SHREVEPORT �- After a thrilling 3-2 victory over I-49 rival Northwestern State on Tuesday, the Centenary baseball team will play host to Arkansas-Pine Bluff starting on Friday in three-game series.
Reining conference Hitter of the Week Tell Ross leads the team in hitting (.429), doubles (6), triples (1) and RBIs (21). Junior Michael Tompkins, meanwhile, has slugged a team-high four home runs and he also knocked in two runs against NSU.
Expected to take the hill for Centenary in the series are sophomores Boone Whiting and Justin Kraft, along with junior Dakota Robinson. Whiting has a team-low 1.96 ERA with 31 strikeouts, while Kraft tops the team in innings with 28.1 and Robinson is second on the team in complete games with one.
UAPB comes into Friday's game with a 10-10 record and is led offensively by Jerome McCollum, who is hitting .351 with two triples, two home runs and 19 RBIs. As a team the Lions are hitting .282, have scored 121 runs and have hit five over the fence.
On the bump for UAPB, Justin Moring has a team-best 4-1 record with a 3.07 ERA, while six other pitchers have a win apiece. The team ERA is 7.56 in 152.1 innings with 108 strikeouts.
After the weekend with UAPB, Centenary will open conference play with a series against South Dakota State beginning on April 3 at Shehee Stadium.
