119 steals on the year.
The trio of Matt Prosser, Ben Brown and Adam Webb leads the pitching staff. Prosser has a 4-3 record with a team best 3.02 ERA in 59.2 innings of work. He also has a team high 49 strikeouts. Brown also has a 4-3 record in 58 innings of work to go along with a 4.03 ERA. Webb comes in sporting a 4-1 overall record with a 3.74 ERA. Senior Andrew Goot's four saves on the season are good enough for fourth best in the conference.
Brevard comes to Hartsville with a 17-28 record after dropping their last two games to Erskine. At the plate, the Tornados are led by Brock Helton who is batting .304 on the season with a team best 20 RBIs. Brevard pitcher Kevin Hamilton has a 3-4 record on the season with a 3.41 ERA.
Game one of the SAC series will begin on Friday (April 17) at 12:30 p.m. Games two and three will be on Saturday (April 18) at noon and 3 p.m. Seniors Fico Kondla, Andrew Goot, Chase Spivey, Ernie Kirkwood, T.J. Giczkowski, Hunter Ressler, and Shea Bell will all be honored before Saturday's double-header. Live stats and video can be followed at www.cokercobras.com
Story written by Sports Information Intern Aaron Beebe `15