By: Jake Miller
HARTSVILLE, S.C.- Coker baseball returns home to the friendly confines of Tom J. New Field at Dave Schmotzer Stadium this weekend (Mar. 17-18) to battle South Atlantic Conference foe Lenoir-Rhyne. Video and live stats for all three games will be available at www.cokercobras.com.
The Cobras hit the road to take on No. 25 Catawba last weekend (Mar. 10-11), splitting Saturday's doubleheader in the series. Coker took game one of the doubleheader, game two of the series 10-1.
On the season, Coker (13-8, 5-4 SAC) is led offensively by Thomas Lopez, whose team-high .355 batting average is tied for 18th individually in the league. Jon Koski's .352 mark is 20th individually in the league, right behind the junior Lopez. Lopez's .446 on-base percentage is 16th-best in the league. On the mound, Darius Coldiron's four wins are tied for fourth-most in the SAC while Griffin Hollifield leads the league in saves with five.
The Bears come into the matchup 14-9 overall and 3-6 in South Atlantic Conference play. Offensively, they are led by Marcus Shoemaker, who leads the SAC in batting average with a red hot .480 mark. Teammate Zach Jacobs is tied for fourth in the league in average hitting .405 on the year.
First pitch on Friday is set for 3:00 p.m. at Tom J. New Field at Dave Schmotzer Stadium. Saturday will be a doubleheader starting with a nine inning game at 12:00 p.m. followed by a seven inning game starting at 3:00 p.m. Tickets for the games are $5 for adults, $3 for students and free to all Coker faculty, staff and students.
