GREENWOOD – The Lander baseball team returns to conference action with a trip to Young Harris for a PBC series starting Friday.

QUICK HITTERS 

Location: Zell B. Miller Field (Young Harris, Ga.)

Time: April 22 (6 pm) | April 23 (2 pm) | April 24 (1 pm)

Lander's Record: 20-22, 9-11 PBC

(RV) Young Harris' Record: 29-14, 13-8 PBC

First Met: February 23, 2013 (5-2 Lander)

Last Met: April 3, 2021 (11-7 Young Harris)

Last 10 Against Young Harris: 2-8

Who's Next: vs Belmont Abbey (April 26)

STORYLINES

• The Bearcats are coming off a 9-4 victory over No. 16 Newberry on Tuesday.
• Lander scored six runs in the fourth to pick up its second win over the wolves this season. Both victories have seen Newberry ranked.
• Walker McDowell, Landon Dupert and Bradley Davis all had multi-hit nights while Matthew Burgess, Davis and McDowell all had two RBI each.
• Lander used seven pitchers against the Wolves, with just two throwing over an inning. Michael Nastro, who pitched 2.1 innings, earned his first collegiate win. Zach Pellegrino threw a near-perfect inning in the eighth with three strikeouts while walking a batter.
• This is the fourth victory for Lander over a ranked opponent.
• Lander is hitting .276 as a team this season, which is the fifth-best hitting percentage in the PBC this season.
• Lander is currently third in doubles (79), first in triples (11), fourth in home runs (41), third in hits (267), third in walks (212) and fourth in stolen bases (51). The Bearcats however are second in the PBC in strikeouts with 350 this season.
• The pitching staff is currently tied for the third-most saves in the conference (8) this season. The Bearcats have also recorded 322 strikeouts, good for the fifth-best mark in the conference.
• Vincent DeRubeis is currently in the top-10 in the PBC for batting averages, as he currently holds a .352 average this season. He's also in the top-10 in slugging percentage with a .602 and leads the PBC in on-base percentage with a .507.
• Ethan Wilder currently leads the conference in triples with four.
• Connor Droze and DeRubeis are in the top-20 in the PBC for RBI so far this season. Droze is also second in the PBC in OPS with a 1.148 percentage.
• Mason Streater is tied for third in doubles in the conference with 12.
• Wilder currently leads the Bearcats with 46 hits on the season while holding a .307 batting average. He is one of five Bearcats to have a batting average above .300 while playing in 20 or more games.
• Nine Bearcat pitchers have recorded a win this season, with Bennett Sloper, Anson Merrick, Evan Mauldin and Bennett Nance all tied with three wins.
• Pellegrino leads the pitching staff with 27 appearances this season and averages a strikeout per appearance.
• Young Harris comes in with a 29-14 overall record and a 13-8 conference record.
• The Mountain Lions most recently defeated Carson-Newman 7-5 with a walk-off home run. Before the non-conference win, Young Harris had dropped two-of-three against USC Aiken.
• After Lander, Young Harris will host Lee before traveling to Georgia Southwestern to conclude the regular season.
• The Mountain Lions lead the conference with a .323 batting average so far this season. YHC also leads the PBC in hits with 471.
• The Mountain Lions are third in the PBC in home runs with 49 and second in RBI with 332. They are also second in stolen bases this season with 59.
• The pitching staff for Young Harris has recorded the most strikeouts in the conference with 337.
• Ethan Underwood is in the top-5 in batting average with a .367 average while Jackson Jones and Mark Castle fall in the top-10 in batting average in the PBC. Jones is also in the top-5 for slugging percentage, top-10 for on-base and OPS.
• Underwood also leads the Mountain Lions in hits with 61 on the season. Kyle Ayers is the leader in doubles with 13 while Jones leads the way in home runs with 12 and RBI with 57.
• McLain Harris leads the pitching staff with a 6-3 record while holding a 2.17 era. He's made 20 appearances with just two starts. Nate Lamb has made 11 appearances with 10 of those for starts along with one complete game. He's 5-3 on the season with 50 innings of work and a team-high 55 strikeouts. Mason Herbert shares a claim to the team lead in strikeouts as well. He's made 13 appearances with 12 starts on the season.
• The Bearcats return home for the remainder of the regular season as they host Belmont Abbey first on April 26

#cLawsUp | @LanderBaseball